You're not really growing in "water culture," so don't try to follow those
guides. Doing so would mean the entire root system was submerged -
everything below the normal planting depth for a phal. You're just growing
in sphagnum, but in a very unusual pot and configuration, one that is there
for aesthetics, not for the benefit of the plant.

Personally, I'd break the glass and pot it up normally. The current setup
is really not the best for the plant.

Are you sure that the wire is metallic? There is a strand in the middle of
an orchid root - the vascular tube, if I recall correctly - that is very
durable and hangs around when the rest of the root has rotted away. Maybe
that's what you're seeing.

--

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


"salgud" wrote in message
oups.com...
Ray,
Thought about the wire supporting the moss, but it doesn't extend all
the way to the bottom of the container, so it can't support anything!
Weird! And the moss doesn't need support, the narrow neck at the middle
of the container does that very well.
I googled about this and found a few interesting messages concerning
water cultured orchids, but not a lot. I also found an article at
Venger's Orchids on it. They simpley said to change the water once a
week and add the normal amount of food. I'm not sure how to do that.
When I feed my other orchids, I just pour a little diluted orchid food
throught the media after watering. Seems to work fine, so far. When I
watered and fed it last night, I just poured some of the dilute orchid
food through the media. But in my other plants, most of the orchid food
goes right through the media and isn't caught. With this situation, the
food is caught in the water below that the orchid is growing in. I'm
afraid this might be too strong. I'm thinking about diluting it some
more when I feed this orchid. What do you think?
I'm going to call the nursery where I got it yesterday and see if the
person who prepared it this way is available, of if someone there knows
how to take care of it. And I'm certainly open to suggestions here!
Thanks for the help.
Dave

Ray wrote:
Roots that grow into the water will be fine.

I'd guess that you'll find that the wire is supporting the moss, keeping
it
from sinking down further.

When you water the moss, just dampen it, don't soak it.

--

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


"salgud" wrote in message
ups.com...
Thanks for your replies!
Ray,
I was wondering if I should clean out the container because there's
algae in the water at the bottom. I guess not! Glad you knew something
about this.
The moss isn't midway, my description was misleading. It's at the top
down to the middle, and it's to hold the orchid up and, I'm guessing,
to keep some of the roots out of the water. And there is one long root,
which is dividing, going well into the water.
I also noticed last night, when I looked at it in better light, that
there is a piece of thin wire extending from the moss down into the
water. I wonder if it's to control the pH of the water, or to create
some electrolytic effect?
This is getting to be a bit of a mystery, and a little exciting. I'm
going to google for info about growing orchids this way, see if I can
come up with more.

Ray wrote:
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!