Pine Cone Scales as potting media?

[empiref]

Hello all,

Hope you're all well.

I want to repot some phals that I have, and I have access to large quantities of pine cone scales (pinus pinea genus)
and also cypress pine cones.

Has anyone used/experimented with them?

Thank you in advance.

(I apologize that this is a repost from the repotting section)

[Paphluvr]

I've never used or heard of anyone using them. My concerns would be lack of water retention properties and compaction in the pot due to their regular shape (not allowing enough aeration of the roots).

[Ray]

I’ve not heard of their use either.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything growing on fallen cones, so I’d be willing to wager that the various terpenes and other resins in them would not be very welcoming to orchid roots.

[Maryanne]

Well, yes, I did experiment once with pine cones. Obviously not with the same species you have in Lebanon. Here in Massachusetts, we have native white pine, but those are big, long cones. I opted for shorty rounded Scotch pine cones. I used them in a basket with I don't remember which orchid. I observed what happened over time, and didn't like what I saw. A whole pine coned with scales intact has cells at the base of the scale that react to moisture. Instead of opening up with moisture, keeping an air space, they close becoming a denser structure, not more open and airy - bad. Also, the roots which find their way into the crevices between scales are then closed in and under pressure - also bad. Single scales (taken off the cone) are thinner than chunks of bark, so they rot faster - bad. Experiment over, and I did not use them again. I don't know how the resin in your cypress cones would affect your orchids...
Good luck,
Maryanne