Hey guys, it's Danny
Okay, so many, many of you asked me if I decided to
switch to clay pots only and why I did this, so I think it's
better to make a video about it as it's a complicated one
and needs a whole discussion to explain the big picture.
First off, let me just say that this set up will not work for
everyone, and I still don't recommend clay pots to
beginners or to traditional setups. I spent the last six
months planning it in my mind, so I'll tell you how
everything works and hope that some things might
apply to you, too if you are interested in this type of
setup. Also, I cannot say which are the pros and cons,
so I'll let you decide what could be good or bad for you.
So first off, clay pots are not transparent, and you
cannot see the roots or when the medium dries.
This is especially tricky for beginners, so this might be
the main drawback for many orchid growers.
However, this isn't really a drawback for more-
experienced growers. With time we learn to read the
external signs by looking at the orchid and also by smell
sometimes, and we have an idea of what's going on with
the roots just by looking at the orchid.
After a few years that I've grown orchids I can say that I
don't really need clear pots. They do help, but they're not
essential for me to know when things go bad inside the
pot or when I need to water and I'm not saying this to
brag or anything, but each and every one of us has the
possibility to learn orchids and to know if something is
wrong just by looking at them. We don't need clear pots
really and if I'm confident enough that I can tell, anyone
can. Then clay pots don't have ventilation holes. Well,
they actually don't need them. They're already ventilated
due to the process of production alone. Clay pots are
made of a porous material. It breathes so ventilation
holes are really not needed. You can say that they will
dry superfast in a very dry and warm climate and
slower in a humid and cool environment, so wouldn't
they be better suited in a more cool environment
perhaps? Yes, they would. However, I'm not using them
with traditional bark. So let's talk about how they work
with my medium. So as I was saying in a previous video
which, by the way, you can find in the description below,
I'm using full inorganic medium, mainly Seramis and
Hydroton. Seramis is very very water retentive; Hydroton
not so much. By adapting the ratio of Seramis and
Hydroton I know how much water my pot will hold. If I
would like to hold its weight in water I would just use
Seramis, but I could potentially suffocate the roots if I
water too often. This will not happen in a clay pot. As I
was saying, it breathes without ventilation holes.
So when I choose to properly soak the Seramis I will
never have issues about too much sogginess as the pot
itself helps with water evaporation more than you might
imagine.
Speaking about evaporation, remember the Kool-Logs?
They keep the closed environment cool by evaporative
cooling. The material they are made of is clay. Clay pots
work the exact same way. Due to the constant
evaporation they will be cooler than plastic pots. The
more water evaporates, the cooler they are. I actually
did a test and I placed my measuring device somewhere
in the greenhouse, and this is what it read.
Then I placed it among my orchids and the shift in
measurement is dramatic. Notice how much cooler and
humid things are in the vicinity of the pots and orchids.
In a subtropical country like the one I live in this is very
useful. I don't need to rely on cooling devices as much
as I would with plastic pots, so at this point you can
start to see how things might apply to some people
while other things might not apply. You might not benefit
from evaporative cooling.
Now you might know that epiphytic orchids
photosynthesize at a root level. How will they do that if
the pot is opaque? Well I think the question is: do they
really need to rely on it? The main organ responsible
with photosynthesis is the leaf. If an orchid has leaves,
the secondary organs will not produce a noticeable
quantity in comparison to the leaves. The mechanism is
efficient only if an orchid has no leaves, in which case
roots help and for some species that don't produce
leaves It is essential for the roots to receive light. But for
the orchids that I grow, if they have enough leaves I
notice there is not much of a difference if roots
photosynthesize as well.
Now let's talk weight. Plastic pots are very light and can
be bumped over instantly. For this reason I resorted to
decorative containers in the past. I now don't need them
anymore as clay is very heavy. Coupled with a clay
medium that I use, there is no chance of orchids falling
over unless they are monsters like Vandas.
But then we can adjust this with some heavy rocks at
the bottom . Now the decorative containers had a double
role. I soaked my orchids in them. I don't need to soak
my orchids now though, as Seramis and even the clay
pot itself are water-wicking. I only use a small quantity
of water at a time to fully saturate the medium, so
decorative containers are really not needed anymore.
Let's talk root damage when re-potting.
You might know I never used clay pots in the past due to
the fact that the roots attached to it like crazy.
So what's changed now?
Well, the medium changed. The reason for regular
repotting is not growth rhythm of the orchids but the
degradation rhythm of the medium. Sphagnum Moss
degrades in about one year; bark in about two or three
depending how much it stays moist. So repotting every
two to three years is a must in most cases. With
inorganic media, this is not an issue anymore. If orchid
roots are not disturbed they can remain viable for years
and years. I will not need to repot it due to medium
decomposition anymore so I will repot when the orchid
grows—or will I? Being that clay is very porous I can
simply place the small pot in a bigger pot and place
some clay media around and voilà, problem solved. And
how fast do orchids grow really? Some take 5 years to
fill up a pot. Some never do, like the Vandas. So the
problem of root breakage is pretty much eliminated by
the inorganic medium, at least for many more years, as
long as the roots stay alive. And why would they even
die? There is so much ventilation, so little acidity due to
the clay medium not breaking down. So many air
pockets due to the fact that clay medium doesn't
compact. I would really have to mess up to kill those
roots. But let's say the roots went bad. How will I know if
I cannot see them? Well taking a sniff right after I water
my medium will tell me everything I need to know.
Rotting roots have a horrible smell. If the smell is not
bad, all is well inside.
To these main ideas I can also include osmosis water.
Since it is produced in limited quantities it's fitting to not
soak the pots and use smaller quantities. I can also add
the control over how I water, from above or from below,
and how much water I can leave in their trays when I go
on vacation or visit my family for a week without
needing to worry about too much sogginess and not
enough ventilation, or too little water and dehydration.
To end the subject, there is also the aesthetic aspect:
When I entered my balcony I was welcomed with a
multitude of colors—coming from the decorative
containers, sadly, not the flowers. I don't want my eyes to
be distracted by that anymore. I want my gaze to settle
on the beautiful green foliage, and the pop of colors
should be flowers, not decorative containers. This is just
a personal taste. It's just what I like. It's not about right
or wrong. Of course with time the clay pots might get
marks and white deposits but they will never be too
colorful to distract my eyes from the orchids.
Now of course this is all theory, how will this pan out?
Only time will tell. There are still questions unanswered
like salt deposits, ease of cleaning, molds or algae.
I personally think I won't have problems, but that's just a
speculation, so for this we will need to wait quite a bit.
But luckily I share everything on video with you, so you'll
be the first ones to find out how things work.
Okay, hope this sheds some light on why I switched to
this method and how I thought about making it work.
I think that if one of the variables disappears, things
might go really bad, really fast. Clay pots and sphagnum
moss is a no-no due to how fast the moss breaks down.
Repotting from clay pots every two years again is a
catastrophe. Using bark with clay pots in a dry and warm
environment is madness, but place the correct variables
and things should theoretically be bliss.
Don't worry, though. Plastic pots will make some
appearances as well. They are not completely retired.
Okay guys, thanks for watching. Hope you found this
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Thank you so much for joining us, see you next time.
Bye.