Recent content by Sky7Bear

If I remember correctly, and I didn’t write it down, I believe Terry Root of the Orchid Zone repotted every 9 months and always had beautiful plants. But now I’m mostly in leca, which is inorganic, ad hope to have to repot little if any. I fertilize lightly and flush regularly. Ray Barkalow...

Thank you to all of you for posting. Now I'm trying to digest it all. I really would like to move away from organic media as much as possible, either because I'm lazy or don't want the waste of repotting (your choice). I especially appreciate the contributions of Ray, as he has a scientific...

Thanks for the conversation. This is related to my recent question about growing Paphs in an inorganic medium. Seems that rockwool has many drawbacks . I’m wondering also how the container influences root growth when combined it’s the medium. I have many plants in semi hydro, and perhaps I...

Timing then is probably key as it is for many other genera. No new roots, no repot

With Cattleyas yes, as a pot is more of a perch than a container, and repotting is by division without disturbing the original, which for me is leca in a basket. Phrags seem to do great in semi hydro. Paphs not so sure. No repotting in nature. Agree about roots. But the the best Paph grower I...

I don't like repotting all of the time, and wonder what success others have had growing slippers in inorganic media. Please share your ideas.

I would like to move away from organic media in my orchid growing as much as possible, mostly because I'm too lazy to repot! I've had great success with Cattleyas, and am trying semi-hydro in some other genera. Seems to work well for Phrags, but I'm not so sure about Paphs. Does anyone have...

I have been following this thread with interest, as I'm in the process of examining my Paph and Phrag collection in Semi-hydro the past few days. Generalizing I'd say it's great for Phrags and less than ideal for Paphs. But that doesn't really address what I believe is important here. Ever...

Each genus has a favored ratio of water and air at the roots. Increase one and or reduce the other. Usually better to increase water by changing medium or container. Many do well in clay pot pot with holes, or a basket of some sort. These are epiphytes. Ray is correct

The key, as with most orchid genera is keeping a proper ait to water ratio at the roots. What you are doing may well work. Clay pots and moss are another option as is semi hydro.

My friend Ray said," “Overwatering can kill orchids”. Nope. Insufficient air to the roots does it. " Darn right, Ray. I think understanding principles is much more important than having "rules," which presumably are based on the principles but may not be understood. And what I'm learning from...

He packs the moss very tightly, and that combined with air at the bottom of the pot and the clay itself causes relatively fast drying, but I think the air is the important element rather than the drying, which is just another way to get air to the roots. Our plastic pots kill a lot of plants.

I grow almost exclusively Semi-hydroponically, so I do not use these. BUT, I do place an inverted small empty plastic net pot at the bottom of each pot, as I think most orchids prefer some air at the roots, which is the whole purpose of the air cone pot. However, the underlying principle is...

Good name, Ray--the Goldilocks Principle, neither too wet or too dry. Here is how I would state it: "Healthy roots are critical to orchid plant health. The velamen covering the roots is kept healthy by maintaining an acceptable ratio of air and water at the roots. This ratio may vary between...

Wonder if it would slow down senescence on Dracula