Osmunda fiber

[ronaldhanko]

Has anyone ever heard of the old practice of potting orchids in osmunda? It's the roots of a fern, I believe, and is an old way of growing orchids. The first two orchids I ever received, a Paph and a Epicat were potted in osmunda (I received them from a man who was the head groundskeeper for Mrs. Vincent Astor and who was of the "old school'). At the time he gave me my first orchids the practice was already outdated, but I still have some of the osmunda he gave me and use if for a few orchids, though not as he used it.

[Orchidophile]

Hi Ron, I have a bag of osmunda that I bought about a year ago. I try to use as much as I can, whether it be mounted or in a pot. I have read that you don't need to fertilize orchids if they are potted in osmunda because of the mineral content... but I still do anyway.

[tuvoc]

When I first got hooked, osmunda was all there was, and it was not fun to use. Thank God they invented bark! As to the fertilizing thing, I believe the wisdom was, they used it, but not the high nitrogen we use today, as bark consumes more nitrogen as it breaks down.

Kim

[Ray]

Good osmunda - the root mass of either Osmunda regalis or O. cinnamomea - is a PITA to use, as it is hard and only moderately springy after soaking, but it did provide a lot of air space around the roots and did fertilize to a limited extent as it decomposed.

Clarifying Kim's last comment, bark itself, does not consume any nitrogen. The microorganisms that break doen the bark are the culprits. However, I contend that if you pay close enough attention to your repotting schedule, the level of decomposition - hence the amount of nitrogen "stolen" by the micro-critters - is insignificant.

(Kim - by knowing osmunda and Tom Lehrer, we both really are dating oursleves, aren't we?)

[orchids3]

Have used it - In fact had a fairly large collection potted in it. My plants didnt do much better or worse than other potting media. A few of my plants got a virus a others soil born diseases (fusarian wilt, and other bacterial diseases) I often suspected the osmunda but would not claim that as a scientific conclusion. Why wouldnt something that comes from swampy ground have soil born diseases? Its expensive and a little hard to get and something else seems to be better so I dont use it anymore.

[tuvoc]

Originally Posted by Ray

(Kim - by knowing osmunda and Tom Lehrer, we both really are dating oursleves, aren't we?)

Ain't it the truth!

Kim

[frostedeyes]

i love osmunda... its the best medium i think ... for oncidiums... lol!

[Leisurely]

I totally agree with Orchids3. With all of the choices of potting material that we have today, why use something like osmunda? It is near impossible to find, awkward to use and provides no exceptional values. My current choice of media is 50/50 bark and diatomite. I recently ordered a C. intermedia from Santa Barbara Orchids and it was potted in granite chips. Like the "man" said, use whatever is available because it is only something to hold the roots.