Inorganic Media Experiments and Updates!
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- Опубликовано: 23 авг 2019
- Hi everyone, and welcome back to my channel!
Firstly, I'd like to say a big thank you to all of you for the positive welcome to the RUclips Orchid community! 500 subscribers- that makes me very happy, I'm amazed at how kind and welcoming everyone is, and it's great to talk to you all- So thank you all!
This video is the first in a series exploring alternative inorganic media for orchids, in the hope of finding a more moisture retentive alternative that my moisture-loving orchids could do well in! I'll be looking at the different properties of each and selecting those that best match up to individual orchid requirements!
Today we are just going to examine some of the initial properties I have observed for each after 1 week of testing moisture retention and absorbancy / wicking efficiency.
The advantages of inorganic media are that it will never break down, so yearly or harsh repottings are virtually eliminated. In a self watering or semi-hydroponic set up, constant moisture and nutrient availablity means that the orchids are able to grow continually, unrestricted by wet-dry cycles.
I will also be exploring some of the disadvantages or inorganic media- both in semi-hydroponic or standard media set-ups.
In this video I have provided updates on the Masdevallias/ cooler growers in Seramis- initial video here: • Growing Masdevallia Or...
My initial discussion on semi-hydro is linked here: • Semi-Hydro for Orchids...
Aerides keiki experiment first mentioned here, although I didn't film the unpotting (it was just picking the keiki out and putting into semi hydro a few days after the video XD): • Vanda Summer Updates a...
If you just want to check the Houlletiana out skip to 06:25 :-)
Thanks again for watching and I hope you enjoy the videos!
My Orchid Room
Temps- 18-30C
Humidity 60-75%.
Artificial lighting supplemented with daylight.
Lighting
Cool white '6000K' under cabinet lighting- Screwfix
GEMMA 50w LED modular COB grow lights: www.gemma-led.com/cob-grow-li...
GEMMA 100w LED COB plant light: www.gemma-led.com/cob-plant-l...
GEMMA have kindly provided a 10% off discount code for anyone who is interested in purchasing any of their lights! This is valid until 01/01/21. Just pop OrchidRoom in at the checkout :-)
Shelving
Wire shelving, Hartleys direct: www.hartleysdirect.com/hartle...
Metal shelving IKEA: www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/s...
Pots
DIY Self watering pots, DIY Semi hydro pots
DIY Self watering pots made with IKEA Nekjon outer mask www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/d... and various 15cm clear internal orchid pot
Wick for self watering pots www.amazon.co.uk/watering-Sel...
DIY semi hydro pots, various brands. Square pots used from www.oasishomeandhobby.co.uk/s... with semi hydro holes drilled in for reservoir.
Self watering pots with water level gauge: Lechuza mini deltini www.amazon.co.uk/Lechuza-Prem...
or other brand: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
Mini USB fans from Amazon: www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...
Media
LECA Canna Aqua Brand or IKEA www.amazon.co.uk/Hydrogarden-...
Sphagnum moss by Besgrow
Seramis:UK supplier www.onestopgrowshop.co.uk/pro...
Vanda baskets purchased from Roellke Orchideen and Peter White Orchid accessories
Find me on Instagram / annabel.minton
Be sure to look out for more care tutorials to follow! Please post suggestions and questions in the comments! I'm really happy to chat to fellow orchid lovers and hope you've enjoyed this video :-)
Thanks for watching! :-)
Congratulations on your channel and I love in experiment. I might try semi hydro next year. Keep us updated. Happy Growing from your PhalPal Durrell
Congrats on 500+ subscribers! I don’t think I could get that many ever... lol. Anyway, I use lava rock for vandas and top heavy orchids. For vandas, I think the amount of moisture it holds is perfect for my place. Then, for example, D. Nobiles, some oncidiums with super long leaves or flower spikes, I put lava rocks on the bottom of the pot. The rocks are also easier to find and reuse again when I repot. LECA, I don’t know how many time I just dumped all together with old media...
Here in the US, lava rock is very cheap and readily available. It's at all home improvement stores in huge bags. You have to soak and rinse well before use. I have found it a very good medium for cattleya types and I have 1 phal that has been thriving in it for >2 years. Helps me to avoid overwatering because it doesn't keep the pot soggy.
all my orchids are in leca with top layer of bark and it works pretty good, bark is quite big and it doesn't degrade that much so it's easy to maintain, also I had one huge phal which got quite big, unruly and clumsy, kept tipping over and knocking everything around him, at some point I couldn't find big enough clear pot and he kinda broke 4 decorative pots he was in so I put decorative rocks on the bottom of his pot and leca as a medium and top layer of bark - luckly he does like it, roots touching decorative rocks are good and he's just been putting out a new leaf... I wouldn't use only decorative rocks on the long run but it does help with bigger orchids living in the small apartment/balcony :)
Thanks for the info! I'd never considered putting a bark top layer, tried moss before and it just didn't really work so well, that's a good idea! Interesting to hear about your experiences with fhese decorative rocks! I'm definitely into unconventional approaches! 😀
@@TheOrchidRoom decorative rocks where handy because I already had them from some of my echeverias , they are cheap and they did the job of making my 1.45kg phalaenopsis stop knocking everyone around... bark came to my mind because when you think about forest ground being moist and holding water it's because of the bark and decomposing pine needles and when my balcony turns to 35°C Mediterranean temperature they do need extra help when in leca beads, and difference is because in the end bark will dry up and give some ventilation if the chunks are bigger and good positioned, and moss is kinda heavy packed... I went for cheaper option because moss is hard to find here and bark was just logical thing to go for...
Love this! I’m sure we are all sick of hearing me say this but pumice has been a lifesaving addition to my inert growing setups. Mine isn’t nearly that big though and its impossibly dusty which is a huge pain. Thanks for doing this!
You're the reason I retrieved my old bag of pumice from the bottom of a draw 😁 Sorry, you've told me before but I can't remember- do you use it on its own in self watering or mixed with other substrates or as a top layer? This one was quite dusty too, I gave it a few rinses and it seemed to rinse off easily though... I can always make it smaller also if you think that would increase wicking/moisture retention efficiency? 😁 *gets the hammer out* 😂
The Orchid Room haha smashing it a bit may help but I use it with oncidiums that don’t like leca so the size you have would be too big for that probably but could be great for phals! I use it in a mix with small leca but I would say it’s 70% or more pumice. My miltoniopsis is also in it actually. I think it has some natural mineral content so just keep that in mind if you use with a light feeder. :) (I grow some houseplants in it too in vases with no drainage holes believe it or not)
Just found sone smaller grade pumice on Amazon..... First stop, Oncidiums! 😀 In a mix with LECA does the pumice still work in a self watering system? 😄
The Orchid Room it seems to yes! I have used it as a top dressing also but you need to really make the whole top inch or two pumice for it to really make a difference. A small layer doesn’t work as well. Also the miltoniopsis seems to be able to put its roots down into it even when the top looks dry so it seems to hold some moisture or at least not dry the roots out like leca. Really looking forward to seeing your results!
I always leave the top layer of LECA below the rim of the pot, exactly because it helps manage the dry upper layer. I'm not quite sure why you don't want to try the pretty sparkly rocks? They look fantastic, apparently wick well, clearly have good air pockets... It being nice and cosmetic looking sounds like a plus to me 😁
And congratulations once again on how well your channel has taken off! 500+ subs, wow!
Unfortunately I have tried this with several orchids and it doesnt really work for me once you have an orchid in the pot sucking moisture out... I really mentioned in this video more as an interesting thing that may potentially help in some environments but for me it doesn't work... My bulbos are potted an inch down in the pot and I'm having major issues with the dry top layer stopping new root growth... It's good to know it works for you though!
I didn't really like the decorative rocks... My feeling was they didn't really wick evenly, I think they just stopped evaporation occurring efficiently which could imply reduced airflow... They also have some sort of a coating I think... Everyone's got a feel for what media they like, and these ones just really set alarm bells off for me- I need to be able to see some good points before considering 😄 But I did say I may find a way to try them out in the video! 😄
As a last resort I put my vanda in semi with leca about 3 months ago- still alive and grown a massive root !
Great to hear!! I'm glad it's doing well! I'm going to be trying out a few more of my more thirsty vandaceous types in semi hydro or self watering again, I actually had one in bark that did nothing all summer. Then I was reading up on it and found that its actually a lithophyte in nature and grows on well drained but moist cliffs.... 😅 Went into SH and now we have some root growth! 😀
thank you for sharing. pumice sounds good, I will explore that. I am currently trying growstone (made from recycled glass) with my slipper orchids as the ph is very high.
I've heard of grow stones but never seen them! I don't think they're available in the UK, do they retain water? Sound very Interesting!
@@TheOrchidRoom it is marketed as two times more water absorbing than leca but I didn't see much difference for by s/h set up and uncontrolled test. the top level is still very dry. I am planning to put top layer with vermiculite.
💚❤👏👏👏
Unless you can use the rockwool in a basket or net pot (something with a ton of ventilation to dry it faster), it stays wet forever. Even here in the heat of South Florida it stays wet a week or more (whereas a pot full of Sphagnum can dry in three or four days). It is used by some to grow bog plants because of the water retention properties.
And I have those same self watering pots that your Stelis is growing in, although I use them for my trailing type African Violets.
Hi 😄 Thanks for the info! I used the Rockwool in a net basket layered with other materials for my bulbo, it's drying out within a week on schedule with my sphagnum moss 😄 But I keep most of my sphagnum moss orchids in self watering set ups also so they never fully dry out and they love this, but I think for the Rockwool it is good that it is drying a bit between waterings 😀
The pumice sounds really interesting! Never thought of that 👍🏼👍🏼 also the horticultural grit ... great video!
That Biorb product... it’s a brand of products that go with the actual Biorb, which is an automated terrarium (lights, misting etc all automated). They also have the Biorb aquarium line. I would love the terrarium, but it’s very expensive 😬
Thanks Nina! The pumice does look promising! Not sure if it will be compatible with self watering / semi hydro but it seems to hold alot of moisture so hopefully...
Oh that's interesting, sounds like a great product for an orchid terrarium (but sounds too high end for my budget also 😂). I'm not really sure what to do with the Biorb substrate though, it seems quite dry ... The only orchid I have that seems to hate me and be prone to rot is my zygopetalum 😂 Maybe in a mix with other substrates? For most others I want a bit more moisture retention 🤔
The Orchid Room I think that lava rock substitute will work great as aeration ...oh, don’t get me started on zygos! I’m trying to save one from the brink of death in sphagnum and perlite, but I’m not even going to try with another one. If things don’t work in my climate, due to how I like to grow things, then I live vicariously through other growers and enjoy theirs 😅
Yeah... that Biorb ... it’s tempting for orchids I’d like, but sheesh ... I can buy loads of orchids for the price of it, so... 😬 maybe one day the price will drop ... or we could start a ‘gofundme’ 😂😂😂
@@Twigarati A funding page for a Biorb 😂 sounds great! I like your thinking!
My Zygo has this interesting suicidal trait where it likes to rot it's new growths starting at the leaves and working it's way down.... despite it living right next to the fan to try and stop it 😂 Interestingly it was doing great all winter and I started getting rot issues this summer...Next stage is a repot into a drier media and then I'm done with zygos also! I agree, why struggle with species that hate you when you can have species that grow well 😀
The Orchid Room how about, when you get monetized, you can put the RUclips income towards a Biorb? 😃
One could check the amount of water each media kept by weight. Weigh before and then weigh after.
Thanks for the idea! I don't know why that didn't occur to me 😅
I use rock wool in the summer on my mounts instead of moss which is much quicker drying.😊
Thanks, that's good to know! Needs some thought, but considering putting a Rockwool perlite LECA mix in a basket, for a particularly unruly bulbo I have climbing out of it's pot....😅 it seems like it will need some extra ventilation through the mix...
That’s a very clever use for it!
Pumice is Lava Rock!!!!
A orchid nursery in Denmark selling "GreenMix" that is a kind of rockwool and perlite/lignite mix. All the orchids I bought from them was placed in this mix. Not my kind of medium but it seams to work well for them. orchidegartneriet.dk/greenmix/954-salg-af-greenmix.html
Thats really interesting, I hadn't seen this mix before, thanks for letting me know! 😀Definitely think I'll need to mix the Rockwool with lots of perlite, it's interesting that they add the lignite too!
I find that while lava rock dries at the top, it doesn't dessicate the roots, and it takes longer to dry than leca. But that might be down to the climate in my apartment. Meanwhile sphagnum miss, which everyone swears by, has been giving me nightmares!
I'm finding Lava rock super interesting. I had this idea in my head, before I could get hold of it, that ot would be really dry and not hold water, for some reason. After trying pumice I was curious about it, so found a supplier in Germany. And I actually really like it? I'm going to try using it more and more and see what I find- I think stuff like this is why it's worth trying out things for yourself- you never know! Also when you're using the materials in a pot with plants it is often a different story as well. Super interesting!
@@TheOrchidRoom I got the idea to try it out when I bought an Encyclia cordigera and she came potted in leca with some lava rock mixed in. While I was cleaning her and taking care of the roots, I'd rinsed the mix and left it on a tray to bake and disinfect later... Well, when I took a look at it, the leca was bone dry already (after maybe a few hours?) but the lava rock was still nice and moist.
So I thought it was worth a try! I have OCD about cleanliness and hate messy organic media, so lava rock really appealed to me. I threw in a mix of medium red lava rock in the bottom and middle with the occasional handful of leca to avoid soggy bottoms, and medium lava with some small black lava rock at the top to help fit around the base and roots where things are tighter. It's early days, but I was really pleased with the way the roots looked when I watered- super green and lush, but also very firm to the touch, implying that they're well aerated too. My neofinetia in particular looks SO much better- she was miserable in sphagnum!
It doesn't stay wet as long as organic media for me, but as said, I haven't noticed the dryness at the top desiccating the roots. Bizarrely, I was experiencing that with sphagnum moss! It was so weird.
You may be able to find smaller lava rock, at least, at bonsai suppliers! The small lava rock I have is from a bonsai company. I think bonsai growers use it as a top layer? But in general I think lava rock is a lot more common in the states since companies can get it from Hawaii without any import costs.
I totally agree, I wonder if it's the method of watering that also makes a difference? I'm testing lava rock for wicking, but I did a soaking comparison and it actually holds more water than LECA! I don't know if you've seen it, it's always awkward linking videos, but I tried the lava rock out a little in a more comprehensive test here: ruclips.net/video/09Inrxr14tQ/видео.html . This is a small grade I managed to find on amazon from this German seller, it isn't available in the UK at all otherwise unless you want to pay like £30 for a 4L bag! But I then found this same seller on ebay with lots of different grades, so I just ordered the next size up to play around with for Vandas. I really like the way it looks and the texture too, and I'm trying it out in a wicking test with a reservoir to try and look at wicking. But it's odd because it holds more moisture, but like you say doesn't seem to suck it from roots in the same way. Maybe a better alternative to LECA for some applications (and the vandas seem to really like it too!)
@@TheOrchidRoom Maybe? I'm using lava rock as a regular media, not in semi-hydro or self-watering, so I have no idea how it would respond in those circumstances! The airiness, decent-water retention, and lack of desiccation of roots was all I was looking for. Since I only have five orchids, watering them a few times a week is no big deal, and honestly part of the fun! But that would surely feel very different if you have dozens of them.
Thank you for the link! I've only recently found your channel (I think I found your Sharry Baby video, which actually turned me off the orchid once I saw how large it grows!), so I've still not watched a lot of your videos yet. If you do try it in one of those set-ups, I'll be really interested in how it behaves! I played around with lava rock a few little pools of water in the dish I keep the cordigera pot in, and it was interesting. It absorbs water and becomes saturated quite quickly, but when I placed a dry piece of rock on a wet one, it didn't absorb a huge amount of water from the other rock. It seemed to me like it will take the water in if you pour it over it, but it won't go out of its way to steal moisture from its surroundings?
Oh, no! That's really expensive, I'm so sorry! I was able to get the small-grade bonsai brand for $14 on Amazon, and the medium-sized stuff was $8 a bag at a nearby garden centre. For all its problems, you can't criticise product availability in the states, I guess. Unless you want UK groceries or a real pie, in which case you're SOL in most cities, sob.
are you growing with straight tap water? how hard is your water in terms of ppm or tds?
Hi! No I use Zero Water Filters, supplemented by rain water in winter. Here's a link to my filtering and nutrient prep routine: ruclips.net/video/ux9WzRnMZmg/видео.html
Lava rock is wonderful, but dries quickly. The beauty of using lava rock is just that, it dries quickly and root rot is not an issue.
Pea gravel and river rock are also excellent! You should find any and all at a garden center. If you can find limestone, you’re golden! It provides calcium. Yes, Rick L. can be a valuable resource despite his not having posted since July.
Thanks for the info! I'll be checking out the rock and pebble section of the garden centre more often now I think! Pretty sure I saw some limestone there....😀
I had the opposite reaction to lava rock. My set up was in a plastic pot with holes up and down the sides for ventilation and not placed in a decorative pot. Even with the increased air flow, the leaves turned yellow and fell off, the roots got really mushy, and worst of all, the axis(sp?) rotted. I only watered once a week, but looking back, that may have been too much. Or, should I have soaked the lava rock first to leach out minerals? Hmmm.
Yes, all inorganic materials should be washed well before potting.
@@carlap.4814 Interesting to hear your experience, it could be a high level of minerals in the lava rock caused damage to the roots, which then rotted once they'd died? I wouldn't have thought they would have died due to lack if air flow if lava rock is anything like this substitute I have, as it seems very chunky and dry 😮🤔 I'll keep it in mind though! I usually do a few soaks and rinses with inorganic first, as rock based media can have alot of drying dust or mineral deposits 🤔
@@barbfroede1343 Thank you. Going to try again.
Are most of your phals in the inorganic media?
Hi Mya 🙂 Yes pretty much all of my phals are in inorganic now, apart from that one that I'm keeping in a bark moss mix as a trial to compare the two methods. For me it works really well, I do know of a couple of people though who do struggle with phals in semi hydro/ inorganic though. But for me they're the easiest to switch so I'm not really sure about that, think it's probably some environmental factors that cause trouble 🙂