newbie to semi hydro

[nikilafa]

Hi guys,
let me start by saying its been a long time since I jumped onto the forum. Great forum!

Well, surfing around the net I stumbled over semi hydroponics and was amazed at its simplicity, could this be true? Well I have taken the plunge and have gone out and bought some hydroton and made some pots and away I went. I have converted about 7 plants and have already lost one. Mind you it's only been a couple of weeks.

I'm a little concerned about location. They get some morning and late afternoon sun but I am finding that the hydroton is getting dry up top and I have been watering constantly. Could this be the problem, too much water?

My intention was to convert my 4 phrags to s/h after seeing the amazing healthy state the phrags on the website looked.

I'm getting a little nervous as to whether I should wait and see how the rest go or move my phrags now.

What to do, I'm so confused!

[Mehera]

Hi Nikilafa,

It doesn't seem right that newly transplanted plants would croak so quickly moving into s/h. My hunch is that you are watering too much. The media looks dry on top long before it dries out at root level.

Did you soak the pellets before using them? In general, instructions say to use well soaked pellets and then not to keep water in the reservoir for several weeks until the plants establish themselves and root growth starts. When I do this, I flush the pot well about once a week to keep moisture in there, but don't use the reservoir for several weeks.

Don't know about your light conditions. If I understand what you mean, most phrags would like a bit more light. And they would want to stay moist--more than most orchids. Was it a phrag you lost?

There are some who might disagree, but if you are in the northern hemisphere, going into winter isn't the best time to establish plants in s/h. Tends to be chilly and dark and dry. I have some paphs and phrags that I am going to overwinter in traditional media and put into s/h about next June when growth gets ramped up again.

[nikilafa]

Hi Lynda,

I lost an oncid. Have not transfered my phrags as yet. I'm in Australia and we are just heading into summer.

Must have missed the bit about no water in reservior until roots start developing. I will empty out now.

I have also transfered 1 cymbid to try.

A friend of mine has just relocated to HongKong for work and has given me his 2 paphs - 1 x mature plant and 1 x kiki(?). The kiki is not looking to good so I am going to transfer that to s/h and try to save it. Will let you know how I go.

Thankyou for helping.
Niki