coconut husks or coconut coir

[sunny]

i have received wonderful reviews from people both pro and con. i finally heard from some one in costa rica who told me that coconut husks (with coconut carved out), and coconut coir (ground down) is used for orchids successfully if not over watered. i am going to take everybody's advise. i am not going to plant any new plants until i see some success from the few i have already put in coconut coir. i will report back later.

carol

[WhiteRabbit]

Hi Carol!

I have not used coir, but use coconut husk chips as potting medium, I add pertlite and/or pumice, and charcoal - don't know if the additions are necessary.
I only started using it a few months ago but so far I have been quite happy with it. It appears to act like little sponges - very light and airy - and if you have recently watered you can actually squeeze the chips and feel water come out of them.

I have heard you need to be careful about watering in coir but seems the chips drain quite well - they do hold moisture well so plants may need less frequent watering than in bark.
Also - I have read that cocohusk breaks down slower than bark so don't need to repot as often. I think I read it should be replace about every 3 years.

The downside, imo, is the lightness of the chips - they fly right out of the pot when dry and float out when watering. And the gnats seem to like the moisture retentiveness as well.
My solution to these issues is to top dress the pots with fir bark chips - holds the cocohusk chips in the pots and seems to keep the gnats at bay a bit.

All in all I like the cocohusk chips and the plants seem to as well!

from me for coconut husk chips

[learning2letgo]

Check out my latest addition to my collection. She's a grand phalaenopsis and she is growing directly in coconut husks (about medium size) with no other additives. Just a little moss over the top to retain moisture over her roots.

Grand Specimen Phalaenopsis

I haven't had her in my collection for very long, but she was locally grown at a wholesale florist shop, which sold her to the florist shop next door to where I work.

[Sandy4453]

Coconut husk chips are great for keeping medium moist, a great addition to the mix. Coir is another story all together. When used properly, it works fantastic but there's little room for forgiveness with coir. Depending on how much is used, this will stay wet for a long time. It's always recommended to add lots of sponge rock or similar or, styrofoam...to keep the mix from becoming too dense. I know a grower who uses this primarily for growing all his Phals and he has remarkable results. One thing to know about this medium as well is all coir is not created equal and high grade coir should be the biggest consideration when using.

[coirgreen]

Hi,
Good to hear that coir worked for you. Another product that can be looked is called growbags. this is a mixture of Coco peat and coco chips with a composition ratio of 70/30%. As you have used coco chips, this is also very effective.

More information on coir can also be obtained from the following link. Coir Green

Hope this helps...

[rogerman]

When I want to plant Dendrobium or Cattleya seedings, I have one single piece of coconut thats shaped to fit into three inch pots. Theres a verticle split in the middle to "sandwich" the seedling and you jam it in the pot..... works well for me here..... I'm talking- thousands of plants, not just one or two.

[lostonthebeach]

Originally Posted by rogerman

When I want to plant Dendrobium or Cattleya seedings, I have one single piece of coconut thats shaped to fit into three inch pots. Theres a verticle split in the middle to "sandwich" the seedling and you jam it in the pot..... works well for me here..... I'm talking- thousands of plants, not just one or two.

It would be very interesting to see some pictures of that.

[rogerman]

Ok i'll try and get some today if I remember

[learning2letgo]

I've repotted all my phals in my collection in coconut husks and broken packing peanuts... They love it!

[sunny]

peter, i would be interested in seeing that too. i really like the coconut husk chips. i used some for the dendodriums and vandas that i put in baskets. once watered, it produced a lot more medium than i expected. i tried it with dendrobiums and vandas that i put in baskets (sphagnum moss at the bottom to keep it in) and it looks like it will hold water well. i live at the beach too, in nc and it gets hot here also. they love it outside from now until late october.

carol