I think the idea behind the moss mid-way in the bottle is mostly for
decorative purposes, but if you consider that excess water will drain
through, and the humidity from below will keep it moist for a longer time,
it's an interesting concept.

I had some great discussions with Rod on water culture, which is growing
plants IN a nutrient solution with no medium. It can be done, but he found
that the water had to never get below 70°F, and you must have algae growing
in the container, or it stinks to high heaven.

The key is to let roots grow that are tailored to the liquid environment.
The roots that grew elsewhere will rot when submerged. Likewise, if you go
from water culture to other media, those roots that grew and functioned well
in the liquid are going to be less functional.

Folks have for a long time claimed that water is what rots roots, and I have
come to believe that's hogwash. Lack of air flow and gas exchange is what
rots roots! That's why plants thrive under semi-hydroponic culture - they
may have a constant supply of water and nutrition that scares folks that
believe the old wives' tale about water, but the air flow is such that the
liquid is no issue.

My new mantra in orchid culture is "air management"

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"Kye" wrote in message
...
Vengers Orchids used to advocate the growing of orchids in water, and
apparrently had success. Personally, I find this concept a little
unsettling. Hopefully some-one more educated in the usage of extreme
quantities of water can offer advice, or suggest a more appropriate method
of growth.

Kye.

"salgud" wrote in message
ups.com...
I posted last week that my cattleya is blooming, and it's my third
orchid to bloom this year, and that these are my first orchids to bloom
since I was given my first over 3 yrs ago. The cattleya is now in full
bloom, and WOW! I can't believe what it does for my kitchen! (I had to
go look at it again as I was writing this!)
Things change fast! But it's becoming a problem! Today, I was out
running errands, not even thinking about orchids. But I ran across a
discount book store, with a very nice orchid book in the window. I
bought a beautiful Reader's Digest book called, "Orchids for Every
Home" intended for beginners, which I clearly am. Couldn't pass it up,
even though I already have 2 good orchid books I bought back when I
started raising them. But it was a $30 book for $8, and beautifully
illustrated with hundreds of pics of orchids.
Later, I was headed for the grocery store, was passing a large nursery
I've passed many times before. I got this strange feeling that if I
went in, I'd get a good buy on an orchid. I'm not kidding! I tried to
talk myself out of it, but hung a ewie and went in. They had a lot of
beautiful blooming orchids, starting at $35 and up from there.
Definitely out of my price range right now. And I can get them at a
discount from my son's fiance who works in a nursery. But I poked
around a bit, and found something unusual, at least to me. It was a
non-blooming Phal (didn't have a phal yet) in a glass vase. Or is it
still a vase if the plant is growing in it? Or are vases just for cut
flowers? Anyway, it was a green transparent vase, about a foot tall,
6" across the top, narrows down to about 2" at the center, then swells
back out to 5" or so at the bottom (sort of a Mae West shaped vase!).
There is moss in the wide, top part, with the Sea Jewell Phal in it.
Water in the bottom. Never saw an orchid done that way before, and I
really liked it. I went up and asked, and it was only $20. I couldn't
just leave it there! So now I have a phal. In a vase, if that's what
it's called.
I'm sure it's not unique, so if anyone has any tips as to how to take
care of it, I'm all ears. I was watering my others in the tub today, so
when I got home, I just put it in the tub and "showered" it with the
others, then fed it. It's now on the kitchen window, facing east. Looks
great!
But that's the problem. I didn't intend to spend a dime on orchids
today, and spent almost $30. This is getting to be an expensive
addiction!