Orchid Talk 2006 mailing list messages

2006 Archived Messages

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From: Tricia Garner
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Portsmouth Show
Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2006 09:20

On 07 Aug, in article ,
Ron Newstead wrote:
> I was also at the Show and enjoyed it, coming away with some interesting
> orchids and an insect eater!
> The Group should get organised more on visits to these shows. It would
> be nice to actually meet on these occasions.

Well the next one in the South is the BOGA August Fayre 26/27 August, at
Dinton Pastures near Winnersh (see http://www.orchid-talk.co.uk/news.html
for brief details and links to directions and fuller details). We are
intending to go and would be pleased to meet group members there.

The things that come to those who wait are usually the things left by those who got there first.

From: John Stanley
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Portsmouth Show in code
Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2006 16:45

Y'know, I once read a book on the breaking of the Enigma code at Bletchley Park.
Consequently, it isn't too difficult to decipher the new Orchid-Talk speak.
Are we now a secret society I ask myself?
A happy 96 and a merry 92 to all
John

Geoff and Tricia, This message is interspersed with , 96, 92, and
others. Is it my computer ( I am having trouble at the moment ) or at
your end?

From: Dr Chong-Yee Khoo
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Great News − Newbury in 2007
Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2006 18:50

I have it on good authority that the International Orchid Show will be revived by its organisers in 2007!

The venue is the East of England Country Show, which will be held on Friday 15th, Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th June. The location is Peterborough, in Cambridgeshire.

From: chandler
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Portsmouth Show in code
Date: Wed, 09 Aug 2006 06:30

From: Barbara Larimer
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: semi-hydroponics
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 14:40

I am using prime agra for some seedlings and young plants and they appear to
be doing well − potted three or four weeks ago − good color and tone and
apparently thriving.

My question is this: As I move to repotting other orchids, which of the
clay or silica based media do you all prefer? I have seen several clay and
silica types and wondered if the more experienced of you have developed a
strong preference and why.

From: dennis READ
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] semi-hydroponics
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 19:20

Barbara, I guess you are on the western side of the pond as I do not know ' agra '. The only inorganic medium I now use is 1cm or 1/2in down pumice. I have tried clay granules or hydroleca but my Cattleyas nearly died due to a build up of chemicals. Perlite or expanded blown pumice seems O. K. but is very light and has a tendency to float.
Un fortunatly you are in a situation that you will have to experiment and, in time, get the right conditions for your set up.
Have confidence. Orchids are tough and have survived many thousands of years. Experiment and let us know how you get on.
Regards from north devon .

From: Andy Mckeown
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] semi-hydroponics
Date: Fri, 11 Aug 2006 22:40

I use perlite topped with 1 cm of gravel to stop algal growth. I have also tried expanded clay and hydroleca but the plants did not do so well in these.

From: Silvio a Beccara
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] semi-hydroponics
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 06:50

Dennis, your suggestion about pumice is interesting. I've already killed a few
Catts by using LECA; but I think the main issue here is the frequency of the
watering rather than the salinity of the solution (provided you don't feed
them too much), since after adjusting it I now have quite good results.

From: Barbara Larimer
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] semi-hydroponics
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 13:15

Dennis and Andy, I am indeed on the 'other side of the pond' as my mother
used to say, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to be more precise. Actually, she
used to say the U.S. was on the "wrong side of the pond". I like to nicen
it up a bit. Greetings from the colonies.

The three inorganic products that I was considering are Prime Agra, Aliflor,
both clay based products and Diatomite a silica based product. All three
are suggested for use in semi-hydrophic container gardening. I will post
some sites if anyone is interested.

Prime Agra seems to be the front runner. Aliflor reportedly doesn't wick as
well. Diatomite is best used in combination with organic media − works like
perlite perhaps? Some very experienced growers here have told me that they
use Prime Agra for plants who aren't doing well and need rehabilitation.

My collection is small but building. I am starting new plants in prime agra
and I want to convert my existing plants as I repot them. I recognize this
is more feasible for me with a couple of dozen plants than for those who
have hundreds.

I tend to try to seek an absolute truth. A fascinating aspect of orchid
growing is that there seems to be none. Well, at a minimum I shall have to
wait 6 years for an answer!!

From: Roger Grier
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Semi-hydroponics.
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 16:10

I read your request for some information regarding semi-hydroponics, and I have read the replies and your information regarding the different types of artificial items that can be used.

Why not forget all of them and just buy some stone/rock chippings. Before you do this, think on the 'scientific' lines. First of all, a quote that I heard of many years ago, and it goes like this: " A compost is only that what keeps the plant from falling over". And then, pieces of bark can be the same shape and form as pieces of rock, or, if you like break up an old clay flower pot........same size and shape.

Hope this gets you thinking and if you do try it, then one thing is for sure. It does work, nothing ever rots down, and it is nice and heavy.

From: dennis READ
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Inorganic media
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 17:05

Silvio, the only orchid that enjoyed my mixture of hydraleca, bark and moss was Rhyncholaelia digbyana ( see previous notes). This must be because it enjoys a real dry out between waterings. I have now obtained a young R. glauca. I've potted it in the same mixture so we will see.
Pumice is interesting. My Lycastes and Anguloas are going well in a mixture with moss. This is what Ecuagenera grow most of their plants in and I am slowly turning to it. Dendrobiums.Aeranthes.Aerides and Angreacums also seem to be thriving but as I have always said your particular conditions will guide you.
Regards from Devon

From: Geoffrey Hands
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Semi-hydroponics.
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 10:50

I have done some investigations into this area- and for your info Barbara
and Silvio, I started using hydroculture* „ growing plants in standing water
all the time, some 10 (?) or maybe its more than that now „ years ago.
Anyone who keeps back issues of The Orchid Society of Great Britain Journal
may be able to find a piece I did on it , when I had been using it for
some years , as a ‘hospital’ for plants with no roots. Could be as far back
as the late 80s or early '90s. ( and the idea of growing this way all the
time came from that − saying "if sick plants do so well thjis way , how
about healthy ones...? ).

However, the experiments I made were on capillary flow rates. Fill a pot
with the media in question „ Perlite, gravel, ’LecA or whatever, , flood it,
allow it to drain , stand it in a tray of water of constant depth , measure
the rate of usage , i.e. evaporation from the surface , by noting how much
water has to be added to the tray to restore the level ,from time to time.

A faster rate of flow means that the media will be wetter over more of its
height in the pot „ thus, a material which is hardly conducive to capillary
flow at all will be largely dry , except for the amount actually in the
water. One which wets very easily „ imagine filing the pot with cubes of
sugar − will be very wet all the time despite evaporation at the surface.

I grow most things this way ; it is too wet for some terrestrials ( Thunias
and Phaius for example „ which do grow rapidly but are very prone to rot
especially in high temperatures as we have had this summer in UK).
Cymbidiumns and Paphs seem to do well but take a very long time to grow a
completely different and new set of roots , and ‘do well’ applies only when
that has happened. Cattleyas and Oncidium group hybrids love it , and
sometimes produce multiple growths and huge bulbs, with flowers to match -
and go on growing without check even whilst flowering . Even Vandas like
it, but since they prefer to be hung up in the roof, and I don’t fancy
hanging tanks of water up there (!) I don’t grow them that way now.

I use supercoarse Perlite ( available world-wide I believe)as a standard
material and now have say about a thousand plants in this. I have
relatively few plants in what is sometimes translated ( from the Dutch ) as
‘baked clay pebbles’ which are about ½ inch diameter or in Diatomite chips
which are 1/8 to ¼ inch size.

I use ‘horticultural grit’ as a topping , to prevent algal growths, weeds,
etc, and to give stability.

Note „ although Perlite is relatively insoluble, it does need to be changed
every few years, as some elements leach out, changing the root pH
environment. Three years should be a maximum. Fortunately repotting is easy,
and old Perlite can be swilled off without damaging roots.

” − sorry, I spent my working years quibbling about the precise meaning of
words, and I just can’t stand this ‘semi hydroponics’ term. Even
‘hydroponics’, as defined in dictionaries is so vague as to be meaningless „
‘growing without soil’ is what it means. Who grows orchids with soil ? And
does semi mean half with soil and half without ? That’s why I coined the
term hydroculture from the Greek „ hydro „ water , and culture „ to grow.

From: Silvio a Beccara
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Inorganic media
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 14:55

with both Phals (which actually do very well) and Catts (which used to do very
bad, until I significantly reduced the frequency of watering) I use only
Leca, without any additional material. Both bark and moss would quickly
rotten with continuous flooding of the Leca (I use flood'n'drain
hydroculture). I think an issue could be the salt build-up, but it suffices
to wash the Leca with RO water every month or so.

From: Geoffrey Hands
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Paphs for sale
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 17:50

Victoria-maria „ division of plant which won at the last World Orchid
Conference UKP15

chamberlainianum var chamberlainianum „ no doubt given some other name now,
but since this is a piece from the original Chamberlain collection at
Highbury imported in the days of Fred Sander , the orchid king, worth
growing under its original name „ may even be a piece of the one which sold
for several thousand pounds when first collected UKP12

Denehurst v Surprise „ a good old one with a super flower „ crops up in ‘10
best’ lists , all the time NFS UKP15

Primechild. Yellow ’roth cross multiflora. A Magnificent plant in a 5 litre
pot, 3 spikes, maybe 8 or 9 unflowered growths, plus older flowered growths
UKP150

From: Geoffrey Hands
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: British Orchid Congress
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 18:00

I am disappointed to find that there is no published list of traders
attending the Congress, although it is now so near.

From: Ron Bower
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Semi-hydroponics.
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2006 22:10

Geoff, Where do you obtain your, or from whom do you obtain super coarse
Perlite? Do you mean the coarsest of the 3 grades sold by garden centres
ect, and of which the biggest piece is about the size of grain of pudding
rice and which I think is too fine. I seem to recall that you mentioned in
one of your posts that you were looking for some of a bigger size. Did you
find it? There is I understand a type of Perlite which is used in the
building industry for insulating cavity walls and which is much bigger sized
than the horticultural stuff but which is only available in large
quantities.
Be that as it may, all my enquires have been unsuccessful.
Ronbow.

From: Silvio a Beccara
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Semi-hydroponics.
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 08:10

thank you very much for this valuable piece of information. Concerning Catts,
do you grow them in baked clay pebbles (i.e. Leca), as well? I now have one
which is very healthy, but lost a few due to too much watering. I wonder
whether perlite is better for this genus. Do you have any issue about
salinity of the solution or salt build-up, either in perlite or in baked clay
pebbles?

I do have problems with Phal species. There seem to be a few (like for
instance Kingidium chibae or Phalaenopsis floresensis) which simply won't
stand hydroponics; but maybe I just have to find better conditions.

Concerning terminology, I think that both terms (hydroponics and hydroculture)
should have the same dignity (since they essentially mean the same thing);
besides, the term "hydroponics" (coined by similarity to "geoponics", culture
of the earth, from Greek udor, water, and ponos, labour) was introduced first
(see article on wikipedia). As for "semi-hydroponics", I have no idea what
this should mean; I'd prefer to distinguish between static (or "passive") and
continuous flow, or ebb'n'flow hydroponics. Nowadays there is a whole zoo of
hydroponic methods.

Could you publish your results about the wicking speed of different potting
materials? I think they would be very useful for all us involved in
hydroponics.

From: Silvio a Beccara
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Semi-hydroponics.
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 09:40

your suggestion is interesting... which kind of rocks are you using, and where
do you find them? I suppose they should be fairly permeable to water,
shouldn't they? I would like to see some photos, too.

From: Ron Newstead
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] British Orchid Congress
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 11:00

I am disappointed to find that there is no published list of traders
attending the Congress, although it is now so near.

From: Ron Newstead
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] Portsmouth Show
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 12:35

I did not notice the name Elsner when I visited the show. A pity, because I
have a beautiful Laelia, purchased from them, in bloom at the moment

From: Ron Bower
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: address
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 17:10

From: Geoffrey Hands
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] British Orchid Congress
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:20

We are staying at The Queenswood Hotel ( which someone recommended to me) .
Not sure about free time, as I am asked to help on the stand of Growth
Technology − although the details have not yet been settled.

From: dennis READ
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: BOC CONGRESS
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 19:10

I EMailed Ian Parsons concerning the traders attending Weston Super Mare. The reply basically advised that UK nurseries would be attending. Pathetic.
Regards from Devon.

From: N & T Burgess
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Dinton Pastures BOGA
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 22:05

I thought the members would like a list of the Nurseries who will be present at the BOGA Autumn Fayre Saturday 26th August and Sunday 27th to be held at Dinton Pastures Country Park, Winnersh, Berkshire RG10 0TH

From: Geoffrey Hands
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] BOC CONGRESS
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 22:05

Wish I hadn't bothered − in fact if that's right I may cancel − have better
things to do with my time and money.

I EMailed Ian Parsons concerning the traders attending Weston Super Mare.
The reply basically advised that UK nurseries would be attending. Pathetic.

From: Ron Newstead
To: Orchid Talk list
Subject: Re: [OrchidTalk] semi-hydroponics
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 23:05

I have tried pumice as a potting medium but not in semi-hydroponics. I also
tried it as a layer of free-draining support for pots but it grew a covering
of black sludge − not very appetising!

MONTH	DATE	DATE	DATE	DATE	MONTH	DATE	DATE	DATE	DATE
January	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31	February	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-29
March	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31	April	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-30
May	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31	June	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-30
July	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31	August	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31
September	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-30	October	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31
November	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-30	December	1-7	8-14	15-21	22-31

2006 Archived Messages

August 8—14