Sorry for the poor photo. I bought this Renanthera Kalsom 'Red Dragon' on vacation last week. It's only the third orchid that I've ever owned. I'm not sure what to do with it. I've read the AOS culture sheet and searched the forums for info, so I'm going to try to follow what is said in those places.

Should I convert it to semi hydro, or keep it in the same pot for now? At the nursery I saw plants that have roots coming out along the stem; this one doesn't currently.

Has anyone here ever grown renantheras? I would appreciate any input!

Don't do hydroponics unless you have some experience with it. You are already a beginner with orchids so you'll subject it to hydroponics on top of that? Not a good idea at all.

Renantheras like it warm, 60 minimum at night up to 90 for a daytime high. They like 4 hours of direct sunlight, then bright for the rest of the day. They like a fairly coarse and fast draining mix. They like basket culture and do well in clay pots. Feed them monthly. It is a young plant.

Oh by the way, what you have done is called "impulse buying!!!" Purchased something first and figured out whether or not you could possibly grow it.

...and all plant geeks do that.
Sometimes our shoes even catch on fire.

I think that the biggest mistake beginning orchid growers make is they buy the orchid because it is pretty. Then they try to grow it. The money has been spent and the odyssey begins!
What people need to do is to figure out what conditions they have at home and then purchase plants that will grow in those conditions.
That's why I call it impulse buying. Buy first, think later.
Your experience with orchids is limited and you bought a beautiful orchid that rates a 9.6 on the difficulty scale of 10 and you should be buying orchids that are 3's and 4's. Those would be Phalaenopsis, Paphiopedilums or Oncidiums. But have no fear, we all start that way. It is what you learn that matters.
Just hang around the forums here, read the threads, and you'll pick up
Loads of information from some very cool people!!

ardesia said:...and all plant geeks do that.
Sometimes our shoes even catch on fire.

You mean that plants don't just jump into my cart/basket when I'm not looking?

Bill, I appreciate your candid advice. Wow, I had no idea the thing is that difficult. I thought it was easier than that! And I wanted to go semi hydro because that was supposed to make things easier still. Anyway, live and learn!

I actually love oncidiums, so it's good to know that they're considered easy. My next orchid will definitely a phal or oncidium.

I like that orchids are challenging my growing skills. The other orchid that I have right now is a cattleya, which seems to be doing well. I'm going to take your advice and go easy, before branching out further.

As a new grower I have been talking with people who use s/h and I can tell you a couple of things you need to this about before taking the s/h plunge. Semi-hydro only is a "water/ nutrient delivery system" using wicking properties of the Leca. The Leca also provide stabilizing structure for the orchid's roots to attach. Semi-hydroponics, while taking some of the learning curve of "when to water" out of the equation, it does not eliminate the cultural aspects of a particular orchid. Some warm growers in the winter months don't do well because of the cooling effect from the evaporation of the Leca especially in a very cold climate even if you provide heat using a seedling heating mat. Watering in semi-hydro is a bit more complex since the Leca and reservoir need to flushed weekly to prevent the build up of salts from fertilizer. Adaptation to the system can be stressful for the orchid especially if it's going from a fairly dry media (bark) to this one which is more moist one. So many who do use it time their reports to just when an orchid is just putting out the begins of new roots. The new roots will be on board and adapting to the new environment a s the old ones die off.

Hey T, I am pleased to hear that you like the challenge of orchids. But my point is even far more simple. If you grow orchids that suit your conditions, the whole process is so much simpler. It becomes difficult when the Orchids requirements are difficult for the owner to duplicate.
Fly Fisherman call it "Matching the Hatch". When insects are hatching you use the artificial fly that best matches the insects. But if you look at it in terms of orchids, you don't try to grow orchids that like to grow in the high Andean Cloud Forest nor do you try to grow sun loving Vandas if you can't provide a nice warm sunny spot. This would be futile.
With the orchid world featuring over 30,000 species and at least 300,000 hybrids, there are bound to be a few that can grow well in everyone's conditions! You just need to match the hatch!
I love Miltoniopsis. But since they do not like daytime temperatures over 70 degrees there wasn't much point in me trying to grow them in Southwest Florida where it rarely goes under 70 degrees!!
I feel that it is the same way about growing orchids hydroponically. It is not the way Orchids grow. Orchid roots need air/oxygen around their roots. Not circulating water. The art of watering orchids is no more difficult then watering an African violet or a tomato plant, you just have to read about it. You read, you understand and you water accordingly!
New world lady slippers can be found growing streamside in South America, not all, but some. Disas in South Africa I understand grow very similarly. To try to make epiphytes, that grow in trees or low hanging limbs,grow in water is making successful orchid growing much harder then it has to be.
If hydroponics was truely the way to grow them then why aren't so many more found in nature growing that way? They simply don't because it isn't.

Thank you, Lisa. My local supermarket has really enticing phals right now. I'm thinking of picking up one and trying semi hydro on it. I won't try it on my cattleya or renanthera though, after the advice I've gotten.

Bill, your point is well-taken. It's difficult though, for a beginner like myself to figure out which orchids would do well in my own home. I had read in a couple of different forums, for example, that renantheras are some of the easier orchids to grow. That may well be the case for some areas, but apparently that's not true for New England. A problem with the internet is that sometimes there's too much info!

I suppose you will try semi-hydro come whatever or high water! Why bother asking questions, if you don't read the answers? Sorry, I don't wish to be rude, but.....

Well Tienito, I would suggest the American Orchid Society web site, www.aos.org and go to the pulls downs at the top of the page. You find a heading "culture sheets". They are downloaded and printable pdf files on how to grow different common genera. They might give you a little guidance.