pinecone as potting media

[naoki]

This is an abstract for a poster/oral presentation:
SHREDDED PINECONE AND PINEBARK AS GROWTH MEDIA FOR ORCHIDS, CATTLEYA SP.
, so we can't get the details. But it mentions that shredded pine cone or pine bark (instead of fir bark) did pretty well as a potting media for Cattleya. The study is done over a year, and it appears that pine bark were somewhat degraded by the end. So we don't know how well pine cone/bark will do over a bit longer time frame. I thought that some of you might want to experiment with this.

[Optimist]

I don't see why not. Many people use many medias to pot in. I am personally not keen on pine because I think an orchid should stay in the same media for more than one year.

[Leafmite]

It would depend on what type of pine cones. They differ quite a bit.

I don't really like to use dead bark or dead anything as it always decays and then you need to disturb the roots (which usually doesn't happen in nature).
I prefer LECA or red lava rock. My orchids can stay comfortable that way.

[gerneveyn]

Interesting find!

[PaphMadMan]

Orchiata is a brand of specially processed pine (Pinus radiata) bark used for potting orchids, and is longer lasting than fir bark mixes. It is pre-composted to get rid of the easily degraded material before use. It generally gets excellent reviews. I'm sure other pine products could be successful under the right circumstances too.

I have wondered if pine cones would work as mounts for miniature orchids. I collected some, just haven't gotten around to trying it yet.

[Orchid Whisperer]

I like the idea of experimenting with media no one has tried before. Many of the media we use now (LECA, lava rock, coconut husk chips, etc.) were once experimental.

I am currently experimenting with using the woody fruits of the sweet gum tree Liquidambar styraciflua as medium for a couple of NOID Phals. So far, so good. Maybe the next time I end up with a NOID Phal I will pot it up using cones from the local loblolly pine!