A good chunk of Sunset Valley Orchids plants are in Orchiata. Fred has been selling it for quite some time. I just repotted an Encyclia alata that I got from him several years ago that shows zero signs of medium decomposition. Seems like it would be highly suitable for pot in a pot style repottings.

I know this thread is a few months old but I have been buying this type of bark for my orchids from repotme.com. I didn't realize that it was the same as the brand Orchiata and hadn't heard of Orchiata until after I had already been using it. I just have to say that I love this kind of bark and so do my orchids. I've been using if for about a year or two and I do not plan on repotting my orchids (mainly cattleya hybrids) that are in it until they need a new pot size because the bark is still holding up! Less time spent repotting is good in my book! I'll have to check out Ray's prices since his prices are always great!

Thanks for the input, Bec. I just ordered some from Ray a couple days ago and it's on it's way to me right now. His price on it is really good and as usual, shipping is much cheaper than other vendors.

Hello,they say that this New Zealand bark is steamed bark and that's why is so good and should last for 3 years:scratchhead:

Only 3 years? As Undergrounder said, Pinus radiata bark has been used for growing orchids in Australia and New Zealand for decades, although instead of using "calcium/magnesium buffering" we use a much less grandiose technique called "throw a handful of dolomite in the pot". ;) The typical graded, partially composted pine bark that is normally sold here (which Orchiata criticises) lasts for about 3 years. For the amount of effort they put into selling the wonders of their aging process, I would have thought they'd get more life out of their product.

Does the bark that is currently available in the use break down before 3 years? According to some of the older orchid growers I know, American fir bark used to be very highly regarded in Australia and considered of higher quality than radiata pine bark!

FWIW, a lot of Australian growers are now switching from pine bark based mixes to 100% CHC or CHC:bark based mixes. It seems odd that you're thinking about using an old standard Australasian potting mix while we're trying to play catch up to you. :biggrin:

Many in my orchid club are using Orchiata and have had fantastic results. To quote our president "you can almost see orchids shooting out new roots in this stuff". I am trying it and have just repotted a Dracula lotax and Masd. tovarensis. One of the great things about Orchiata is that it doesn't break down as readily as bark so in the long run it is no more expensive. I will keep posting progress reports on the Dracula and Masd. I have repotted in Classic #9 (1/4" x 3/8").

Orchiata has been around for over 20 yrs. Hawaiian orchid nurseries have been using it for about 10-15 yrs. The New Zealand Co., Besgrow, started selling it in California about 5-7 yrs. ago. I've used it for about 18 months now and love it. It's expensive but you shouldn't have to repot for at least 5 yrs. It has Dolomite in it which helps fight pests and diseases. The shipping is about as expensive as the product....but worth it. Hope this helps. :waving

i hadn't come across this until last night when (in the UK) we had a talk(not on orchiata) at our orchid society by Dr Henry Oakley. He brought it our attention and he has found it to be good. Easy for repotting and does not break down as do so many other orchid media.

There has been a lot of discussion recently about this medium raising the ph and we are advised to mix crushed oyster shells with it to lower the ph.

Orchiata bark is composted and treated with dolomite solutions to stabilize the pH. I have seen no such increase over time. The bark alone, however, would become more and more acidic with time.

Oyster shell (calcium carbonate) will raise the pH, not lower it.