Growing Vanda Orchids in Semi-Hydro | Long Term Results (2 Years) in Semi-Hydroponic Grow System

[@CatNip379]

You did such a great job thank you so much for your information in your education and your patience and your beautiful ways about you ❤️💋

[@NicoleDeanna]

Thank you so much 😘🤗

[@michaelmccarthy4077]

That stupid Rainbow Stars _still_ hasn't bloomed for me. I gave up caring, it mostly didn't get fed last summer which caused it to drop some older leaves. Even that stress didn't push it to bloom. You should try the Kiwi bark. Fred is the main source but I don't think you need 50 liters of it. I think Yoshi still has it available on his site, it is the medium size which seems to work for everything I have put into it. With bigger pots, I mix it with either large sponge rock or growstone, but most of the plants are in just the bark. (seedlings I mix it with sphagnum and it works better than seedling bark for me)

[@NicoleDeanna]

I can't believe it lol. You probably have a specimen by now Michael!! I am going to try the kiwi bark. I'm tempted sometimes to go back to organic because semi hydro is more work to repot in general and the cattleyas grow so fast I still find it hard to keep up with watering, I should have done more larger self watering pots.

[@bettapalfish9057]

Hi Nicole! Thanks for this video. Neofinetias are not easy orchids. I have lost 3 of them. The strap leaves like yours is doing well in a plastic air cone pot with holes only on the bottom sides. I tried moss mound which did not work this summer at all. The bean leaf which are the cutest and hardest because their fans are so tight got bacterial rot. I have the original axis on one that is now giving me 4 new roots and a leaf. My other one is in ICU with no roots. I am now growing in the repot me Phal Imperial gold mix under grow lights. They are doing much better. Neos grow roots faster with the wet dry cycle. 3 to five days between watering. I hope your Neo grows better soon.

[@NicoleDeanna]

I hope your neos do better, thanks for sharing your experience! Hopefully this time next year you'll have blooms. Rooting for the ICU one, pun intended 🙂❤️

[@marygorchidsmore2058]

I definitely agree that semi-hydro doesn't suit every orchid and I have this experience too! I also switched back some of my orchids such as phals to moss, but I still have 4 or 5 vandacious in semi hydro that are ok so far but I will keep an eye for any issue. Thanks for sharing your experience and please do follow ups on your orchids. Happy growing.

[@NicoleDeanna]

Agreed! At first I thought it would work for a lot of things then I was proven wrong with certain types. The cattleyas seem to really like it though!

[@marygorchidsmore2058]

@@NicoleDeanna yes my cattleyas are doing well too! Some people grow every thing well in Leca such as Anabel and Nina but don’t know what they do differently!

[@SANDRA-ni3wi]

I have found my Neofinetia thrive when they have a wet dry cycle. I have one, a small seedling in bark, the other ones are on moss mounted in the Japanese style, which to me, in my growing environment (Western Europe) is ideal.

[@TheCasualBrian]

If you are really bad with plants but want to get into it what is a good orchid to start with? Are orchids really different from other plants. Should I start with another plant before I get into an orchid?

[@NicoleDeanna]

You could start with a Phalaenopsis Orchid. They aren't too hard to take care of. A pothos plant could be a better intro though because it's even easier than an orchid :))

[@yomairal2477]

This sounds an almost total repeat with my Chrisensonia vietnamica. Coco husk did not work either. It is now in a plastic bag with moss in my cabinet to see if in the humidity sprouts roots. Last resort to save it. I called it my airplane orchid since that was what the flowers reminded me of. Fingers cross for both of us.

[@NicoleDeanna]

I have some Vandas in cocohusk still and they are doing ok, but I find that it dries out too fast, so I'm going to repot this year with more moss. I hope yours makes it, and yes, the blooms look like an airplane ✈️ :)

[@jessicabey275]

I have a small Bangkok sunset in rehab with semi hydro (along with myco) and its finally showing improvement!

[@orchidsbythelake]

Don’t all wish we could grow Vandas potted… all kinds… The Vanda you gifted me is doing well though. I think it was ocean spray… it has not bloomed yet though. 🤔

[@NicoleDeanna]

I'm so glad ocean spray is doing well, mine died lol 🤣

[@orchidsbythelake]

@@NicoleDeanna ooohhh I am so sorry… well, the roots came off from the pot and grabbing onto the shelf… I can’t move it!!

[@innas9350]

Nicole! Thank you for this video! I was wondering about your neofinetia falcata in semihydro results. I bought few last summer, transferred to semi and since then-watching them slowly decline. Recently pulled them out, found they lost almost all their roots...after your video will be repotting them to organic TOMORROW! 😊

[@NicoleDeanna]

You're quicker than me :) I hope the all bounce back!!

[@ileanavalerio3637]

Great video Nicole, glad you caught that on time! Hope the new set up will work better for them. ❤👏👏👏🤩🌸🌞

[@NicoleDeanna]

Thank you ❤️

[@EileenWstCstGrl]

I had a Lou Sneary Bluebird for about 3 years that I grew in water totally by accident. It just seemed to love being wet so when I saw that it was dry, I would add water to the dish it was sitting in. It bloomed several times a year and made me very happy...until it died. My next one was a vanda falcata, bloomed once, sat in water for a year and died. I'm curious to see what happens when you repot.

[@NicoleDeanna]

It's interesting how they do right? You think they are happy, they bloom, then out of no where they decline! I guess wet dry cycles it is :)

[@marylawton7643]

I am growing 3 very small vanda types in the 3 D ping pots but I set them to fill up every day, this method is working brilliantly esp when I go away, my son waters my plants but he doesn’t need to touch these at all

[@marylawton7643]

Forgot to mention these are left bare root in the 3D ping pots tied to a stake or clipped to the side of the pot

[@NicoleDeanna]

That's amazing, I need to check this out!

[@marylawton7643]

@@NicoleDeanna they are quite expensive but worth it in my case I travel a lot and my tiny Vanda I bought back bare rooted from Singapore is very special to me I would be devastated if it died … I have two large Vanda’s that I keep hanging up bare rooted and plunge into water in a bucket every 3-4 days I live in the U.K.

[@janicelindegard6615]

I moved all my phals back to organic. Roots were rotting after two years in Leca. I may try moving some Cattleyas to semi-hydro just to make my watering life easier. Though watering is less of a hassle now that I work remotely.

[@NicoleDeanna]

The cattleyas and Dendrobiums do the best for me in semi hydro, but i keep my novelty phals in moss. I hope they all pull through!

[@zakuradragon]

I live in cold winter climate and tried to grow my Vanda Rhynchostylis Coelestis. It lost so many leaves over the past 8 months and has not been growing new roots even though it is in a bark mixture. The roots won't go into the bark, so I am not sure if I should repot it with a bark and moss mixture?

[@NicoleDeanna]

How often do you water? If it's losing leaves I'd try to water more and not disturb the roots until spring when hopefully it's a bit warmer, that's when new roots come usually. I hope it pulls through!

[@zakuradragon]

@@NicoleDeanna I water it every 3-4 days depending if there is moisture in the pot’s medium. I’ll try to water it more often and see how it progress from now to Spring. Thank you! :)

[@karlandreasen]

I haven't had much success with semi-hydro. I bought into the craze a few years ago and converted my entire collection, but nothing really thrived and a lot of things just straight up died. I tried it because, living in Denver where it is dry, I wanted to water less. To properly grow in semi-hydro, for me, I actually had to water more than I did in bark. I've switched back and am having better success.

[@NicoleDeanna]

I am having the most success with cattleyas but I agree with you, some of my semi hydro plants need water more frequently than others because the water reservoir dries up very fast. I'm tempted to move most things back over to bark. Species in particular can struggle, not all, some do very well, but repotting is also difficult sometimes. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[@shirleyholt898]

Thanks for sharing this information. My Neofinetia falcata Hisui is planted in moss with a layer of small orchiata bark . It’s never bloomed, but has a second fan now. Seems to be doing ok. Thanks again.🥰🤗❤️

[@NicoleDeanna]

I hope it blooms for you soon. The fragrance is really nice. I wish I could borrow it up in a perfume.

[@michelleslifeonrepeat]

Thanks for sharing. So much happens in two years.

[@NicoleDeanna]

Agreed ❤️

[@DanielRodriguez-dz6rp]

i would love to hear how your watercolor orchids are doing!

[@NicoleDeanna]

Which ones are the watercolor ones? Are they cattleyas? Lmk and I'll let you know :)