What a pretty ray of sunshine is that! Ben, you're getting me into S/H slowly but surely.

Marci

I love the pink farmeri- they put up a nice show- good growing!

ben- what kind of container do you use for S&H? Have you tried a saucer with regular clay pots? I have looked for comments about S&H but can't find them. I just switched over- ten orchids!

I use the standard quart size clear plastic pot that the chinese soup comes in. I melt 3 holes with a soldering iron about an inch above the bottom for drainage and they are ready to go. I use hydrokorrels (similar to prime agra) for media (little expanded clay round pellets) as I can get them locally and skip shipping charges. They work fine.

I have not tried other methods, such putting plants in a tray with water, I would have heavy duty mosquito problems if I did that, and I am quite content with just a moderate mosquito problem. That aside I don't see why it would not work. try it on a few plants and watch for any variation in growth.

My problem is that I can't see the roots for development, etc. I also want to know if I should have cut most of the old roots. Do they die anyway? The trays with water also dry up in 2 days. I water them more now than I did when in orchid bark mixes!Thanks for writing back, I wanted real life help.

Lantana, I water twice a week and never see my containers dry, in that respect I guess the clear pots are better at retaining water. I probably, easily could go a week without watering, but I also grow mounted plants above the S+H crowd and they don't have a problem cohabitating. You should definitely remove old roots when moving a plant to S+H, as they usually die, and make sure the plant has new roots coming out. The new roots will seek the moisture and dive right in the water. Google Semi Hydroponic and you'll find Ray's site, has a lot of S+H info.

What do you mean "you wanted real life help?'

Beautiful!~Charm

I meant a get down to basics without all the tech speak. I also wanted a Floridian because we deal with issues that another climate may not. I love to learn on this forum! Thanks, I'll be getting Chinese food all summer.

When Atlanta had the grand opening of the Fuqua orchid house at the botanical gardens, I stood in line with my sister and 10,000 of my closest friends. They had been in such a crunch to get things ready in time that none of the plants had name tags. The many volunteers overseeing the lines were not there because of their botanical knowledge. But one helpful lady said she had overheard one plant in full beautiful bloom hanging above us called Farmer's Eyes. It's been one of my favorite ever since. Someday, I'll have to get one. Thanks for your picture. Sherlene