Hydrated lime powder - is it ok?

[djbon]

I have a dozen orchids genus which I have been keeping for the last 7 years.

Recently I started to grow different types of slipper orchids (Borneo). I was told that these slipper orchids needs calcium more than other genus.

Can I use hydrated lime powder (mixed with water) for all my other orchids?.

[orchidsarefun]

or is oyster shell ( technically ) just as good ?

"According to experiment carried out Oyster shell is chemically consist of 95% calcium carbonate,3.5% silicate and a trace of other elements like aspartic acid,glycine,calcium phosphate,zinc,manganese,aluminum etc.
Because of it's high calcium content, it encourages growth and bone formation.
It is equally used as an admixture in the production of concrete.
Posted by BENJAMIN CHIMA at 17:17 2 comments:
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[djbon]

I never have the chances to get oyster shells here in my place, except clam shells.

I'm using egg shells for most of my orchids, and they seems to like it very much.

[penfold2]

I don't grow slippers, but you definitely don't want to use hydrated lime. Hydrated lime is very alkaline and highly reactive. It would probably kill your plants if used in any significant amount. Dolomitic or garden lime dissolves much more slowly making it a safer and longer lasting solution. Oyster shell and crushed coral are the same thing except they're obviously granular products rather than powdered. Oyster shells can be found at feed stores and crushed coral can be found at pet stores as a substrate for saltwater (and sometimes freshwater) aquariums.

[djbon]

Thanks for the info. I bought the lime from reputable gardening supplier. I used it for soil PH alteration (clay soil). I have a friend whom had used the same product for his slippers, and it seems like ok, the only problem is it never bloom.

I used crushed dolomite before, but I don't see any difference.

[Leisurely]

I used calcium pills once from the vitamin center and the few paphs that I have thrived. I put them in a cloth, pounded them to a powder and sprinkley on top of the mix.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by djbon

Thanks for the info. I bought the lime from reputable gardening supplier. I used it for soil PH alteration (clay soil). I have a friend whom had used the same product for his slippers, and it seems like ok, the only problem is it never bloom.

I used crushed dolomite before, but I don't see any difference.

Soil, especially heavy clay soils, have a very high cation exchange capacity (CEC), so the application of something as strong as hydrated (slaked) lime has only a moderate impact. Orchid potting media, by contrast have very limited CEC, so you must be very careful about what you add.

I seriously doubt that a deficiency in calcium would prevent your plants from blooming. I'd look into other aspects of your culture.

[Vanda lover]

I bought some pelleted slow release limethat is for gardening and added some to my mix when I potted my cyms. They have grown very well this year. It will be interesting to see how well they bloom this winter.

[ALToronto]

Hydrated lime is primarily Calcium Hydroxide, a weak base, but a base nonetheless. Regular lime is Calcium Oxide. Both are very reactive and are the original fungicides since ancient Roman times. Don't use them near anything that you want to keep alive.

Calcium carbonate or calcium nitrate are much better alternatives for calcium supplementation. You can try a concrete ready-mix plant for cal carb.