Switching to Semi-Hydro: a repotting pictorial

[Gilda]

Do any of you folks using s/h have a problem with condensation?? I keep reducing the amount of water in the bottom of the pot, in fact I've poured out almost all that will come out, and I still have lots of condensation, which I'm worried is going to rot the roots....
!

Someone correct me if this is wrong, but you will see condensation inside the pot sometimes,,,to the point where the rocks are wicking. I think it means your rocks are wicking like they are suppose to. I water quite frequently when I first put a plant into SH...helps flush out roots that rot(and some will ) , also keeps the shorter roots from drying out too much...JMHO

[hcubed]

Hm, I have condensation almost all the way up to the top. It is very constant (read: it has been omnipresent for over a week) and like I said, there is hardly any water in the bottom because the water just isn't evaporating on its own and the permanent wetness is kind of worrying me!

Maybe I will try flushing and draining everything.

[Phyrex]

What if you drill/melt some extra holes all the way up until the rim of the pot so it can get some air to the roots and might help get rid of the condensation (and improve airflow). I am thinking having some extra airing holes wouldn't be a bad thing regardless.

[hcubed]

But how are you going to get water in it then, if there are holes all the way up the sides??

I did put in more holes, but so far only at the same level, just on different sides.

I actually flushed the pot, kept it cool to prevent more condensation from developing and poured out as much excess water as I could and that has at least reduced the amount on the sides for the time being....

[Phyrex]

I thought you would pretty much rinse the whole pot and keep the bottom 1 inch reservoir to create humidity and moisture. The hydrotons will capture some of the water in the spaces between them which the roots will use whenever they need it and thus slowly create a better airflow between the roots. I am just talking here I haven't actually done this, although I am considering s/h for my phals.

[hcubed]

I just meant, if you have holes all the way up the sides of the pot, getting water to stay IN the pot is going to be more of a challenge. I guess if you run the water faster than it can flow out the holes, you'll end up with some going down, but still sounds kind of tricky to me.

[Shaydra]

Maybe put tape over the holes temporarily when you water, then remove them when you're done? Or put them in a position where you can put your fingers over them?

[Phyrex]

If you dunk the pot in water it wouldn't matter Just watch out for floaters.

Anyone with algae growing around the reservoir might try cleaning them out and putting the clear pot in a nonclear one to stop the grow since they rely on light to grow.

[hcubed]

Just wanted to share an update on my first attempts....

I now have 3 plants in S/H - one phal, one paph and one oncidium, started in intervals of each other. The phal and the oncidium both have new roots growing (hurray!) - at almost exactly the 3 week mark it started on both. The paph isn't quite up to the 3 week mark yet, but now I am feeling pretty optimistic about the endeavor!

(as a side note though, I did put a new fertiziler on these which is supposed to help with root growth, so I can't know 100% how much growth is from the fertilizer and how much from the s/h itself)

[Mare]

I have been wondering about S/H for quite a while now. There is so much useful info in this thread, but I am wondering, what do you use to water? What type of fert/nutrients and how much? I have been growing my bulbos in sphagnum and set on a rock in my indoor pond that water runs over. They seem to love it. I also had someone tell me that phrags love water ( I have a grande and two others of the ultra long sepal types) and often grow on river banks with their roots in the water and so set the pots in about 1/4" of water in a tray and leave until it dries before watering again. I thought these all might do very well in S/H.

Mare