moving established plants in SH to normal media?

[blrnut]

Hi,

Has anyone moved any of their plants from SH to normal media? Especially the ones that were well established in SH for about a year. I acquired couple of Rhyncostylis gigantea and Aerides seedlings. I do not know if this is the right thing, I wanted to give them a boost using SH, especially with the low humidity and summer heat until they grow up a bit. I would like to take them out next year during the monsoon (2012) and put them in regular media or mount them. Would they be too shocked? Is this even something that I should try?

-Satish

[Brutal_Dreamer]

I look forward to the responses to this question, Satish. To me, it seems that it would be pretty stressful for the plant, but Orchids are tough.

Cheers,
BD

[blrnut]

Hi Bruce, My assumption was the same and as such I wanted to time it with the monsoon so that the shock could be minimized as the humidity would be high during monsoon. Maybe I will this with 1 or 2 seedlings instead of experimenting with the 5 that I have. The problem is that the current humidity levels are very low (15%) and I do not have the space to put up a GH I'm trying to water them atleast couple of times daily.

Satish

[Halloamey]

Firstly putting Rhyncos and Aerides in SH is not a good idea at all. They need to dry out between waterings, or else they will rot. I don't think that they will get adapted to SH in the first place, so the future question will not arise LOL !

[Halloamey]

Hi Bruce, My assumption was the same and as such I wanted to time it with the monsoon so that the shock could be minimized as the humidity would be high during monsoon. Maybe I will this with 1 or 2 seedlings instead of experimenting with the 5 that I have. The problem is that the current humidity levels are very low (15%) and I do not have the space to put up a GH I'm trying to water them atleast couple of times daily.

Satish

Satish you do not need a GH to maintain high humidity levels. Just place your orchids together along with other plants like ferns etc, you can also place the pots on upturned clay pots that are placed in water trays the clay pots wick the water and keep the humidity high. Before I had a GH I was growing orchids in my Balcony in a weather not very different from the one in Banglore.

[blrnut]

Hi Amey, I had read on one of the orchid forums that they have been successful in growing & flowering Rhyncostylis in SH. That is the reason I was thinking of trying it out. I have placed some ferns and anthuriums and lillies around, but my vandas are beginning to show signs of stress. I will try the clay pot method with couple of my plants as I do not have lot of space either

[hcubed]

I can't say much about the plants in question, but I have done it with a Paph. It was doing great in SH for 2 years or so and then we moved. The pot got knocked around a bit and after the move things weren't so happy so I repotted and decided on normal media. The plant is fine, blooming, growing, etc. but it did have quite a dip growth-wise. Hard to say though whether it was the move, other factors relating to the move or the media change that threw it for a loop, but it certainly noticed.

However, it's fine now, just still has some catching up to do.

[Halloamey]

Hi Satish, please PM me the link about the Rhyncho in SH, I would like to read more and see what they did to coax this specie into SH, better if they hav pictures, As I really don`t believe in words. On the otherhand, what are your Vandas planted in?

[LeeOrchids]

I have an aerides lawrenceae that has been in SH three years now and has not only flourished, but it currently has a keiki and six inflorescences. Since it has lots of aerial roots in addition to roots growing in the SH, I will be attempting to remove it from the SH after it finishes blooming. I will be doing lots of misting when that happens! (I posted a pics of it a few months back and will be posting another soon as an update.)

[Raver]

i don't think its a good idea to move them from regular media to s/h because they will most likely lose all of their roots due to the new environment in s/h. it will grow new roots eventually but they will also die if switched back to regular media. Remember orchids grow roots accordingly to the environment they are exposed to. I think they will be shocked too much, just use some humidity trays to help with humidity