The Orchid Garden

Orchid Aquaculture

Question:

: If you had been following the discussion on the Orchid List Digest (also : run by Rod Venger – details on their web site), you’d found that they : and many others recommend leaving the algae that grow in the glass to : act as a natural filter. A tangent: Rod is running the OLD now? Just curious (I haven’t read the OLD in a few years because of the time involved in getting through the flames back then).

No, Jeff, just ODO -Rod- Venger’s Orchids Website http://www.vengers.com/

Response:

: If you had been following the discussion on the Orchid List Digest (also : run by Rod Venger – details on their web site), you’d found that they : and many others recommend leaving the algae that grow in the glass to : act as a natural filter. A tangent: Rod is running the OLD now? Just curious (I haven’t read the OLD in a few years because of the time involved in getting through the flames back then). No, Jeff, just ODO -Rod-

====== What’s ODO? -Carroll

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – : If you had been following the discussion on the Orchid List Digest (also : run by Rod Venger – details on their web site), you’d found that they : and many others recommend leaving the algae that grow in the glass to : act as a natural filter. A tangent: Rod is running the OLD now? Just curious (I haven’t read the OLD in a few years because of the time involved in getting through the flames back then). No, Jeff, just ODO -Rod- ====== What’s ODO? -Carroll

Orchid Discussion Online, Carroll. Where have you been? )) 78 issues have gone out, one every 1-2 days. Send a blank email to

Response:

: If you had been following the discussion on the Orchid List Digest (also : run by Rod Venger – details on their web site), you’d found that they : and many others recommend leaving the algae that grow in the glass to : act as a natural filter. A tangent: Rod is running the OLD now? Just curious (I haven’t read the OLD in a few years because of the time involved in getting through the flames back then). : I always thought roots need as much air as water. A plant with poor : drainage will rot its roots. Why do roots do not die in water? Is the : reason in the algae? That the algae will produce enough oxygen for the : plants to live? Would it be that roots do not need air but oxygen would : suffice? I had this same question when I first read Rod’s postings on aquaculture and rationalized it as follows. Plant zonation in wetlands is partially determined by whether the soil in an area is always under water, whether it is always waterlogged, or whether there is a twelve hour wet-dry cycle (due to tides). The plants that are constantly submerged (think reedy) are our concern (changing the water is akin to water movement in a large water body).  Plants in this zone tend to have a specialized tissue called aerenchyma – a spongy type of parenchyma (non-specialized tissue found throughout plants) – which allows reasonably quick gas movement down to the submerged tissues. Every time I’ve sectioned (epiphytic) orchid roots, I’ve noted plenty of spongy space. Then again that could be due to bad sectioning technique and I could be full of it. -j

Response:

<snip I always thought roots need as much air as water. A plant with poor drainage will rot its roots. Why do roots do not die in water? Is the reason in the algae? That the algae will produce enough oxygen for the plants to live? Would it be that roots do not need air but oxygen would suffice? Or the fact that one changes the water once a week is enough to maintain an adequte supply of air/oxygen for the roots. This make me think kof a fish in a small bowl: the water has enough oxygen for a few days. Or is it something else that prevents the destruction of the roots.? Now that we know it works; it’s the reason why it works that will confirm the method for me. Ed Cormier

I know it sounds like a strange thing to be working. On the other hand, people have been rooting cuttings in just water for absolute ages. I think the secret is that there is no medium for the rot bacteria/funghi to grow on. I think what you are saying about the oxygen is right, but the algae (if growing well) would also provide quite a lot of oxygen – this is why it is important to leave them in. As I said, I don’t have much experience with the method and have only just started my first plant on it (granted, it has just started growing again!). Maybe Rod can shed a little more light on the matter? I will read through the culture sheet again. Cheers — Hester Lyons to reply remove no_banana from my e-mail address! Visit my Aberdeen Orchid Society website: http://www.boddam.demon.co.uk/sos.htm

Response:

If you had been following the discussion on the Orchid List Digest (also run by Rod Venger – details on their web site), you’d found that they and many others recommend leaving the algae that grow in the glass to act as a natural filter. I have no personal experience, only having just put my first orchid (Slc ‘Dream Cloud’) into water culture. However, as a biologist it sounds like a good idea to me – get a little ecosystem going. Good growin’! Hester. Aberdeen Orchid Society Web Site: http://www.boddam.demon.co.uk/sos.htm

I always thought roots need as much air as water. A plant with poor drainage will rot its roots. Why do roots do not die in water? Is the reason in the algae? That the algae will produce enough oxygen for the plants to live? Would it be that roots do not need air but oxygen would suffice? Or the fact that one changes the water once a week is enough to maintain an adequte supply of air/oxygen for the roots. This make me think kof a fish in a small bowl: the water has enough oxygen for a few days. Or is it something else that prevents the destruction of the roots.? Now that we know it works; it’s the reason why it works that will confirm the method for me. Ed Cormier

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – If you had been following the discussion on the Orchid List Digest (also run by Rod Venger – details on their web site), you’d found that they and many others recommend leaving the algae that grow in the glass to act as a natural filter. I have no personal experience, only having just put my first orchid (Slc ‘Dream Cloud’) into water culture. However, as a biologist it sounds like a good idea to me – get a little ecosystem going. Good growin’! Hester. Aberdeen Orchid Society Web Site: http://www.boddam.demon.co.uk/sos.htm I always thought roots need as much air as water. A plant with poor drainage will rot its roots. Why do roots do not die in water? Is the reason in the algae? That the algae will produce enough oxygen for the plants to live? Would it be that roots do not need air but oxygen would suffice? Or the fact that one changes the water once a week is enough to maintain an adequte supply of air/oxygen for the roots. This make me think kof a fish in a small bowl: the water has enough oxygen for a few days. Or is it something else that prevents the destruction of the roots.? Now that we know it works; it’s the reason why it works that will confirm the method for me. Ed Cormier

Ed, You have to understand the basic cause of root rot. Fungus. Roots subjected to too much moisture for too long are infected and in turn rot away. In the presence of air, that is. Remove either factor, too much moisture/too long or the air, and you remove the conditions under which the fungus can thrive. Out of 3-4 dozen Orchids we have in the water experiment, a few have been there since late 1995. No root rot. This type of culture is really a no-brainer. The more you think about what needs doing, the more problems you’ll have. -Rod- Venger’s Orchids Website http://www.vengers.com/

Response:

If you had been following the discussion on the Orchid List Digest (also run by Rod Venger – details on their web site), you’d found that they and many others recommend leaving the algae that grow in the glass to act as a natural filter. I have no personal experience, only having just put my first orchid (Slc ‘Dream Cloud’) into water culture. However, as a biologist it sounds like a good idea to me – get a little ecosystem going. Good growin’! Hester. Aberdeen Orchid Society Web Site: http://www.boddam.demon.co.uk/sos.htm writes – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Someone asked some questions about growing orchids hydroponicly.  Technically, most orchids are grown hydroponicly, because they are grown without soil. I think the term for growing orchids in water, without any medium at all, is aquaculture. In another post, someone said that most of the people who are devotees of aquaculture are trying to sell something.  Actually, aquaculture is cheaper than conventional bark-chip orchid growing, but it takes more work.  The only special need is a fertilizer with micronutrients, but one bottle will last all year, so it’s a very cheap method of growing orchids. A few months ago, a coworker gave me a Phal he had nearly killed.  It was soft and wilted.  I asked Rod Venger (on the orchidchat) what’s the best strategy.  He said that aquaculture would be the best shot, and I thought, well, this orchid is nearly dead, so there’s nothing to lose if I try it.  I pulled it out of its medium.  My coworker had overwatered it horribly, and it had only _one_ root left.  I followed the advice on Rod’s web page, which is basically, plop the orchid in a container of water, make sure the water level is correct (ie, roots submerged, but the rest of the orchid dry), and change the water once a week. He doesn’t recomend cleaning the container or the roots, but I have been cleaning both every week. The results have been impressive.  The orchid immediately perked up and became firm.  New, healthy roots are growing, and a new leaf is growing. I had another orchid at home, a Cym ensifolium (my favorite type of orchid) which was supposed to be a clone of some prize-winning Cym ens. I bought it, and it has never grown or done anything since I got it about a year ago.  I decided to see if aquaculture would help it. It looks healthier (the bulbs are fuller), but it still hasn’t had any new growth in aquaculture.  I’m not sure what’s going wrong with it. I also put two more phals in aquaculture, and they are having good results, like the one my coworker gave me. Maybe Cyms don’t like aquaculture, or, more likely, I just don’t know what I’m doing with this particular Cym.  The Phals do fine with it. Aquaculture has quite a few advantages over conventional culture: Roots don’t rot.  It’s impossible to under- or over-water.  The orchid stays well hydrated.  The standing water gives the orchid good humidity. Insects can’t grow in this "medium".  It’s possible to quickly see the health of the roots.  Repotting is easy.  If you get the right containers, it looks really cool, especially if you get a spherical container and put one of those green-glowing flat nightlights behind it. The disadvantage is that it’s more work.  The water should be changed at least once a week.  All dead leaves, etc, need to be carefully taken off the orchid, because the high humidity will cause them to rot. The water level needs to be checked regularly.  If there’s anything floating around in there (dead roots, etc), I immediately change the water and clean the container.  The phals have big, firm leaves, so they can support themselves in the right-sized container.  My cym, however, could not support itself, so I had to carefully bend some wire into the right shape to support it without strangling it, and it had to look good, so the support was time-consuming. My favorite containers are glassware I buy at Goodwill.  Some things which would be bad taste as a candle bowl look very good as orchid aquaculture bowls.  Glass is easy to clean. I’m still trying to figure out what to do about fertilizer.  Obviously, it has to be a complete fertilizer, because the water has no nutrients. I use Dynagrow, because it has micronutrients and is designed to be used with synthetic rocks, which is a similar situation to growing without a medium. I’m still not sure how much to use.  I use ordinary tap water. For the future, I think mist culture might be an excellent method, but I haven’t thought of a good way to set it up.  The other method which would be good would be to have a constant water exchanger running, to circulate the water maybe once a day, but I also haven’t thought of a way to set that up.  For now, I’ll stick with my Goodwill glassware and a few drops of complete fertilizer. I’ll post pictures to my web site at some point. Gus

– Hester Lyons to reply remove no_banana from my e-mail address! Visit my Aberdeen Orchid Society website: http://www.boddam.demon.co.uk/sos.htm

Response:

Someone asked some questions about growing orchids hydroponicly.  Technically, most orchids are grown hydroponicly, because they are grown without soil. I think the term for growing orchids in water, without any medium at all, is aquaculture. In another post, someone said that most of the people who are devotees of aquaculture are trying to sell something.  Actually, aquaculture is cheaper than conventional bark-chip orchid growing, but it takes more work.  The only special need is a fertilizer with micronutrients, but one bottle will last all year, so it’s a very cheap method of growing orchids. A few months ago, a coworker gave me a Phal he had nearly killed.  It was soft and wilted.  I asked Rod Venger (on the orchidchat) what’s the best strategy.  He said that aquaculture would be the best shot, and I thought, well, this orchid is nearly dead, so there’s nothing to lose if I try it.  I pulled it out of its medium.  My coworker had overwatered it horribly, and it had only _one_ root left.  I followed the advice on Rod’s web page, which is basically, plop the orchid in a container of water, make sure the water level is correct (ie, roots submerged, but the rest of the orchid dry), and change the water once a week. He doesn’t recomend cleaning the container or the roots, but I have been cleaning both every week. The results have been impressive.  The orchid immediately perked up and became firm.  New, healthy roots are growing, and a new leaf is growing. I had another orchid at home, a Cym ensifolium (my favorite type of orchid) which was supposed to be a clone of some prize-winning Cym ens. I bought it, and it has never grown or done anything since I got it about a year ago.  I decided to see if aquaculture would help it. It looks healthier (the bulbs are fuller), but it still hasn’t had any new growth in aquaculture.  I’m not sure what’s going wrong with it. I also put two more phals in aquaculture, and they are having good results, like the one my coworker gave me. Maybe Cyms don’t like aquaculture, or, more likely, I just don’t know what I’m doing with this particular Cym.  The Phals do fine with it. Aquaculture has quite a few advantages over conventional culture: Roots don’t rot.  It’s impossible to under- or over-water.  The orchid stays well hydrated.  The standing water gives the orchid good humidity. Insects can’t grow in this "medium".  It’s possible to quickly see the health of the roots.  Repotting is easy.  If you get the right containers, it looks really cool, especially if you get a spherical container and put one of those green-glowing flat nightlights behind it. The disadvantage is that it’s more work.  The water should be changed at least once a week.  All dead leaves, etc, need to be carefully taken off the orchid, because the high humidity will cause them to rot. The water level needs to be checked regularly.  If there’s anything floating around in there (dead roots, etc), I immediately change the water and clean the container.  The phals have big, firm leaves, so they can support themselves in the right-sized container.  My cym, however, could not support itself, so I had to carefully bend some wire into the right shape to support it without strangling it, and it had to look good, so the support was time-consuming. My favorite containers are glassware I buy at Goodwill.  Some things which would be bad taste as a candle bowl look very good as orchid aquaculture bowls.  Glass is easy to clean. I’m still trying to figure out what to do about fertilizer.  Obviously, it has to be a complete fertilizer, because the water has no nutrients. I use Dynagrow, because it has micronutrients and is designed to be used with synthetic rocks, which is a similar situation to growing without a medium. I’m still not sure how much to use.  I use ordinary tap water. For the future, I think mist culture might be an excellent method, but I haven’t thought of a good way to set it up.  The other method which would be good would be to have a constant water exchanger running, to circulate the water maybe once a day, but I also haven’t thought of a way to set that up.  For now, I’ll stick with my Goodwill glassware and a few drops of complete fertilizer. I’ll post pictures to my web site at some point. Gus

Response:

Filed under: Growing Orchids

Related Posts