Orchids were always a passing interest for me. They flirted with me every time I went to a Lowes or Home Depot, and even at the grocery store; I know you’ve heard this story before…
It wasn’t till I bought my first orchid, a striking yellow Oncidium calling herself ‘Sweet Sugar’. I took her home not having a clue how to care for her, but having inherited my parent’s green thumb, I had a good idea. The flowers lasted for weeks and I was starting to want to try the other types. I brought home a few Phalaenopsis in bloom and put them with ‘Sweet Sugar’. Well to my surprise, within a week, the leaves on the phalaenopsis were shriveling, the flowers were falling off, and it was very obvious I didn’t know what I was doing. Intrigued as to why I could not grow them, I bought book after book on orchid culture, thus beginning my obsession. After about a month of reading online and off, I felt confident I could do this. I had learned that Phalaenopsis do not like a full southern exposure and quickly cook, and I was desperate for redemption.
As the months passed I collected orchid after orchid, some looking scragglier than others, and I acquired quite a collection; one that I couldn’t re-bloom. Darling wife says she wants her living room back…time for a greenhouse you say?
Ok, with greenhouse built and orchids loaded, I started seeing improvements in foliage, no more pleating of the leaves due to low humidity, and better over all growth. And with some education on nutrition, I was beginning to understand what these orchids needed; eventually being rewarded with flowers.
Where do those clay pellets come into play? I’ll tell you. As the months passed I was having varying success. Good with the more common Phalaenopsis, Oncidium, and Dendrobium, but I was drawn to the more exotic; so many wonderful varieties. Why couldn’t I grow them? So I bought bunches of them, I had a greenhouse now mind you, I am an orchid grower now. Well… Struggling with failure I stumbled across a new culture for growing orchids. It was called Semi-hydroponics.
‘Semi’ because the use of pumps and timers and a whole big system wasn’t needed, but the hydroponics benefits were available in a pot full of expanded clay pellets. So I bought a starter kit containing pots with holes in them that held a specific amount of water, those clay pellets, a rooting hormone, and a urea free orchid fertilizer. Within a month I was surprised to see a flurry of new roots starting. Within a few more months I was seeing an exponential growth improvement.
Stronger leaves, aggressive roots, and those shriveled pseudobulbs plumped back up. Time to re-pot some more and I had run out of supplies!!!
I bought more and more over the course of a few months until most if not all of my orchids were in this semi-hydroponic culture. And they grew and grew well. I was amazed. This was the type of orchid grower I wanted to be!
Winter came and went and with early spring came flowers. I did it!
Same area a few years later
So let me tell you about semi-hydroponics.
Those clay pellets are a LECA or Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate product. There are a number of them out there for hydroponics, HygroStone, PrimeAgra, Hydroton, and Aliflor, to name a few. What makes them different from each other is an ability to wick water up through the media completely hydrating the roots, but not keeping them wet. Some LECA products have wicking ability, but are lacking in capillarity needed to pull water and nutrients up and throughout the medium completely. The shape of the pellets allow for high levels of gas exchange at the roots while maintaining proper moisture levels for healthy growth.
The HygroStone™ pellets are denser the other LECA products so they don’t float up and out of the pot when watering. And its pellet shape seems to lock into the pot and around the roots better than the more spherical LECA products. The semi-hydro pots are fairly basic. Polypropylene pots of various sizes with a pair of holes drilled about an inch up from the bottom to create a reservoir.
Culture is simplified. No more worries about proper watering. Nutrition is easy with the addition or a complete fertilizer like MSU 13-3-15 or 19-4-23 fertilizers, or any urea free orchid fertilizer.
I won’t get into why I feel that MSU is best, but with a lower nitrogen PPM fed constantly, you can maximize your growth potential, and again not worry about feeding. What fertilizer isn’t used is flushed out of the pot at the next watering.
You are left to only concern yourself with providing the correct light, temperatures, and if your able, the proper humidity.
It has really simplified growing orchids, and made me a substantially better grower. Now with the courage to grow the tougher intermediate and more advanced orchids, and am now growing African violets and other gesneriads in the culture with great success.
Jesse Wright
www.growinhydro.com
