# semi-hydro recommendations?



## likespaphs (Dec 20, 2008)

hi. i was looking for any thread in which the best candidates for semi-hydro were discussed. i tried to search but my search for "best semi hydro" didn't seem to give me any good results...
i finally got some semi-hydro media and am interested in throwing some of my stuff into it... well, potting stuff into it... but i didn't know which types of paphs respond best. i don't have a recent list of my stuff to peruse but...
thanks folks.


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## Gilda (Dec 20, 2008)

I don't know about a list but I find the multifloral paphs do really well for me in SH.
I have not had good luck with brachy/parvi but some members have. 
Maybe more members will chime in.


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## Rick (Dec 20, 2008)

As Gilda mentioned, I saw some posts a while back with some fantastic Brachies growing SH.

I use it for many phrags, but the only paph I have in SH that seems to be doing good is a tigrinum. I only have a couple of paphs in SH so its not much experience at all.


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## SlipperFan (Dec 20, 2008)

You should talk to RayB -- he is the S/H king: http://firstrays.com/


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## cnycharles (Dec 21, 2008)

we had joe kunisch at our orchid society christmas dinner this month, and he had tried everything in s/h and said that he had not very good luck (he has mostly paphs and phrags plus some odds and ends and other things that are bought in to sell at shows that never were in s/h). he no longer likes it and is trying to get rid of his unused pellets, but we were talking with a few other people and one of the things discussed was that if the plants could be kept warm enough then they would have been a lot happier, especially if they had had bottom heat. members I've seen or heard from here are often from warmer spots or they keep their areas fairly warm seem to have better luck. I've had a spicerianum, a hirsutissimum seedling and a few others in s/h and they are alive but certainly not jumping out of their pots. of course that could be my general culture, too! I think if they were warmer that would help a lot


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## likespaphs (Dec 21, 2008)

thanks. i'll try some multiflorals first. should i try my current pride and joy, Paul Parks, even though it hasn't yet bloomed?


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## john mickel (Dec 21, 2008)

*Media*

Once again - When you talk to the remaining suppliers and award winners - they all use traditional bark mixes to win all the awards -j


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## cnycharles (Dec 21, 2008)

(smile) Joe keeps his greenhouse cooler in the winter, so his environment then wouldn't be conducive to s/h culture. bark is also probably the easiest thing to get in quantity and quality for a bigger grower, in a greenhouse environment and all that. they would not have the time or interest to piddle around with many different media; one size fits all as much as possible. greenhouses can often have warm and cold spots, wet and dry spots where you can shift different plants around to try and make them happier. also a bigger grower has more options likely during travel and other growers/buyers coming by to get really nice plants, and if they are decent growers anyhow with lots of plants one would hope eventually that a few plants would end up getting an award! 

us smaller fish get a plant here and there and usually have less options when it comes to finding a spot where something will be happy. also likely to have time options to try a few plants in this and that, and most home or small growers unless they have gotten really creative with something have a much smaller chance at having something award quality and doing something positive with it. there are exceptions but most small growers aren't going to get very many awards; the odds just aren't there


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## Candace (Dec 21, 2008)

> Once again - When you talk to the remaining suppliers and award winners - they all use traditional bark mixes to win all the awards -j




I guess I'm an exception to your rule, then. All my awards have been in semi hydro. I would say the reason more awards are granted to people growing in traditional methods is due to probability. Many more people grow in bark and traditional mixes, so of course the odds of them winning an award is higher.


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## Heather (Dec 21, 2008)

Make SURE the roots are actively growing. Anything I put in S/H that didn't have new root growth did not do well.


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## likespaphs (Dec 21, 2008)

right. i'm gonna soak the media for a day in ray's recommendation of calcium nitrate and epsom salts then soak it for maybe a day in rooting hormone then plant.


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## biothanasis (Dec 21, 2008)

Interesting treatment of the mix!!! Hmmmm.......!!!!


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## Ray (Dec 21, 2008)

Once again, this thread points out the obvious - but often overlooked - *FACT* that semi-hydroponics _does not_ fully define all of the cultural conditions necessary for successful growth of plants.

Joe Kunische's situation of being too cold in the winter, for example, is not a problem with s/h, but a problem with Joe's need to save on heating costs. The drier, less evaporative nature of bark is likely a far better medium _for his conditions_.

When Walter Off concocted his "hair-brained" idea of a medium, folks who "knew it all", who were used to osmunda chunks as the standard medium, poo-pooed it, too. (I will not, for any reason, consider myself to be on par with Walter, his family, or any professional grower, for that matter, but is does serve as a decent analogy of the cultural change option.)


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## TADD (Dec 22, 2008)

Who is Walter Off? Off to google....


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## GaryB (Dec 22, 2008)

Heather said:


> Make SURE the roots are actively growing. Anything I put in S/H that didn't have new root growth did not do well.



Of course there are always exceptions to the rule. I had a triginum that was not doing well that had lost all roots. Stuck it in S/H using the smaller 'rocks' and within a month it has two new growths and roots.


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## Ernie (Dec 22, 2008)

Once again, I dare say that you can make anything work for growing orchids- just depends on how much time, energy, and money you want to spend on the situation. I think a lot of folks fail with s/h because they don't flush when they water. In our brief experience with it, we see better results when we fill the cup/pot all the way to the top and let it drain back down on its own. Don't just fill up to the holes. That being said, we mostly have phals in it now. The couple Brachys are also doing great, but since Paphs grow slower than Phals, will be a while til I can say for sure. Will do multis in it next- they seem to root up quick and will adjust to the switch. 

-Ernie


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## NYEric (Dec 22, 2008)

Argh! no comment.


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## Ray (Dec 22, 2008)

Actually - my mistake - it was George Off, founder of Brighton Farms (later Waldor Orchids), who had the '"crazy" idea of blending bark ships, moss, perlite, etc., for use as an orchid potting medium. It used to be commonly known as "Off Mix".

Read more here


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## Inverness (Dec 22, 2008)

*Watering Semi Hydro*

It's very true that one aspect of orchid culture does not make for success or failure, but (at least for me) thorough and bountiful application of water is necessary for success in this media. I have an assortment (over 350) paphs, phal, catts and others in S/H. All under lights in my basement. All watered with a hose (very liberally) about once per week. Floor drains take care of the excess. I use about 100 gallons of water per irrigation, all RO. I can't imagine this product working very well utilizing a watering can and saucers, but if one had enough patience and just a few plants, anythings possible. Happy Holidays!

Ken B.


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## Ray (Dec 23, 2008)

Yes, I am a subscriber to the "fire hose" watering technique, as well.


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## cnycharles (Dec 23, 2008)

Ray said:


> Yes, I am a subscriber to the "fire hose" watering technique, as well.



LOL - I would subscribe to that technique gladly, if it weren't for the carpeting and rental deposit that I would lose as a result (smile). easier to use that hose for cleaning things out as well instead of fussy vacuum cleaners, spray bottles and paper towels etc (greenhouses have an advantage to be sure in that respect)


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## likespaphs (Dec 26, 2008)

okay. i finally got around to soaking the media last night in the calcium nitrate/epsom salts mix. i plan to drain today, then soak overnight with k-l-n then pot tomorrow. 
i was a little worried that i should get some finer grade prime agra but according to this page, i don't have to...
thanks for the resources Ray.


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## likespaphs (Dec 26, 2008)

also, any thoughts on whether or not to throw a Michael Koopowitz into it? it's one growth that's dying back (flowered last year), seems to have great roots but hasn't sent off a new growth....


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## Ray (Dec 26, 2008)

The reasoning behind coarse- versus fine grade is as follows:

If we start by theorizing uniformly-sized, perfectly spherical particles, the packing density will be identical no matter what the size of the particles, leaving an open volume of about 40%. (Fill a room with basketballs or ping-pong balls, and it's the same. You can do the math yourself.) However, the *size* of the open spaces will be smaller with the use of smaller particles.

As the particles move away from being perfect spheres, and the sizes become less uniform - that is, closer to reality in potting media - the less open volume there will be in the pot. (That, by the way, applies to all types of media, not just LECA.)

It is through those open spaces that the roots "breathe", but the roots also grow into those spaces. So...if the spaces are too small, the roots fill them and basically suffocate themselves!

There is no problem growing Michael Koopowitz in semi-hydroponics, but I can pretty much guarantee - based upon your description of the plant - that yours will not survive. S/H is a way to grow plants, not a way to rescue sick ones (although that is sometimes the perception, as it can compensate for some cultural shortcomings).


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## Candace (Dec 26, 2008)

I don't switch plants (especially paphs) over to s/h in the winter. Maybe you can keep them warm enough as an inside grower that they're not set back. But, for me the root loss and temps in the winter don't work in my favor. I try to wait until active growth during the Spring and Summer.


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## likespaphs (Dec 27, 2008)

Ray said:


> ... S/H is a way to grow plants, not a way to rescue sick ones (although that is sometimes the perception, as it can compensate for some cultural shortcomings).




what'd you call me?

how cool is too cool? if i usually get down to 55 as winter lows, is that too low? or, as long as i keep seeing active growth is it okay to repot?


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## Ray (Dec 27, 2008)

Did I call you something???

If your relative humidity is low, the evaporation from the open medium will exhibit some evaporative cooling.

I prefer to keep newly-potted plants above 65° for a few weeks, warmer if possible.


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