Lava Rock for Orchids in Semi Hydro | How does it work? Limitations | Best Practices

[@NinjaOrchids]

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[@rhondadunn4228]

Wow! Great information! Thank you for the link!

[@NinjaOrchids]

HI Rhonda 😍💐 woohoo!! I am so glad that you took me up on the suggestion to this video, AND that it was useful!! One thing is what I perceive to be a helpful link, but it may miss the mark to the viewer seeking the information 😅 thank you so much for letting me know and thank you so much for watching! Truly appreciate you 🫶🏼❤️🌸

[@ingridfoessl1075]

Thank you for sharing, have a great day.

[@NinjaOrchids]

Ingrid, hi 😍💐 thank YOU so much for watching 🫶🏼 I hope that spring has finally arrived for you and that you are able to enjoy the season! Have a blessed Friday, lovely lady 🫶🏼🌸

[@MsHDDriver]

Wonderfully informative video tyvm! I'd not considered rock to root size previously. I'd recycled some grill lava rocks gluing them together for an orchid mount setup and the roots love it. I've also tossed them into my patio water feature as a root anchor for plants... Works great as they don't float. Again thank you for the inspiration🪷

[@NinjaOrchids]

Hi MsHD 😍🎄 welcome!! I have not seen you here before, so a warm warm welcome and a massive thank you for being here, for watching and for your kind feedback. I truly appreciate all of it! Thank YOU!! I am glad that this video had some intel in it that you can work with and possibly apply with some of your orchids! I love the idea of the glued together lava rock to use as a mount. That is inspired!! 👍🏼 What a wonderful added new intel to add to the comments for everyone to take advantage of if they want to do the same for their orchids. 🫶🏼 Hope you are having a great week, leading up to Christmas and that it is all coming together beautifully, above all, stress free 🥰🎄

[@robertforrest7956]

I've got lots of rocks in my backside, not sure how'd they do for semi-hydro though... 😏😂 Very interesting video Nina, even if I don't grow semi-hydro with my mini's. But I have had some growers ask about it and I direct them your way of course. 😅 And congratulations again on your new beauty in bloom!!! 🎉🎉🎉. Well the heat is back on here, yesterday was 75, today possible 80s and into the 90s by this weekend. 🥵 Hope the snow pack doesn't decide to melt all at one time, floods will be everywhere out here. 😱 Have an Awesome evening, and I'll catch you later Ninadile 🐊... 🦇 (emoji changes) by Google........

[@NinjaOrchids]

🦋🦇😍 not all rocks work in SH!! For sure!! 😂 I love the sincorana and am so relieved that she is not mislabelled! That, in itself is worth a cartwheel around the patio! 🤸🏼‍♀️ it has been weird up and down temperatures for you guys! And yes, trust and believe, that snow melt is going to happen all at once. Because.... why not? More chaos! 🙄 google is having a wonderful time reinventing itself and leaving a lot of things 'questionable'! Until things fall into place, many funky things are happening and I am honestly not going to pull out the last hairs I have because of it, but it is so frustrating! Especially for someone like me that struggles with change and hopes to have done the right thing behind the scenes to ensure correct settings. My google account just asked me to update a few things and I had to go to law school to figure out what they want me to do this time around 🙄🧐 I have serious trust issues 🤓 thank you so much for sending folks my way when they have questions that you feel you can entrust my channel and info to them. I so appreciate it! The wind beneath my backside... no wait... thats not how it goes... The wind beneath my wings! THERE! 🤣🤣🦇🫶🏼❤️ you have a wonderful rest of your day, Robert 🌸

[@robirobinson3602]

Thank you so much for this timely video Nina! It sent me down a lava rock rabbit hole, and watched other videos you have on the subject. I recently used lava rock (and large perlite pieces) for a Vanda densoniana that had been on an inorganic mount. I was also able to get a black pot that has extra aeration slots down the sides. (Not a net pot.) I added a water level indicator in case, I could sit it in an outer mask with a reservoir. Right now I just have it sitting on a regular plant tray for lots of extra air around the sides. I'll see how it does over the next couple months, and my ability to keep it hydrated yet drying quickly enough to keep this small Vanda happy. Thanks again Nina! Have a beautiful day dear one! 🙏😘🤗💖

[@NinjaOrchids]

HI Robi 😍💐 thank YOU so much for also watching this video, I so appreciate it 🙏🏼 happy to hear that this was helpful and well, by the sounds of it, your denisoniana is set up for a happy life. You are going to love the fragrance... she is not shy about her fragrance either! An absolute joy👍🏼👍🏼❤️🌸

[@pixie2488]

Hi Nina First of all thanks for this video this is really helped me with my new setup. I am new with semi hydro. I start collecting my cattleya collection this winter so I don’t really have experience with them. After I see you are using lava rocks in your collection I decided to put them all in lava rocks classic semi hydro because 1- I cannot find leca in Cyprus 2- we have similar weather in Cyprus also Cyprus have really dry and really hot summers basically it’s like an and any organic media will be difficult to keep watering. So I needed some kind of setup which give me few day to water and keep the pot moist for a while. That’s why I go for lava rock in all my cattleya. I think I have about 20-25 of them now in a pot with lava rock and I have an hole on the side of the pot to create a reservuar. I am planning to keep them in the garden this summer under pine trees in light shade because we have really strong sun. My question is I think we have really similar Mediterranean weather. Do you think are they gonna be ok in the garden during the winter are you leaving all your cattleya out door all winter?

[@NinjaOrchids]

Pixie, hi 😍💐 good to see you! I hope that you are doing well 🫶🏼 thank YOU so much for watching and for your comment, letting me know that it was helpful! It is always so encouraging to read comments that confirm the information was helpful, so, thank YOU! 🙏🏼 if your winter temperatures at night drop below 15ºC, then your cattleyas have to come inside for the nights. If your days are sunny and bright, even if your temperatures are around 18ºC during the day, then you will need to check and see if your cattleyas can take the winter sun without burning. My winter night temperatures drop to 5ºC and sometimes my days do not go any higher than 14ºC, so I don't bring my orchids out on the days that are that cool. I am going to link a comprehensive video on My Conditions for all seasons kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnOcnmaCipJria8 maybe you will see similarities with your climate and can match what I do, to be on the safe side. Supplemental light is super advantageous during the winter, but, if you don't want to do that, then bring your orchids outside for as much natural light as possible. Let me know if the linked video helps out with more in depth details or if it prompts other questions 👍🏼 hope your Saturday was beautiful, Pixie 🫶🏼❤️🌸

[@lookthrumyeyes]

Thanks so much for this one. Comes at a time when I'm slowly introducing lava rock in my collection and in the process of gradually transitioning to full lava rock in some time. Some very useful & pertinent points clarified

[@NinjaOrchids]

HI! 😍💐 it is so good to see you again! Thank you so much for watching and for your feedback 🫶🏼 I love it when a video coincides with something someone is doing with their orchids and then also answers some questions, confirms some things etc. So, thank you for letting me know 👍🏼 it always feels so good to read comments like your's! Your 'chiddos are going to LOVE their new media 👍🏼 wishing you a fabulous Friday ❤️🌸

[@lookthrumyeyes]

@@NinjaOrchids Thank you so much for kind words. Your detailed videos are so useful for all orchidists. And such warmth & personal touches all along - simply enjoy them. Keep up the amazing work & keep inspiring us 🙂

[@NinjaOrchids]

🫶🏼

[@michaelmccarthy4077]

I dunno, the red lava rock that I get here looks the same as yours and it does wick. It isn't terribly efficient at it, but if I set a pot of dry lava rock in a saucer of water, it will slowly wick up through the pot (but never reaches the surface). The black lava, on the other hand, does not wick but this is really inconsequential because there is something about the black that orchid roots do not like AT ALL. (I had hoped at one time to be able to use the black because it is 1/2 the weight of the red). In any case, good information to help people that want to use it. I chose to give it up because of the root damage during repot. It was just easier to use bark and replace it rather than destroy a root system every time I wanted to repot an orchid.

[@NinjaOrchids]

Don Miguel 🥰💐 hola jefe! I find that there may be a little dispersion of the water in the pot, as it rises, but I am not sure if I would say it actually wicks, but maybe with smaller pieces, there is a wicking effect 🤷🏼‍♀️ interesting to know about the black lava rock! I did not know that, thank you for adding that here. I have not seen black lava rock available here... wow... good to know because I would have picked the black bag at first sight if that had been an option and while it would still work out, maybe not as effectively as with the red. Awesome nugget of intel, thank you, Michael. The repot.... goodness me, a nightmare yes! I remember the first orchids I repotted. The coilostylis was only removed of so much lava rock because I divided it for The Orchid Room... my oerstedii probably still has some pieces of lava rock in the centre when I moved it into leca. Now I can start snipping away at division on that one but wow.... the root damage is exponential. Meanwhile, if I were still in Kenya... advanced the collection to pots ... that would be a dream... even just to have the orchids in the coral parts that were like rocky formations in the garden, secure and add lava rock for funsies! Sigh!! 🥹 thank you so much for watching, my friend! Your support is so very much appreciated 🙏🏼🫶🏼❤️🌸

[@PatSFreund]

Thanks! I enjoyed watching this video before repotting some orchids in plastic pots with lava rock. Finding that using clay pots isn't serving me well as I age. They're getting too heavy for me. Found some round plastic pots with cone shaped aerated liners. Want to try them. I am using acrylic yarn (leftover from crocheting) from which I've made a crocheted chain as the wick.

[@NinjaOrchids]

Hi Pat 😍💐 thank YOU, for watching and taking a moment to leave your feedback and your take on lava rock with clay pots!! You are so right, it really gets heavy very quickly and to use acrylic yarn and diy your wick, is genius! Really appreciate that you would add that very useful and effective solution in the comments here for anyone to take inspiration from 🫶🏼 hope your day was beautiful, lovely lady! Thank you so so much for your time and support ❤️🌸

[@andreaallum8859]

Never tried anything but bark cause I grow indoors. I do drive wet cycle on my own kids and they are happy so I think I’ll leave it might try one day on one small orchid. I have two small orchids and they’re taking forever to grow as they call a mini your kids don’t know if they’re gonna flower but they’ve got some new boots new leaves so they must be happy. Catch you soon❤😊

[@NinjaOrchids]

😍Andrea, hi 💐 so kind of you to also watch this video! Thank you 🫶🏼 as long as your orchids are doing what they should do, the media of choice is perfect for you! Also... those little ones, they sound like they are doing great as well... it is only a question of time. New roots / new leaves.... sounds perfect to me 👍🏼 🫶🏼🌸

[@JosePerez-mf3fj]

Buenas noches Nina . Muchas gracias por ru aportación cadadia una cosita mas .❤. Que tengas una linda semana . 🌜🌜🌞🌞

[@NinjaOrchids]

¡Hola, José! 😍💐Te agradezco por ver el video y por tu comentario. ¡Me alegro de poder agregar algo a tus tardes, días y cuando te tomes un momento para visitar mi canal y ver los videos! 🫶🏼 ¡Muchas gracias por todo lo que haces por el canal! Espero que ya estés teniendo un gran día.🙌🏼❤️🌸

[@josejkoonthanam]

Buenos dias..Impressive, informative video as always Nina.Feliz miercoles.Mantente segura.Cuidarse.

[@NinjaOrchids]

¡Hola Jose! 😍💐 thank you, muchas gracias, asante sana, danke schön!! Of course I have not heard back from KZbin about my enquiry about comments disappearing, but I am glad to see that your comment, today, stayed after the first try! So, I want to reply as soon as I saw it, in case it disappears again 🙄😘 thank you so much for watching, Director! I hope that your morning was fabulous and that you are already having a wonderful afternoon 🫶🏼❤️🌸

[@FernandaNascimentoOrchids]

🦒🙌💖🙋‍♀🌷 I have been using lava rock, more and more in my wet/dry cycle method of cultivation. I still haven't dared using it by it's own and I usually add a little bit of cocchips to keep humidity in the pot for a while longer. Orchiata bark is no longer available here but I do not mind it at all. The latest orchiata bark I had bought was not a good stuff anymore. Quite happy with the lava rock as it is. Thanks for pointing out all the pros and cons. Have awonderful day amiga mia 🥰🥰😍😍😘😘

[@NinjaOrchids]

FFF 😍🙌🏼🤸🏼‍♀️🥰💐 good morning!! (if I type fast enough) 🤣 I think it is such a wonderful material and not expensive for what it can do, how versatile it is. If I grew all my orchids outdoors no matter the season, no matter the pot size, it would all be lava rock. I love the stuff... except the occasion repot. But as it would only be occasional, it would not really matter. Good stuff all around 👍🏼👍🏼 I appreciate you so much, amiga mia! Thank you so much for watching. Knowing that you already know what I might say... thank you for watching ❤️ have yourself a beautiful day, in your beautiful garden, with your beautiful blooms, with your beautiful wildlife and domestic life 🥰🐾😻🫶🏼🌸

[@larryjones558]

💕💕

[@NinjaOrchids]

Larry!! 😍💐 hi! Its good to see you again! I hope that you are doing well 🫶🏼 thank you for watching and leaving a sign of life and such a heart warming one 🥰 have yourself a wonderful day 🫶🏼❤️🌸

[@joyousorchids]

Definitely useful. I use lava rock, as you know. I especially use it - if the orchid has the word “lithophytes” associated with it, or it’s parents. Or when you hear “some are lithophytes….”. Mine aren’t in a semi-hydro set up though. That’s the main difference in the way I use it. Great video, M’dear 🌿💚🌿

[@NinjaOrchids]

Hi 🌸🥷🏼Sharon San 😍🤸🏼‍♀️🙌🏼🥰💐 yep.... lithophytes and boom! If I were in Kenya, not having to move pots, and my trees were a 'little' full... I would not do semi hydro, but the orchids would be in lava rock. The rain & humidity would do the rest. Match made in orchid heaven 👍🏼 Thank you so much for watching 🌸🥷🏼 I hope that your day was fabulous and if you only see this in the morning, I wish you a terrific Thursday 😘🫶🏼🌸

[@mariaestrada8040]

Hi Nina, I am trying leca, lava rock, and pumice. What do you think about pumice??? I just ordered akadama looking forward to see how it does. Thanks for your videos very educational.

[@NinjaOrchids]

Hi Maria 😍💐 thank you for your feedback and for watching, I appreciate the encouragement and support 🫶🏼 I have 1 or 2 orchids in pumice, because I had it lying around for years and wasn't using it as leca and lava are my go to. However, to not have stuff lying around, I potted up an Oncidium Alliance orchid in pumice only and it really enjoys the self watering with pumice. Never had an issue with it, and 3 years later, it is going to need to be repotted at some point in time. So, for really thirsty orchids, and my oncidium is medium sized, it is working great. When it comes to repotting, I am not buying more pumice just for this orchid and I do not have intentions of using it more often. I am a little wary of how porous it is, will the roots suffer damage when I repot because they have attached to the pumice and make it complicated to remove some of the dead ones? Those have been my thoughts on it since I potted this orchid up. I know that lava rock can cause damage, but I have found that if there are dead roots to contend with, even with lava rock, it comes off really easily, so I am not as bothered about it anymore. I do not remove all the media when I repot and don't force media off of viable roots. Is pumice a good filler for organic media mixes as well? I say yes, however, it will always float until roots start to hold it in place. Flushing my oncidium pot after repotting was a little bit of a nuisance because the pumice kept dislodging until the roots started to anchor themselves to it. Not sure if any of what I said was helpful, so if you have specific thoughts as to how you want to use it, where and with which orchid, please let me know and I can break it down even further 😊 hope you are having a wonderful week, Maria!! ❤️🌸

[@mariaestrada8040]

Thank you so much for all this information. I will keep that in mind. I started to use it because Anabel from, the orchid room is using it, and I thought I give it a try. And than I saw your videos on lava rock and decided to try that also. Now I mentioned to you before that I have lots and lots of orchids in super old media's, that's why I am trying in inorganic media so I don't repot that often. I think I have around 350 or 400 orchids to repot. I do a little each day . Anyway thank you for all your orchid videos super helpful. I will be fertilizing them also. They have not been fed. Can you believe that. Poor orchids they need so much help. But I will take care of all them. Most of them are Phals. Thanks again.

[@mariaestrada8040]

Have a great weekend.

[@juxtageist]

Hi Nina, I have a Prosthechea cochleata that has outgrown its 9" ceramic pot with bark. The plant has full bulbs outside the pot and a forest of ariel roots. It blooms consistently. I live in a semi arid climate with humidity between 15 and 30% depending on the time of year. So I started looking for a set up that would provide consistent moisture and humidity and came across your channel and I'm grateful for all your content..I've been been binge watching gor some time now. In one of your videos you said you wouldn't use lava rock in a pot larger than 6". Could you point me to a video (because I'm sure you have one bit I can't seem to find it) on your method of growing large specimen orchids? I'm looking to move away from bark to something that provides consistent water and humidity. As well as reduces the periodic media maintenance requirements. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into your channel. Keep up the good work.

[@CinnaSpicey]

Is there a difference between the black and the red lava rocks?

[@NinjaOrchids]

Hi! 😍💐 welcome! I have not seen you here before, so first of all, a warm warm welcome and secondly, thank you for watching. I appreciate the support 🫶🏼 when it comes to growing orchids, there is no difference. Colors and textures are influenced by rate of cooling, source material, etc, etc. Just wash them well and you will be good to go. Some say that the reddish lava rock is that color because it holds more iron in it, but I cannot say whether that is 100% true. I have used both red and black and had the same results. IF I could source black lava rock, locally, then I would go with that because it makes for such a pretty contrast with the new roots, the root tips and the white velamen. I hope that this helps and if you have any further questions or thoughts you would like to run by me, please do not hesitate to ask 🫶🏼 hope your day is going beautifully for you and once again, welcome! p.s.: love your name! so fitting for this time of year 😋❤️🌸

[@willmous3646]

Orchid names don't help. Too much info too quick.

[@NinjaOrchids]

hi Will 😍💐 welcome! First of all, a warm warm welcome, I have not seen you here before, so I thank you for taking a moment to watch this video and your feedback. I am sorry that it did not meet all the requirements that made watching / listening satisfying. I try... many times the names of the orchids are asked for in the comments, so I have made it a habit to add them on the screen where relevant. Not sure how I can improve otherwise. I have tried to slow down on my speech and perhaps you will give other videos a chance to see if things are getting better. Again, my apologies! Know that I appreciate feedback and try to make improvements where I can. I hope you are having a great day by the time you read this, and once again, welcome 🫶🏼❤️🌸