# Growing Paphs/Phrags in SEMI-HYDROPONIC culture



## paph_fan (Mar 19, 2009)

I wonder if anyone had any experience growing Paphs in semi-hydroponic culture? So far I'm thrilled with Phals, Phrags and Cats after repotting to semi-hydro. In fact with Phrags and Phals I would not consider anything else, with maybe few exceptions of several species, like Phal. schilleriana, which would like to stay more on the dry side. In fact after repoting some of my Phrags are blooming for more than year, I mean sequential ones, besseae primaries and complex. With Paphs, I’m still on the fence, repotted just a few, and bloom only one so far, Paph Magic Lantern. I also have Paph Deli Saint (Saint Swithin x delenatii) in spike, probably 2-3 weeks from opening on the first grow and 4-5 on the second one. I’ll be posting pictures as soon it’ll open.
:clap:


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## Gilda (Mar 19, 2009)

I have some paphs that have been very successful in SH, but others have not. At this point in my Sh experience (almost 2 years) I would not recommend SH for paphs..just too iffy in my opinion. The few paphs in my collection I did not convert to SH are still thriving,and blooming. A lot I put in SH are now in the trash can !:sob:

We grow phrags VERY successfully in SH .


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## NYEric (Mar 19, 2009)

Welcome to the forum. There have been numerous discussions posted here on the benefits/detriments to using Semi/hydro method and materials here. Personally I grow phrags hydro but not in s/h material strictly.


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## SlipperFan (Mar 19, 2009)

Mine did fine for about two year, then they started to decline. They are now out of S/H and in a diatomite and CHC mix, doing much better. But lots of folks here on this forum have good success with S/H.

Welcome to the forum. I'll look forward to seeing your photos.


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## Ernie (Mar 19, 2009)

fan,

We are tinkering with SH for Paphs too. Coryos (multiflorals, roths and friends) are taking to it very well, as are most of the Cochlos (successives, liemianum and friends). I'm not bold enough to try Parvis (delenatii and friends) in it yet. Brachys seem like they'll do okay too, but the ones we put in it this fall are still "resting" until spring- I have high hopes for them tho. Will put more Brachys in SH in the coming months. Search for my previous post on "Semi-Hydro Dabblings" and lots of posts by First Rays Ray B. We have two main growing areas, and one seems more appropriate for SH than the other. Phals are doing spectacular in SH BTW. IMO, everyones growing conditions are different- you'll just have to play around to see what works for you. 

-Ernie


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## snow (Mar 19, 2009)

i have found that the green strapleave paphs, ie insigne exul vilosum etc do extremely well in s/h


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## parvi_17 (Mar 20, 2009)

I have found that s/h is the ONLY way to grow Phrags well. However I have never tried it for Paphs; this is something I might try out in the near future.


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## smartie2000 (Mar 20, 2009)

sitting phrags in water is how I grow them.  I used to think caudatum types could not be sat in water, but they even do better sitting in water for me. I don't use S/h balls though, but I'm sure they would work well. 

I just tried paphs in S/H this fall so it might not be long enough to make good judgement. 

They seem to be happy for now. I unpotted and I didn't have any root loss. But don't put any old roots close to the base of the pot where the water source is or the old roots will rot. Some plants who weren't healthy to begin with, got better under S/H.
I think I might put other plants back into bark after my vaccation, some plants don't seem to necessarily be better off either. 

My paph maudiae-type hybrid seedlings look terrible in S/H. But my adult maudiae-types look ok. I'm not sure about this group of paphs yet in S/H for me, although I got one to bloom right now in S/H

I did try parvi in S/H and they are ok for now. I have paph magic lantern, paph maliopense, paph ho chi minh, paph vanda m pearman in S/H. As well as paph jackii seedling that is very happy (and paph maliopense has been growing well, it came to me as a rotting plant). No root loss on these plants, and new roots and leaves poking out this spring on all plants. (I hope a sheath soon...)
Paph. Pedro's Moon (Pinocchio x armeniacum) was looking very bad for some reason that I was unsure of, but now all of its leaves are healthy under S/H and quickly too.

I think S/H gives mixed results with paphs but I still have to figure things out, I have not screwed up terribly other than the maudiae-type seedlings

Edmonton water has high pH. I hope that is ok


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## smartie2000 (Mar 20, 2009)

snow said:


> i have found that the green strapleave paphs, ie insigne exul vilosum etc do extremely well in s/h



Thanks. Maybe I will try to put my large insigne clump that I've had for years into S/H. its not blooming and maybe I need to give it a change? The root system is huge, I'm not sure if I want to mess with it though. But it has lots of new growth this spring I'll think about it


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Mar 20, 2009)

Interesting that you don't think Phal schilleriana would grow well in SH....schilleriana is one of the few plants I have that thrives in SH. None of the paphs I tried survived. They would do well at first, put out several long roots, then decline and die.


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## Ray (Mar 21, 2009)

A question like "does it work" is sort-of like asking "how high is up?". Just too many variables.

All of these comments confirm the fact that "semi-hydroponic culture" (or whatever abbreviations you may choose) does not fully define the specific conditions, and those are what is important.

Dot apparently has issues with mineral buildup that leads to declines in a couple of years. I have plants that have not been repotted in 4- or 5 times that long with no issues.

Gilda considers paphs in S/H to be "iffy", while it's "automatic" for me. (Paphs were actually the first plants grown that way, and that's what led me to experiment further.)

On the other hand, I cannot grow a dendrobium that way to save my life, while many tell me they thrive that way!


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## Jim Toomey (Mar 21, 2009)

S/H with Prime-Agra works for me!












I've been using it for two-three years or so.
As I have the time, I put my new plants in S/H with Prime-Agra.
I understand everyone's situation is different, but I really think that following all of Ray's instructions are crucial to the success... especially about flushing with clear water... I flush my pots every Sunday and it seems to a definite factor of success.
Of course you have to prepare the P/A correctly to start with.
I do not have problems with build up of salts. I imagine if you do not flush as directed then you may have issues with buildup...

There is nothing magic about the P/A, it is a foothold for the roots and it wicks moisture very well, so the roots stay moist but not wet.

You may need to continue to experiment to find what media/methods will work best for your conditions and time available...

Jim


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## Kavanaru (Mar 21, 2009)

my experience... I am growing most of my plants in S/H (under T5 light)... before, I could not grow Phrags, and now I have Phrag wallissii im bloom (5 flowers), and Phrag fischerii spiking (2 buds), als Jason Fischer and lindenii are doing pretty well...

Paph, are also growing well in S/H. Actually, I started testing S/H with cheap NOID Maudiae type Paphs from teh supermarket and they loved it... just after that I moved most of them into S/H...

Cattleyas, Phalaenopsis, Dendrochillum and Catasetinaes do great for me in S/H too, and well as Coelogyne cristata and Dendrobium kingianum...


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## CodPaph (Mar 21, 2009)

very very nice bloom


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## Jim Toomey (Mar 21, 2009)

Thank you!

2me


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## eOrchids (Mar 23, 2009)

Majority of my Paphs and Phrags are in s/h. They all love the media.


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## Ernie (Mar 23, 2009)

paph_fan,

We could probably name each species and hybrid and will find at least one person that has had great success with it in SH and another that had the opposite result. I'd say, educate yourself on how to make SH work and give it a try. Experiment, and if your plants like how you do with it, try more. Even generalizing this discussion by saying "Semi-Hydro culture" is bogus because there are so many different media, fertilizers, containers, etc. Try it, if you want it to work, it will. 

-Ernie


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## Phrag-Plus (Mar 27, 2009)

Ernie said:


> paph_fan,
> 
> We could probably name each species and hybrid and will find at least one person that has had great success with it in SH and another that had the opposite result. I'd say, educate yourself on how to make SH work and give it a try. Experiment, and if your plants like how you do with it, try more. Even generalizing this discussion by saying "Semi-Hydro culture" is bogus because there are so many different media, fertilizers, containers, etc. Try it, if you want it to work, it will.
> 
> -Ernie



I'm agreeing with you Ernie,
I did get the chance to experiment S/H on my seedlings, I did put some in my regular mix and some in semi hydro, even the kovachii... It did not make any difference for me or a very slight difference but not in a constant way from one to other from the same cross... The winner for me with a very slight difference was to my own moss mix... 

But I have to mention something, because I do have lots of ventilation in my growing area, I did found than S/H surface, where the new roots emerge, was drying too fast. I did cheat a little by using a layer of my sphagnum mix as top dressing over the Leca pellets. The better of the two worlds...


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## SlipperFan (Mar 27, 2009)

Ray said:


> Dot apparently has issues with mineral buildup that leads to declines in a couple of years. I have plants that have not been repotted in 4- or 5 times that long with no issues.



I'm not sure that was the problem. Someone observed that when the roots fill the spaces between the pellets, they can no longer get air. That may have been my problem -- I should have repotted sooner perhaps.


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## Jimsox (Nov 19, 2009)

I think I'm going S/H. Any one in California successful (for the most part) with this?


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## Shiva (Dec 14, 2009)

*I moved on*

I also tried S/H for nearly every kind of orchids for two years, even vandas. I found that some do like it and others do not, and we can never tell which one. I still have a large Phrag. Inti's Tears in S/H. There're so many roots in the pot that I would need a crane to lift it out. Many plants did well but I got tired of trying to clean the algea developping in the transparent pots. And I hated it when a pot tipped over with all the pellets spraying out. My cats loved it when it happened but not me. Then if you've got a bunch of plants in S/H, another bunch in sphagnum moss, and a third one in a bark mix, tree fern mix or on plaques, the whole thing becomes very hard to manage, feed correctly and so on. I also had a phrag that loved S/H so much that it grew at least three times more roots than leaves. Now roots are fine, but I prefer flowers. These days, I use a mix of tree fern, bark, charcoal and sphagnum moss for everything not mounted, and I modify the content of the mix according to the water needs of the plants and how often I like to water.
And it's working very fine for me. There's one problem left: what to do with all the hydro pots I bought in the beginning?


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## Candace (Dec 14, 2009)

You can drill holes in the bottom of the pots to create drainage.


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## Bob in Albany N.Y. (Dec 14, 2009)

Well I did S/H longer then most. About 5 or 6 years to be exact. Things were great for me at first. I grow in a greenhouse and had problems once the algae started to grow in the pots and moss to grow over the tops of the pots. The last two year saw lots of death and many growing very slowly. I just repotted around 1,000 plants out of it and back into a bark mix. All I can say is go slowly and be ready to switch if the time ever arises.


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## NYEric (Dec 14, 2009)

Send some to me to help you re-pot Bob. oke: [I need a few emersonii and fairreianum crosses! :evil:]


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## Shiva (Dec 14, 2009)

*More holes*



Candace said:


> You can drill holes in the bottom of the pots to create drainage.



I use a hot nail to make holes in the bottom, but it will take awhile before I reuse them all. And many of my plants are too big to fit anyway. I found however that drilling holes in plastic may end in weakening fractures.


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## NYEric (Dec 14, 2009)

It shouldnt unless you drill too many or drill into the edge where the strength is..


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## Bob in Albany N.Y. (Dec 14, 2009)

Shiva, what we did is buy a cheap soldering iron from a craft shop. We always pushed it threw all the way past the pointed tip, so the barrel went in. At one point the tip broke off and that was even better. Just be sure to do it outside or at the very least in a place with lots of ventilation and a fan blowing the fumes away from you. We use the garage most of the time.


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## Candace (Dec 14, 2009)

I also use a cheap soldering iron.


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## SlipperFan (Dec 14, 2009)

Good idea. I'll have to try that. I've been using a drill, and it makes a mess around the edge of the hole.


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## Ernie (Dec 14, 2009)

We heat up one of the metal spike supports (or a coat hanger) on the gas stove then poke away. 

-Ernie


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## NYEric (Dec 14, 2009)

That's how I do it. Love the fumes! :crazy:


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## Ray (Dec 15, 2009)

If you want to drill and do so cleanly, buy a "Unibit". The tip cuts plastic without cracking it, and you can choose from several sizes of hole without changing.


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## Shiva (Dec 15, 2009)

*Fumes' all right*

Thank you everyone for your input. Next time I get in town I'll get a soldering iron for sure. As for the plastic fumes, I don't mind them too much. They remind me of the time, long ago, when I glued model ships and airplanes together. Boy!, that too was a great hobby.


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## Ernie (Dec 15, 2009)

Fumes = years of good health. (Translated: "please be careful!"). 

-Ernie


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## SlipperFan (Dec 15, 2009)

Ray said:


> If you want to drill and do so cleanly, buy a "Unibit". The tip cuts plastic without cracking it, and you can choose from several sizes of hole without changing.


Thanks, Ray. I wasn't familiar with this drill bit. I'll look for one.


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