Semi-Hydro for Orchids: Discussions on Conversion and Long-Term Growing

[@kouprakrisnaabhay3206]

Me again, just wanted to tell you that your site is the best ever made, on how to grow orchids in semi hydro and self watering pot method. I really wish that this site take off. MOG should have gotten your advices before she got everyone started and quit. So many misinformations there. Good luck to you. Only one improvement I might suggest, camera does not always catch what you are doing. But hey, things are so well explain with superb image and sound that maybe it not need any thing else.

[@lucamartinelli1156]

I hope all is fine Annabelle

[@anndriggers6660]

Learning so much from your channel. Thank you! I think I'm going to try some semi hydro. A couple at first just to see how it works in my environment. I live in Austin Texas and it's very hot here in the summer and can get very cold in winter. Probably going to grow inside exclusively.

[@sivanagarajah913]

Thank you for the video. Very useful.

[@motled]

This is my favorite video of yours. I really appreciate the thoughtful considerations of various setups. It really helps me understand what works and why for various orchids which gives me confidence with mine. You (and Rick L. Orchids) have given me confidence to switch 4 (of 11) of my orchids to semi-hydro and I am feeling great about it. Thanks for your time and energy shared to help others who are still in the beginning stages of this passion. 🌸❤️

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Thanks Maureen! It's all about considering our individual climates and preferences and what works for us and the orchids taking those into account 🙂 I'm glad if my videos have been of some use in that 🙂 Thanks for watching!

[@OrchidNerd]

Excellent video, I liked your discussion on long-term problems and pH. So far I'm really enjoying growing my orchids in self watering LECA. We'll see whether we still enjoy it in a year!

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Did you start out with semi hydro first or go straight for self watering? I'm open to changing if I do notice unforseen problems starting, but I can't imagine any other reasons for long term problems... especially since many people on Ray's forum have been using it for many years without issue. It has its drawbacks like any media but overall, for the orchids in my collection that do well in it, the benefits outweigh these 😄

[@OrchidNerd]

@@TheOrchidRoom i went straight for the self watering setup, never did proper semi hydro. Did read all of Ray's stuff though, and went through a bunch of forum threads and videos about S/H. I based my care for the orchids in self watering LECA on the recommended care for S/H

[@TheOrchidRoom]

****Edit**** Check out my more recent videos in the inorganic media series playlist here: kzbin.info/aero/PL76ceLYvhJsue7RVoR3DdbkQCoXz_sArB for more info on overcoming the dry top layer through a mix of pumice and LECA with an inorganic non wicking pebbles layer. And yes, I'm also now trying vandas in self watering 😉😂 Which has totally reversed my ideas on traditional views of root adaptation! Orchids are a constant learning curve 😀

[@daheather356]

I live in northern Montana but don't be fooled...it was 93° yesterday 🌞! My orchids are on a southwest picture window so they get tons of light but I protect them from late afternoon hot sun. I just received the plant yesterday and it appears to be in bark and it was very dry as it shipped from Georgia so I immediately sat it in a bowl of water with MSU fertilizer...but it floated! Had to weight it down so it could get thoroughly watered and it still tried to float. It has one very healthy new growth and appears to be in fairly good condition. I have a Lc. Koolau Seagulls 'Volcano Queen' in a bark moss mix in a clay pot and it is doing well (3 new growths with sheaths). I water it every two days in hot weather. I am really new to growing orchids and get all my info from the youtube community (Roger has been a great help). Really happy to see your channel appear!

[@TheOrchidRoom]

It sounds like it definitely needed a drink! If it's got a new growth then should be good to repot whenever you're ready, I've found with cattleyas the old roots will often die off if they get damaged or if the new media is very different to the previous, so it might be worth waiting for new roots to start forming from the new growth before repotting ( I break this rule constantly if I'm worried about the old media or find any snails), it's theoretically best to wait for signs of new roots to minimise transition 😄 If your other catteya is doing well in the clay pot with the bark/moss mixes then probably just stick with that, it sounds like that combination works well in your environment! I've heard the Apple blossom is a vigorous grower anyway, I'm sure it will do great in your care! 😀

[@resilience4lyfe331]

D A Heather Please name Georgia orchid nursery?

[@daheather356]

I thru out the box and I can't remember the name. I bought it on Ebay but...when I took it out of the pot all the roots were rotten. Only a couple remain so it is in rescue mode right now. I sure hope I can save it!

[@TheOrchidRoom]

@@daheather356 I'm sure you can save It!! Did you say it had new growths? How big are the growths? Hopefully it will start new roots soon!

[@daheather356]

It only has one straggley 1" long root and the new growth's roots look kind of dried up so I put it in a small plastic pot that I punched a bunch of holes in, put medium sized bark in the bottom and moss in the rest. Keeping my fingers crossed! I've been using MSU fertilizer and it has worked wonders on my other orchids

[@a-mthomas8585]

The majority of my collection are in semi hydro & LECA. I’ve dabbled with trying different sizes depending on moisture and air requirements and factoring in root size. My Phals and Cattleyas love the larger 8-16mm and my Oncidiums seem to like the 4-8mm (especially my Twinkles)..

[@TheOrchidRoom]

I wish I had access to the different sizes to try! I just have to pick out the smaller beads from the packs at the moment to put the smaller beads on top 😅 that's fine for a few but not up for sorting enough to fill whole pots 😆

[@JayantiIyer]

Thank you for sharing. I use Leca with lava Rock for my semi hydro setup.

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Thats interesting! I've never tried lava rock, it's doesn't seem to be that easily available here. Does it absorb water then?

[@franmclachlan9120]

Do you recommend adding anything to bring down the pH? Guess I am looking for an easy fix

[@kleabkatra7516]

Love your success on all of these beautiful orchids. I live in similar climate in Seattle US. I'm exited to follow your recipe's. How high do the wicks go up? I'm good at creating my own pots.

[@dinahhughes7020]

I think I’ve been a bit lax in soaking and rinsing my Leca and that has set back the plants I’ve put into it until the water in their containers has been changed a few times, this is a very helpful video as usual, lots of information

[@TheOrchidRoom]

I know what you mean, I just used to do a quick rinse but I'd notice lots of salt build up on the LECA after a few days. So checked the TDS and decided to do more rinses 😅

[@momepenni]

Paula from Mexico. I just got a semi-Hydro 6 inch pot, it came with a center wick. Trying to decide what to put in it. I’d like to try a regular Phaleonopsis, as an experiment. Some put moss in bottom, which I was doing, that doesn’t work for me. The bottom is too wet and never dries out. So I started putting licka on bottom. I mix bark w/ a little licka, moss, pumus , charcoal. I want to see if that will be better this winter. So far it has been good this summer. I am still trying to figure out what works with my environment.

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Hi Paula! Great to try new things, we all have to tweak things to find the perfect setups for our climates! You may have already considered this, but in case you hadn't I would just bear in mind that semi hydro, or self watering, is a bit like moss in some ways- it can be bad for warm growers during winters. So if you find moss a bit awkward during winter, you may find the same with semi-hydro. I would say minimum temps for inorganic self watering/ semi hydro/ constantly moist systems are lows of 18C at night, 20C+ days ideally a little higher. Any lower than that can lead to root rot with phals. Just thought I'd pre-warn you! But for your summers I bet it will be a real help, and in winters you could always not fill the reservoir and just water it like a regular pot letting it dry out a bit in between. It's just finding a balance that works for you 🙂 I only mention it because I know you have said about moss being a problem in winter, but it may not even be an issue. Let me know if you have any more questions!

[@momepenni]

The Orchid Room Thank You I will keep that in mind.

[@drpk6514]

I had the problem with salt build up on the top layer. Water brings salt from the bottom to the top and evaporates. This builds up salts and perhaps thats the reason some growers say their plants stop growing after one year. Washing the LECA well before using and after a while when the salts builds up is probably a way to combat it.

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Hi, I don't really get salt build up with most of my orchids, and then mostly with a few that have lower nutrient requirements if I am feeding too high. As you say flushing can help prevent this. Fertilising less or using lower solute water also improves this dramatically, if the orchid is using all the nutrient salts and minerals then they don't build up, they tend to build up more when there is an excess, or if the orchid slows it's growth and stops using as many nutrients. Monitoring efflorescence is quite an good way to monitor how the orchid is responding to the nutrient feed it's being given 🙂

[@drpk6514]

@@TheOrchidRoom I think my white sentiments were coming from the LECA itself. Perhaps it was Calcium chloride or something like that which was as impurity of the clay which was used to produce the clay. I think I should have had to wash my LECA more, longer or even use some acid to wash them out.

[@bubububu6917]

Hi, dear. I like your chanel , thank you! As I see you don't make the holes on the glass vases with leca. How do you fertilize the plants?

[@TheOrchidRoom]

I fertilise as normal! All my orchids get the same fertiliser routine

[@sreevidyasivanandan3284]

What kind of fertilosers do we use

[@Twigarati]

Excellent video! Very eloquently explained 👍🏼... your channel was recommended by KZbin ... I ask, why so late? 😃... I’ve spent the good part of my Saturday catching up with your channel and love your presentation. I grow in southern Spain, in SH and self watering with leca ... only difference in genus successes are complex hybrid phals ... I have found them very difficult to transition to leca self watering. I also use lava rock as SH media for some dendrobium seedlings until they get big enough. I found you on Instagram as well... I am ninja_orchids .. so glad to have found you... also subbed to Marissa 😃

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Thanks very much! 😀 I really wanted to try lava rock also as a few people have also said they use it for self watering! Do you find it better than LECA for seedlings in general or just dendrobiums? Really interested to hear about your experiences with It! What other orchids do you grow? I actually found phals the easiest to transition to LECA, how funny is that, but have also heard others say they had issues. Very interesting. How long have you been growing for? 😀

[@Twigarati]

The Orchid Room I use lava rock in SH mainly for seedling dens because of how delicate new growth is on some dens. My mature tetragonum is in lava rock SH mainly because of the skinny canes that can rot easily, so it’s a fool proof growing environment for them. All other seedlings go into leca SH to begin with and when well established, into leca self watering. Poorly orchids go straight into Sphagnum / perlite ... I loved your Lot of rescue purchase & subsequent sorting them according to their needs! Awesome!! It was such a refresher for me.. it’s been a while ... great great video! Growing orchids without growing them since childhood... they were in my back yard in Kenya. Then starred growing limited genus in Spain 20 years ago, mainly things I could find locally, some cats / phals, but now... I’m full on ... since the internet has opened up all the goodies available, I’ve gone all orchid ninja ! But the cost of keeping them / caring for them made me change to leca ( Ray Barkalow was the spark) - then my water challenges were another issue, so from SH to self watering they went and that was 3 years ago. I custom make my self watering as well ... my local garden center couldn’t keep up when I transitioned most of my collection ... eventually they placed an order for my requirements just to get me ‘out of their hair’ 😂... currently I have 240 orchids ... keeping track of them on my orchid app ‘Orchid Album’... Your channel, your approach and how beautifully you express yourself, resonates with me. Btw ... I only have 6 oncidiums because they are prone to take up lots of space... my small species (2) are in leca SH, my others in leca self watering. 2 were experimental rescues, doing amazing and one, Colmenara Masai Red’ is a beast. My Katrin Zoch apparently hates this set up, but I’m staying steadfast... grow a new growth, or you are on your own. She is sulking ... it’s a woman thing 😂

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Great to hear about your experiences 😀 - you've certainly been keeping orchids alot longer than I have! So it's good to know I am on the right track, if you have also had success with these methods! I definitely learned the most from Ray Barkalows explanations also. I understand what you mean about the garden centre supply issues... I went into my local hardware store and they had 22cm self watering pots with reservoir gauges discounted to £3... I've been needing a bigger pot alternative that costs less than the ELHO outer pots....so I've been back to them 3 times and bought all the stock, they definitely think I'm a crazy plant lady 😂 I hope your katrin zoch adjusts soon and stops sulking! I do wonder if I could make LECA work for oncidiums if I tried a bit harder or adapted the set up somehow... it's working great for my sharry baby but a few just hated it and refused to grow new roots into it..... I am in the process of looking at the properties of Rockwool for an experimental set up, as I'd really like to find a way of getting some more moisture loving orchids into inorganic 🤔😄... Moss is so expensive long term and I find it hard to find the good quality besgrow moss! 🤔

[@Twigarati]

The Orchid Room so... you wouldn’t consider the seramis a better option to rock wool? I do have a few teeny weeny laelia and cattleya seedlings just in seramis .. over the years I’ve separated large and small seramis pieces because when I started buying the stuff, they weren’t classified separately. Even in Spain, I find rockwool to be super moist all the time and flushing it just compounds the problem... I admire everyone that is prepared to experiment with their orchids... I’m too uncertain to go down that road, so... added respect to you if you give rock wool a go 👍🏼 Regarding what else I grow, the usual, without going into all the fandangle name changes... paphs phrags angreacums Vandas incl neos maxilarias Phaius encyclia stanhopea

[@TheOrchidRoom]

@@Twigarati I do have small seramis also, I've been growing my masdevallias in small seramis with a little LECA mixed in and they love that set up. I was considering trying it with an Onci, as my sharry baby also has a bit of seramis mixed in with the LECA and it seems to be doing great. Hmmmm so many options 😂 Maybe I'll try both to experiment. I've heard some phrags do well in Rockwool due to the alkaline pH and moisture level? I have one phrag that I was going to try it with... but does it get alot of salt build up?

[@orchidsbythelake]

Nice video. I wish I can make such high quality one like yours... anyway, kinda funny because I just pot one of my phal in semi-hydro for the firsts time ever.

[@TheOrchidRoom]

I like your videos! I've subscribed 😀 Good luck with the phal in semi hydro, hope it does well! I know some people find it hit and miss but phals always respond well for me, I'll keep my fingers crossed for a smooth conversion 🤞 hope you post updates 😀

[@pallmall5014]

I'm surely you could make very good videos!! Don't sell yourself short.

[@heidihuhtaniemi7999]

Hi. What do you do with algae in roots?

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Hi 🙂 Nothing. I've talked about this in a few videos if you are interested to learn more 🙂 Here recently: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXyai6Nupc6IqNU Treating semi-hydroponic systems with algal growth inhibitors can also kill off all the beneficial bacteria and fungi that are helping the plant. Algae is only really an issue when excessive and it then dies off. This causes a rapid increase in decomposing bacteria that reduce oxygen levels in the system. If you want more information on algal blooms and the negative effect of rapid algal growth and death, lots of info is available on this in the context of lakes- Googling algal blooms in lakes will bring up alot of extra info. By the time there is lots of dead algae in a pot, I've usually needed to repot the orchid for size reasons before this has become an issue. Or the springtails have already eaten the dead algae.

[@vinytran7131]

thank you for sharing. what I noticed with the uniform LECA is that they don't hold the root of plant firmly. do you have this problem?

[@TheOrchidRoom]

I haven't had this problem, but if the orchid is top heavy or doesn't have many roots I can see that this might happen until the roots attach to the LECA... because the uniform sphere shape would leave more air pockets than the irregularly shaped stuff? So less stability I would think?

[@ronhazer4804]

Hi there Love your channel!! Do you have any experience growing den. Cuthbertsonii in LECA? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

[@reefkeeper2]

I can't get Seramis where I live so I'm trying pumice as a substitute. Do you think it will work as well?

[@TheOrchidRoom]

The size of Pumice I'm using retains much less water than seramis, which you can see here in a media test I did, results section : kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHbSXoyFdqyXn5o But if you can get a smaller grade it will probably hold more. Turface is the closest product to seramis in the US if you can get that in a decent grain size , you don't want too small and dusty or there won't be enough air pockets. 3-8mm would probably be close to the seramis I'm using.

[@myhandmadejournals]

I had a few phals and cattleya in leca but after one year I lost many roots, especially with cattleyas. So now I've switched over to bark. My home environment is quite dry in winter. I think ph could be a good reason of leca failure after some months or years.

[@TheOrchidRoom]

It's the only thing I can think of that would make the orchid go downhill after a period of time... some LECA can have a pH over 8 so maybe it's a gradual inability to absorb nutrients? I've heard several people say the same as you that it fails after a while 🤔

[@myhandmadejournals]

The Orchid Room could also be wrong care from my side. However I like inert media, so I switched my sherry baby from leca to small size lava rock. He really likes it. Same thing with one dendrobium

[@TheOrchidRoom]

@@myhandmadejournals I'm curious about the lava rock! Does it retain much moisture? I may have to try to get hold of some to play about with!

[@myhandmadejournals]

The Orchid Room I think it retains more water than leca. I prefer it also visually... it looks more natural. You can have it small, medium and large sizes. Try with a little bag 😊

[@TheOrchidRoom]

@@myhandmadejournals I will give it a go! Thanks for the info! 😀 My main issue with LECA is that dry layer so if the lava rock retained more moisture that would be great!

[@daheather356]

I have a question! On the third try I have finally managed to score an Iwanagara Appleblossom 'Carmela'. What would you recommend for medium. I don't use leca. And what type of pot would you suggest. I'm so happy that I've finally obtained one that I really want it to thrive! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Oooh amazing!! So happy for you! I've been after this one for a long time also 😀 So before I switched to LECA I used to keep my cattleyas in chunky bark with plenty of air pockets, perlite and a little sphagnum moss to stop them drying out so quickly in summer. It depends on your growing conditions though, only use sphagnum with cattleyas if you have quite a warm environment with lower humidity... what sort of temperatures and humidity do you have? How quickly do your pots usually dry out with bark and what's the Apple blossom potted in at the moment? 😀 does it have new growth?

[@myataylor4807]

I’m sorry I’m new to this method. Do you keep your phals in this new setup? I don’t understand why the root tips turn black in lecca?

[@TheOrchidRoom]

Hi! Yes, my phals have been in semi hydro for the past 2-3 years 😄 gradually adding a bit of pumice into the species and primary hybrid phal pots as they like a bit more moisture.

[@myataylor4807]

The Orchid Room I don’t understand why the root tips turn black in lecca, and why the inorganic pebbles stop that from happening. Just trying to understand.

[@TheOrchidRoom]

@@myataylor4807 Hi- I've never had root tips turn black in LECA, only issue I had was with new root tips hitting the dry top layer. Unsure if you've seen my recent semi hydro video, but I explain the principle of the dry top layer and how the non wicking pebbles help in that video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oWPRnpaNdt-SqMU . Also in the pumice update video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6m5gZttn8uJmbs My issue with semi hydro has only been that the top layer of LECA remains dry. Since it is a wicking material, it then dries out new root tips that touch it, causing them to stop growing. The top layer of *non-wicking* pebbles thst I use now provides a layer that cannot suck moisture from root tips. It keeps the layer of LECA underneath moist so the root tip can get through the dry top layer to the moist leca and pumice mix underneath. Difference between the leca and top layer of pebbles I use is porosity and ability to suck moisture.

[@myataylor4807]

The Orchid Room thank you for the information and also for responding so quickly!🌺☺️

[@TheOrchidRoom]

@@myataylor4807 No problem 😀 Hope I answered your questions!

[@pallmall5014]

I use acrylic yarn instead of cotton. Cotton desolves much more quickly, whereas the acrylic lasts very, very long!

[@TheOrchidRoom]

I like the wicking efficiency of what I use, but I tend to use Synthic now. But before this I have used these wicks for many years, they outlast the repots so I don't see a need for a different product. Many thanks for your suggestion though.