Should Growing Cattleyas in Wine Bottle Corks Be a Crime?

[SouthPark]

True. If people can grow orchids on cork mounts, and even with regular rocks ------ then cork bottle plugs can certainly be used for growing various sorts of orchids.

[ArronOB]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

True. If people can grow orchids on cork mounts, and even with regular rocks ------ then cork bottle plugs can certainly be used for growing various sorts of orchids.

Yeah, but where would you get them. Aside from champers, we haven’t seen wine bottles with corks for at least a decade, maybe two.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by ArronOB

Yeah, but where would you get them. Aside from champers, we haven’t seen wine bottles with corks for at least a decade, maybe two.

I don't know where to get them cheaply (or in bulk - relatively cheaply). My post is only referring to those particular photos - where somebody managed to get a whole bunch of those cork plugs. As for whether they constructed those structures themselves ----- nobody knows yet.

[Ben_in_North_FLA]

let all your wine drinking peeps know to to hold on to corks and donate them to your orchid endeavours. They are great for fast drainage application.

[SG in CR]

Yeah, I was expecting to see some reason why using corks as a potting medium was bad. I have some friends with a restaurant who save them for me and I use them in my coarse potting medium together with charcoal. They seem to hold up pretty well.

[Diane56Victor]

Originally Posted by ArronOB

Yeah, but where would you get them. Aside from champers, we haven’t seen wine bottles with corks for at least a decade, maybe two.

Ive seen bulk corks on ebay.

[K-Sci]

Originally Posted by SG in CR

Yeah, I was expecting to see some reason why using corks as a potting medium was bad. I have some friends with a restaurant who save them for me and I use them in my coarse potting medium together with charcoal. They seem to hold up pretty well.

Do you break them up, or use them whole?

I've used broken up cork flats as potting media for walkers, nobilior, and small Vanda. The only thing I don't like about it is that cork is pretty hydrophobic. It's nearly impossible to get it wet.

-Keith

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by K-Sci

The only thing I don't like about it is that cork is pretty hydrophobic. It's nearly impossible to get it wet.
-Keith

That's the best part. They're great for things that hang on tightly and do better drying out rapidly - Brassavvola, Tolumnia, some Cattleya.

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by K-Sci

Do you break them up, or use them whole?

I've used broken up cork flats as potting media for walkers, nobilior, and small Vanda. The only thing I don't like about it is that cork is pretty hydrophobic. It's nearly impossible to get it wet.

-Keith

Use whole, or cut into halves or thirds, is what I've done. That's the "why" of cork... because it's hydrophobic. Similar to using marbles, etc. (marbles when you want fast run-off, but don't want roots to cling.)

[isurus79]

I stopped using wine corks when I found they broke down much faster than bark.