I think that folks attribute far too much - both good and bad - to "semi-hydroponics" in their culture of plants, and one mistake folks make too commonly is that they assume "one size fits all", or that there is only "one size", which is certainly not the case. Not one of us would even contemplate putting everything in our collections in Aussie Gold, in the same plastic pots, under the same lighting levels, and at the same temperature conditions, but for some reason, many assume s/h has a pinpoint definition.
There's a lot to orchid culture, so once you select a technique you want to try, there are still a huge number of variables that need to be managed. Because of the variables that the conditions within a semi-hydro pot brings to the picture, there are even more to play with - particle size and packing density, capillarity, moisture absorption and release, evaporation, etc.
Unlike slipperfan, I have not found a phrag that does not like s/h culture, but I will add that in my greenhouse, I have had to increase the growing temperature above the way I used to grow them, and now have them about the same as phals. By the same token, I can say that vandaceous plants don't like it (under my conditions), while I know plenty for whom they thrive. Go figure...
We must also keep in mind that all plants of a hybrid or species are not identical. If they were, every seedling arising from a capsule would survive and grow equally if kept under the same conditions, and we know that's certainly not the case.
