Just out of curiousity, how many of you are s/h'ing?

[Kerry]

Oh my, this is what is so great about this forum - you learn all sorts even if it's just about watering conditions for phals.

I have been finding that watering my phals once a week has been too much, so have gone down to more like once every 2 weeks. They are in plastic pots, some in a plain bark mix and the others in mix with peat in it. I think the bark ones definintely need watering more frequently than the others. At the moment I am really just feeling my way round which plants need water when.

[mtequine]

I have a couple of hybrid phals, couple of encyclias, a noid den, both my phrags, and several oncid allicance all in s/h. I use the plain plastic pots with two holes drilled in the bottom available from an online vendor.

I lost one oncid, and I took my oncid. twinkle out of s/h (when I bought it, it was potted in the s/h medium but in a non s/h pot and was from a local grower, so similar -albiet greenhouse- conditions).

Most everything is happy and blooming and seem to be growing normally (not just root growth for instance). I'm excited about the phrags, they are REALLY liking it, and I hope to get some blooms from these plants this year.

Have not had the courage/time/? to try the few paphs that I have, and I'm just plain chicken to try the catts. I would like to put more of my encyclias into s/h.

Hope this helps.

[Jmoney]

I think that letting the plants get drier during the winter between waterings is beneficial and prevents root rot. the exceptions are the phrags, which I never let go more than a day without water in the reservoir.

[Gilda]

Hey again RVO forumites ! Since the first of the year I have been switching over ALL my orchids to SH..that will keep you busy !!
I switched phals in bud & bloom..they didn't skip a beat. I am seeing new growths on my slippers(hopefully they are putting down new roots ,too !) I did have a few problems with some medium that was soaked in bleach, and I didn't rinse it well enough and let it dry..I prefer Hydroton over the old Prime Agra...I think it allows more air between the roots. I grow my phrags in a bark mix SH style...it has worked really well !!
I will post pics later..I am in the process of getting my new puter up & running..loading pics etc.
Gilda

[Mehera]

Gilda, why did you go with bark instead of inert media for your S/H phrags?

[Gilda]

Gilda, why did you go with bark instead of inert media for your S/H phrags?

At the time I was potting phrags..I had no inert SH medium, and I was doing like Jmoney and had them sitting in trays of water...well, since I have to run a dehumidifier in the winter...I was creating even more humidity by having trays of open water sitting around. So hubby suggested we try using SH pots with the drain holes but use a bark mix(what we had on hand). Amazing results ! They have been in the mix for over one year now and I have not seen anything bad. Actually the ones in Barko ( what we call this method) has done better than the few I have put in inert medium since ?? I was told this would break down too fast and cause problems...bu as you can see from the pictures ..it looks like the roots are happy ! A Phrag Sedenii is pictured.

[Mehera]

Well the proof is in the pudding! :-) Can't argue with results like that. Very creative!

[uncasteeb]

If i was basically windowsill growing in the UK i would steer away from s/h for most plants , as JMoney pointed out the res getting very cold can cause a lot of problems.I have plants that have survived low 30's in s/h but basically they had no water in the res.
After watering i leave the pellets to soak for up to 1 hour then tip out the res.
I used to leave Phal's in my living room window over winter if they were flowering but after 2 of them developed root rot(being next to the window the temps do drop quite low) i keep them nice & warm in the grow room now.
The other growing conditions are more important IMHO than the medium .
I bought 3 Phal Gigabell seedlings , they were still in a compot & the bigest 1 had about a 3" LS.I put 2 in bark mix & the other in s/h.2 years on they are all doing fine , the 1 in s/h has the largest better looking leaves but 1 of the others has grown more leaves.Basically nothing proved.
s/h for me is quicker & easier to maintain the plants but it doesn't suit all my plants in my conditions.
Watering in my grow room takes just as long for the 1's in s/h as for the 1's in bark , they are in trays that empty into buckets.The thing is i don't have to gauge when the 1's in s/h need watering , doesn't matter what size pots they are in or what the pots are made of , if the res is low i water.
During the summer i water my Phrags every day in the evening(temps in the greenhouse go over 95f regularly), hopefully this keeps the roots cool over night & help to keep the plants rot free.

[Gilda]

.
I used to leave Phal's in my living room window over winter if they were flowering but after 2 of them developed root rot(being next to the window the temps do drop quite low) i keep them nice & warm in the grow room now.
.

What temps do you think is too cold for SH ? By letting the reservoir go dry the "rocks " are still moist though, right ?

[uncasteeb]

With water in the res i would think around 55f is probably the cut off point from experience with Phal,s.In bark i have had Phal's in the low 40's survive no problem.
Yes the pebbles do stay wet/damp when tipping the res out but @ least the roots are not sitting in very cold water for extended periods.