i've found CHC is great for deflasking and giving plants a jump-start. but then after 6 months i switch to bark.
Hengduan flasks with a side of terror
- Thread starter silence882
- Start date
Help Support Slippertalk Orchid Forum:
When I grew in the house, I used a CHC mix and never had any trouble with die back. Seedlings were repotted when ready to move up to a larger size, usually around a year, and large plants were repotted every two years. The moisture retention in the chips was ideal for the drier conditions in the house. Once every six to eight weeks I flushed the pots with straight R/O water or a dilute mix of magnesium sulfate. When I did water, I always watered heavily, completely drenching the entire pot. Following this routine, I did not experience any noticeable problems with toxicity due to the mix.
Because I now grow in a greenhouse that has much higher humidity, I've switched to a less moisture retentive mix using Kiwi Bark as its base. I still add a small amount of CHC and it is interesting how the roots seem to find (almost seek out) the CHC chunks.
L
Lmpgs
Guest
Good luck. They are looking healthy and vigorous.
Stella
Well-Known Member
Wish you the best luck !!!
Thanks, everyone, for all the nice comments! The terror has abated substantially in the past 6 months.
I have had good luck with CHC. I water heavily all the time with a dilute fertilizer in every watering (1/8 tsp/gal of Ray's mix for pure water with my R/O water). I will occasionally do pure water to mix things up. Root growth has been great with CHC often resulting in plants that look comically over-potted for their LS. The CHC has retained water for longer periods than bark for me so it works well with my Phrags. I do have some Paphs in a bark mix, but they'll probably all be switched out to CHC at some point.
--Stephen
I have had good luck with CHC. I water heavily all the time with a dilute fertilizer in every watering (1/8 tsp/gal of Ray's mix for pure water with my R/O water). I will occasionally do pure water to mix things up. Root growth has been great with CHC often resulting in plants that look comically over-potted for their LS. The CHC has retained water for longer periods than bark for me so it works well with my Phrags. I do have some Paphs in a bark mix, but they'll probably all be switched out to CHC at some point.
--Stephen
14 Month update! All the compots are 3.5" pots.
Glacial is how I would describe the growth of the tigrinums. However, I've somehow managed to keep the 5 healthy seedlings alive.
I haven't had any more mortality in the vejvarutianums. They're not fast growers, but the new leaves have a nice heavy substance.
The emersoniis are the most robust seedlings of the 4 flasks I got from Hengduan.
The humboldtiis are doing well. These guys seem to have a lot of lower leaf die back though which has slowed the growth of the seedlings.
I also have a couple other compots developing.
Here are the 9 seedlings I kept of Phrag. besseae fma. flavum from a flask from Chuck Acker that I got 16 months ago.
I got a flask of Phrag Evening Blaze in the same order from Chuck.
Lastly, some Paph. tranlienianum that I got as a flask from Than Nguyen 16 months ago. These guys are super slow growers for me, but the new leaves have a nice, thick substance to them so I'm not despairing.
And here is my tiny grow area. 8 square feet in the kitchen!
Glacial is how I would describe the growth of the tigrinums. However, I've somehow managed to keep the 5 healthy seedlings alive.
I haven't had any more mortality in the vejvarutianums. They're not fast growers, but the new leaves have a nice heavy substance.
The emersoniis are the most robust seedlings of the 4 flasks I got from Hengduan.
The humboldtiis are doing well. These guys seem to have a lot of lower leaf die back though which has slowed the growth of the seedlings.
I also have a couple other compots developing.
Here are the 9 seedlings I kept of Phrag. besseae fma. flavum from a flask from Chuck Acker that I got 16 months ago.
I got a flask of Phrag Evening Blaze in the same order from Chuck.
Lastly, some Paph. tranlienianum that I got as a flask from Than Nguyen 16 months ago. These guys are super slow growers for me, but the new leaves have a nice, thick substance to them so I'm not despairing.
And here is my tiny grow area. 8 square feet in the kitchen!
SlipperFan
Addicted
Looks good, Stephen. But what will you do when they grow up???
Thanks for the update.
I'm in awe of your growing area and your results. WOOHOO!
looking good...congrats on the tigs!
M
MaryPientka
Guest
Looking good!
Probably get yelled at when my wife comes home and a second level of orchid space has magically appeared above the first.
If you enclose them in a tent (dark plastic), nobody would be able to see inside and notice a second story
SlipperFan
Addicted
I tried to come up with a good reply but decided I'd just end up getting myself in trouble :>
SlipperFan
Addicted
Sometimes silence is golden.Migrant13
Mature growth?
Looking good. Thanks for sharing the progress.
25 month update!
I think I've finally dialed in my fertilizer regimen so the leaves have greened up nicely. Although I think I lost about 6 months of growing time to a lack of fertilizer in 2015. The colors in the photos below are a little wonky since my grow lights don't put out a clean white.
The tigrinums are slow but they're growing and healthy.
The vejvarutianums are slow too, but there's 1 odd plant in the bunch that's especially vigorous.
The 4 emersoniis I've kept are doing well, although they're not liking the new fertilizer regime. I've just put them back on pure water.
The humboldtiis are slow, but they're growing well and the leaves are good and thick.
Here are the two compots from Chuck Acker 27 months ago.
The Phrag besseae flavums are growing nicely. They really like the new fertilizer.
I am not doing well at all with the Phrag. Evening Blaze. They have responded to the new fertilizer so I'm waiting to see what happens.
I got a flask of Phrag. Manzur la Aldea from Chuck 16 months ago. They're doing better on the new fertilizer too.
The tranlienianums from Than are still slow at 27 months, but have nice thick leaves.
I got a flask of Phrag. Glen Decker (Jason Fischer x kovachii) from Orchid Zone 8 months ago. They were deflasked pretty small (as John recommends), but I haven't lost any and they're growing well. The flask was packed and I got a lot of good seedlings out of it. However, the little ones in the top right aren't really growing and are probably gonna get tossed.
Lastly, I got a flask of Paph. parishii from Sam at Orchid Inn 6 months ago. I am quite happy with how vigorous they are as I have always heard that parishii is glacial.
--Stephen
I think I've finally dialed in my fertilizer regimen so the leaves have greened up nicely. Although I think I lost about 6 months of growing time to a lack of fertilizer in 2015. The colors in the photos below are a little wonky since my grow lights don't put out a clean white.
The tigrinums are slow but they're growing and healthy.
The vejvarutianums are slow too, but there's 1 odd plant in the bunch that's especially vigorous.
The 4 emersoniis I've kept are doing well, although they're not liking the new fertilizer regime. I've just put them back on pure water.
The humboldtiis are slow, but they're growing well and the leaves are good and thick.
Here are the two compots from Chuck Acker 27 months ago.
The Phrag besseae flavums are growing nicely. They really like the new fertilizer.
I am not doing well at all with the Phrag. Evening Blaze. They have responded to the new fertilizer so I'm waiting to see what happens.
I got a flask of Phrag. Manzur la Aldea from Chuck 16 months ago. They're doing better on the new fertilizer too.
The tranlienianums from Than are still slow at 27 months, but have nice thick leaves.
I got a flask of Phrag. Glen Decker (Jason Fischer x kovachii) from Orchid Zone 8 months ago. They were deflasked pretty small (as John recommends), but I haven't lost any and they're growing well. The flask was packed and I got a lot of good seedlings out of it. However, the little ones in the top right aren't really growing and are probably gonna get tossed.
Lastly, I got a flask of Paph. parishii from Sam at Orchid Inn 6 months ago. I am quite happy with how vigorous they are as I have always heard that parishii is glacial.
--Stephen
Looking really good!!
