Orchiata Mix

[HiOrcDen]

So when shopping for Orchiata mix for my Orchids, is the brand at all important? Is the Orchiata (which was purchased by Dalton's) brand necessarily better than others, and if not which other brands might be as good, at a better value?

I have seen the 'Perfect 'Plants' mix which is very highly rated by about 6,000 reviewers on Amazon, and the next closest is just a few hundred purchases. Of course this could just be that the ones that've sold hundreds have been introduced to Amazon recently.

So again, what might be the best brands, if there's a difference as long as it's real orchiata? I have heard of Orchiata brand, and also rePotme... any other suggestions? Or should I just go for the best value?

Oh one more thing, the Perfect Plants mix has added charcoal, sponge Rock, pine bark, coconut chips, in small portions. Is this advantageous?

[Ray]

Unless things have changed, Orchiata is not a “mix”, but is the Besgro trade name for their aged and treated Pinus radiata bark. It is composted to get rid of some of the resins and treated with dolomitic lime to neutralize the pH. It is also very uniform and graded into several particle sizes to suit the grower’s individual needs and preferences. It is clean and very durable.

There is a similar product, “Kiwi Bark”, that some prefer.

I am not a fan of pre-mixed potting media, as all my plants don’t have the same needs, and “one size fits all” is simply untrue in this regard.

That does not mean that you won’t find one that works for you, but just because something works well for one grower has no bearing on whether it would work for you.

Orchid potting media really only have two functions; moisture retention while staying open and airy, and mechanical stability. What ingredients are used to achieve that are somewhat irrelevant.

Before spending too much at RepotMe, take a look at orchidmix.com. Wayne knows more about potting media components than most people, and his prices are much better.

[Mountaineer370]

I have recently learned that Orchiata, which was a trade name for a specific product produced by Besgrow, has now been sold to a company called Dalton's. Orchiata is a pure bark medium (not a mix) made from Pinus radiata bark from New Zealand, so the name refers to that specific product, though there are many other manufacturers of "orchid bark," which can be from any different number of species of wood. The biggest thing to watch for when using bark is that it is clean, without a lot of dirt and dust (often called "fines").

Additionally, bark chunks are included in many different kinds of mixes that one can buy for orchids, and some will even include Orchiata. Those mixes can vary in quality, so buyer beware.

I've been using Orchiata as my potting medium for quite a few years, and I don't mix it with anything. It comes in different sized chunks, so it's important to choose the one that is best for the plants you have.

You also started a thread today about sphagnum moss, and there are plenty of people here who use and like that, or use it mixed with something else. Hopefully, you will get a lot of information to help you make a choice. It all comes down to what works best for you and your growing conditions, and how often you like to water your plants. In general, plants in bark will dry out much faster than in sphagnum.

[Clawhammer]

Besgrow is the highest grade orchid bark and significantly better than most other bark due to its longevity. I recently ordered 'Kiwi bark' from Sunset Valley Orchids and it is similarly high grade bark. This grade of bark has never broken down for me before I needed to repot for other reasons (plant outgrowing pot). The bark is so durable that when it is time to repot I usually just plop the old rootball/bark into the new pot and fill around it with new bark.

[Roberta]

HiOrcDen, you can get Orchiata bark at Yamada Co. in Gardena (southern California folks are very fortunate to be able to just go and get because shipping is expensive). They only have the 40L sacks. If you want small quantities, share with a friend. They also (at least last time I was there) have all the sizes. I don't buy premixed formulas... maybe OK for those with just a few orchids who want small quantities. I use 'way too much, and want the control of what goes into it.

Kiwi Bark is also excellent... not a long drive to SVO to pick it up, or they will bring it to local shows. (But shows aren't going to happen again until February/March) Just for grins... SVO is having an Open House Dec 3. A good excuse for a trip...

[estación seca]

As others mentioned, Orchiata is a specific brand of high-quality, very hard bark. Kiwi Bark is another high-quality brand, although the product is different from Orchiata. Other brands of orchid bark are lesser quality, which means they break down faster than do Orchiata and Kiwi Bark.

That said, commercial growers with excellent growing conditions need to repot plants about every 2 years, because they grow so well they outgrow containers. Many of them want the cheapest fir bark they can find because it doesn't need to last long, and the price difference between cheap and expensive bark is large. Fir bark is a lot softer than Orchiata or Kiwi Bark. Excellent growers with good growing conditions, who have time to repot every 2 years, don't need to spend money on high-quality bark.

Most of us hobbyists don't have ideal conditions, and many of our plants don't outgrow containers in 2 years. High quality bark matters more to us.

Choice of potting medium varies with how often the grower has time to water. If the grower has plenty of free time every day, it is safest to pot orchids in large bark and water daily, or almost daily. But few hobbyists have that time, and few commercial growers want to pay that much for labor.

The smaller the bark the smaller the spaces between the bark. Smaller spaces fill up with and retain more water, excluding air. This means the watering interval can be stretched, but at risk of suffocating roots if the plants don't take up the water rapidly, or if it doesn't evaporate rapidly.

Some people mix perlite with bark. The perlite is irregularly spherical in shape, and helps hold bark particles apart, allowing more air into smaller bark mixes. The aim of adding perlite is to use smaller bark to stay moist longer, but reduce root suffocation problems.

Sphagnum placed evenly throughout mixes retains water a lot longer than those mixes without sphagnum. The idea is to stretch the watering interval. Sphagnum holds so much water it will cool the medium via evaporative cooling. At typical household temperatures it can stay very wet for two weeks or more. I don't think sphagnum mixes are a good idea for most orchids unless relative humidity is so low the medium dries very quickly. It is especially problematic for warm growing orchids in cool winter houses. I think it's much safer to use a larger bark mix and water more frequently than to mix in sphagnum evenly.

People here have described using single columns of sphagnum or Hygroton rock wool cubes in a pot of medium to large bark, or discrete balls of sphagnum (rbarata wrote about this) placed at the edges of pots otherwise full of bark. This lets the air spaces in the bark remain open, but gives roots extra water when the bark dries. This does make sense to me.

Sunset Valley Orchids mixes perlite with small or medium Kiwi Bark for Cattleya and Dendrobium seedlings. This permits using smaller bark and stretching the watering interval. They water about twice or three times a week during warm weather.

In an ideal world, I would pot things in large bark or in S/H, and water all my plants every day during the growing season. But I don't have that kind of time, so I compromise.

[camille1585]

Originally Posted by estación seca

Sphagnum placed evenly throughout mixes retains water a lot longer than those mixes without sphagnum. The idea is to stretch the watering interval. Sphagnum holds so much water it will cool the medium via evaporative cooling. At typical household temperatures it can stay very wet for two weeks or more. I don't think sphagnum mixes are a good idea for most orchids unless relative humidity is so low the medium dries very quickly. It is especially problematic for warm growing orchids in cool winter houses. I think it's much safer to use a larger bark mix and water more frequently than to mix in sphagnum evenly.

I stopped mixing sphag and bark for entirely different reasons... Namely, what's the point of using high quality bark (Orchiata or other) if you're going to mix in something that has a much shorter lifespan? Sphag would get quite disgusting within a year or 2, and I'd have to repot anyway to replace it. Sorting the bark (still good enough to reuse) from the sphag was way too much of a hassle.

[Arizona Jeanie]

HiOrcDen
I strongly suggest doing a "scientific" side-by-side comparison of various potting media.
I have a small collection of Phals, I've tried various bark mixes and pot types. Pretty much anything chunky is better than moss for me.
Two years ago I tried out some Dalton's Orchiata. Pricey, but it's a very high quality product and I have a small collection. The plants are loving it. Leaves and roots look great, and all are blooming well. It holds up well. I suggest giving it a try, I've been impressed with the results.

[WaterWitchin]

I need to read the thread where rbarata uses "sphagnum balls." Sounds like my kind of twist to do the job for certain plants, plus easy removal when repotting.

Have been growing everything in SH for quite some time. If I use a bark medium, it's always Orchiata. After trying numerous bark mixes "back in the day" I found Orchiata and never looked back. Plus I bought two different sizes in bulk and still have plenty. Orchiata is the closest organic medium I've used to using an inorganic medium like LECA, etc.

My grow space changed a couple of years ago, and I've been experimenting with reverting some genus into a bark mix and a couple into straight sphag since my environmental conditions have changed. Main reason being able to water everything at the same time depending on needs of the particular genus. Main experiments are with Maxillaria, some Cymbidiums, and Catasetum.

[Dimples]

The #3 Kiwi bark from SVO has been as fantastic as everyone suggests (I’m only 20-25 miles from there). My phals love it and I can sift it to get the smaller or larger pieces depending on the pot size. I sort through it out of habit but it really is ready to go out of the bag.

It’s hard enough that I can and do water freshly potted phals very frequently, daily in summer and almost daily in winter, but my growing area is very bright and 75-83F (summer) and 72-80F (winter). Once the bark has been in use for awhile it holds more water and I can extend the interval, but I’m still watering about 2-3 times a week for ventilated quart sized pots. I’ve begun reducing the number of side holes in my pots to slow the drying rate to see if I can water a little less often.