Should Growing Cattleyas in Wine Bottle Corks Be a Crime?

[WaterWitchin]

Well, we don’t all drink the cheap stuff Steve.

[estación seca]

My favorite line from The Jerk: "Waiter! Bring us your freshest wine!"

[SG in CR]

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

I'll use them whole when using them to fill large pots/baskets. If I'm potting in small containers I'll chop them up. They seem to be pretty hydrophobic at first but get wet just fine once they have a bio-film on them.
I've reused media with corks that have been in use for well over a year and they seemed to be fairly solid still. So I don't know how long they will last but in combination with charcoal and chunks of broken terracotta I figure the substrate will last longer than I can keep a growing orchid in a container.

[K-Sci]

Originally Posted by SG in CR

I'll use them whole when using them to fill large pots/baskets. If I'm potting in small containers I'll chop them up. They seem to be pretty hydrophobic at first but get wet just fine once they have a bio-film on them.
I've reused media with corks that have been in use for well over a year and they seemed to be fairly solid still. So I don't know how long they will last but in combination with charcoal and chunks of broken terracotta I figure the substrate will last longer than I can keep a growing orchid in a container.

I have a small Vanda growing in a shallow wood basket. I used chunks of cork bark from an irregular shaped flat as potting media. After several months it is still repelling the moisture. I think the cork may outlast the cedar basket.

I don't drink wine, so I'd have to buy the corks. But from what I've seen, bulk wine corks may be cheaper than most potting media.

-Keith

[stonedragonfarms]

A member of our society wires them together into mounts. I've not used wine corks for Cattleya, but I have mixed them into media when potting large [ie 5g pot sized] Cymbidiums

[K-Sci]

Originally Posted by Ray

The first question that popped into my mind was “why?”.

That is certainly not a long-term option.

Ray, they're baaaabieeees. <cough cough>
-Keith