Type of Soil

[faceplant527]

Hey Iam building a vivarium and not a terrarium for my college dorm.

Iam wondering what type of soil i should use for orchids and carnivorous plants combined.

I just got a lot of free orchids that were in the discard pile, since i work for home depot plant department.

I also work at a carnivorous plant nursery and i know they depend on insects for nutrients and not the soil. and orchids are bottom water feeders and use a bark type soil.

carnivorous plants are also bog plants and need wet soil and orchids are watered when needed.

Also help with lighting please

PLEASE HELP
THANK YOU,
Alex.

[RosieC]

I'm afraid I can't help but I'm bumping your post in the hope someone will know the answer soon.

I don't know if anyone can help you over at our sister site Vivarium Forums. They probably know more about vivariums over there but less about orchids, so I'm not sure.

[Call_Me_Bob]

BUMP!

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

What kinds of orchids are you referring to?

There's no way to blanket the care of orchids, they're so diverse.

[camille1585]

I'm no expert on vivariums, but there is no one soil for both. I think you'd have to get one soil (or whatever carnivorous plants need) for the bottom and have only carnivorous plants there. The orchids would probably do better mounted on wood, especially in a terrarium setting where humidity is high.

Here was a good thread about someone in russia who created a terrarium with both carnivorous plants and orchids : http://www.orchidboard.com/community...n-tropics.html
You can go see the vivarium website Rosie gave you, or also look for orchid ideas and info in our terrarium gardening forum: Terrarium Gardening - Orchid Board

[Orchid126]

What type of orchids are you talking about? As King says, they're so diverse, and each type needs a different potting medium, light, and water frequency. We don't refer to orchid soil, they don't grow in soil. We refer to potting medium, which can be very diverse, depending on the type of orchid.

[faceplant527]

Originally Posted by Orchid126

What type of orchids are you talking about? As King says, they're so diverse, and each type needs a different potting medium, light, and water frequency. We don't refer to orchid soil, they don't grow in soil. We refer to potting medium, which can be very diverse, depending on the type of orchid.

hey sorry iam a noob with this. But i think iam going to do a combination of topsoil (nutrient free) and potting soil (little nutrients) for the carnivorous plants.

On the other side of the vivarium i am putting the ochids which are Phalaenopsis (i think thats just the broad latin name?) but they are 55 degrees medium light and waterd when needed. i know i should use a bark medium for them, so ill test it out.