Thanks for the reply!

Yep that was what i meant LECA. sorry, new to all the terminology.

Ive heard that they are good for drainage so i suppose, if i am correct in my thinking, that i could use these in substitute for the charcoal?

Just to clarify: diatomite is NOT an expanded clay material. It is calcined, fresh water diatomaceous mud, so is essentially 100% silica.

Actually, the point is probably moot, as the Maidenwell Company in Australia that produced it has apparently stopped doing so, meaning that the product will run out and not be replenished in stores.

:bowing

All of you are delightful! Thanks so much for your input! I will put the book on my list, I am embarrassed I never found this video.. and I searched -- several hours going thru youtube .. *sigh* thanks.

The reason I was questioning the medium was of something I read in here.. a post I found back in either 2007 or 8.. that the medium some paphs grow in are semi terrestrial as they lay on the ground under trees and grow in old dead & decomposing leaves and of course the soil on the ground -hence some are considered semi terrestrial. That made some sense to me considering what this paph medium could be from. There was never any sign of bark in this mixture and nothing bumpie or airy (if you will) at all. It is/was rather packed which is why I wondered about the roots-since the medium is so dense.

But now I have all this wonderful advice and MUCH appreciate it. This is my next potting project - unless it decides to bloom.. which is may be posturing for now. :biggrin: I hope! It is extremely pretty.

My other paph (Supersuk 'Eureka' AM/AOS x Raisen Pie 'Hsinying') x Sibis in a bark mix and a nice 2" pot. ;) has bloomed and is just as pretty as a picture!

Thanks again everyone!
:thanksgiving: :harvest:

You can definitely use LECA for drainage and some people do. It won't have the de-souring effects of charcoal but it will improve drainage and moisture retention at the same time. Unless you are growing in s/h though, I wouldn't use just a mix of perlite and LECA as the mix will dry out if it doesn't have a water reservoir at the bottom. It would be better to use a bark-based mix and add the LECA to it as an ingredient.

Sorry, I'm not an expert on the s/h media; I've just seen that diatomite looks very similar to LECA as I've purchased both before.

I'm glad you got the help you needed. :)

Most Paphs are either terrestrial or lithophytic (and a very few are humus epiphytes). However, their roots grow very shallowly in a very loose humus material and leaf litter, so there is always lots of air around the roots. In cultivation, growing them in a soil-like or soil-based mix is not a good idea because the roots can't breathe in such materials. To replicate the plant's natural growing conditions, we use open, porous mixes like bark, and these have to be replaced often as they decompose, because they lose their consistency and become more like a soil mix (which, as I said before, is what I believe was the case with the medium your Paph was growing in). It is often misleading when the literature states that plants are "terrestrial", because they don't necessarily grow in heavy or clay-like soils as many plants do in North America.

Yes i was going to use an orchid compost mix, which contains medium/small bark, adding perlite and LECA my self. Think this should be ok. Do you think so?

PS i will probably use this mix for my phals aswell, any ideas if it will be ok for the phals aswell.

Thank you for all your advice, i really appreciate it. This Orchid Board forum is great!

Thanks, you stars!

Yes that sounds like a good start. You may want to add a little sphagnum or peat to it as well, especially if you tend to underwater or if your house is quite dry and warm.

I don't see any reason why this mix wouldn't work for Phals, although again adding some moss to it would probably be beneficial (I wouldn't add peat to a Phal mix).

Brilliant, thanks Joe. Looks like i have a busy saturday morning ahead of me!

PS Happy thanks giving to all americans! (bit late now sorry)