Potting media?

[Imperial_Exotics]

This is probably an extremely noobie question to ask but here goes.........

To some degree, I'm pretty new at this stuff. I found something that works, and as such have never bothered to look beyond something that isn't an issue for me, at least until I get curious about others methods.

Most of the plants I grow are tropicals, and are usually intended to cater to people with terrariums and Dart Frogs. I raise Jewel Orchids in a terrarium mix of Coco soil, finely shredded bark and sand. Same mix I use for my frogs. The plants are raised inside of shallow Sterilite boxes with clear lids, under daylight tubes, indoors.

I put about 3" of Hydroton clay pellets, covered by a 2-3" layer of long stem sphagnum moss, covered by the soil mix. Jewels are then planted in rows, until I need to harvest them for sale or planting in a tank.

I get rich colors, rapid growth, No issues, no problems and my plants look flat out amazing.

However I have come across a number of Asian websites that depict small jewels grown in pots of long fiber sphagnum moss. I see no signs of any kind of soil in the pics I have seen at all.

So that has me wondering if I am going too far in growing my Orchids, and that I could reduce a number of steps and still have what I consider to be exceptional looking plants.

Is it really as easy as just planting them in a layer of Sphagnum moss?


thanks,

Steve

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

You're doing fine. Why mess with success?

Those Jewels potted in pure sphagnum moss usually come with root rot, you just can't see it.

As you know many species of Jewel orchids don't have a very large or extensive root system (in other words, they don't produce a lot of roots and they're usually pretty short compared to many of the epiphytical orchids). Root rot of any kind can be disastrous for Jewels for the most part.

I go through what seems like craziness to get terrestrial orchids going. This is because I've done the research and have found out the kinds of soils they grow in. And using sphagnum moss isn't going to cut it for pretty much all of the terrestrials, just like how just using potting soil sometimes will not work for certain terrestrials.

[trdyl]

One thing that I have learned over the years is that most orchids will grow in a variety of mediums. What works best for you may not work for someone else. There is a lot of trial and error involved.

[Imperial_Exotics]

As I occasionally indulge in what my friends call over kill, I figured it couldn't hurt to explore possibilities, especially if saves time or money but maintains quality AND expands my general knowledge of the subject.

The method I use is very time consuming and it is pretty expensive in the long run. But I love the results I get and certainly wouldn't want to jeopardize that.

Root rot in tropicals is a very thin line to walk most of the time, especially with something like Jewels that come from very moist, highly humid and very hot environments.

In my setup, the sphagnum layer is there because of it's tendency to retain moisture. The Hydroton because of it's wicking capacity. And Coco tends to go dry extremely fast. All combined, I manage to maintain perfect moisture balance and humidity. Balancing those is a time consuming process though.

So of course after I saw pic after pic of jewels in straight sphagnum I began to wonder if the Japanese had some neat trick going. Knowing how meticulous the Japanese are with their hobbies (these guys go to insane lengths with raising Discus and Koi), I figured it might be worth looking into. Sounds like an "if it ain't broke don't mess with it" situation I have going here.

As you said, why mess with success.

thanks,

Steve

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

You're doing fine. Why mess with success?

Those Jewels potted in pure sphagnum moss usually come with root rot, you just can't see it.

[Royal]

Originally Posted by Imperial_Exotics

To some degree, I'm pretty new at this stuff. I found something that works, and as such have never bothered to look beyond something that isn't an issue for me, at least until I get curious about others methods.

I totally agree with you. Like Phillip said, why mess with success. But you are obviously curious, so way not conduct a trial?

Sometimes I try something new and love it. Sometimes it's a disaster. But every time is a learning experience. Just don't experiment with your most treasured plants.

[Tropicgirl]

I have a Ludisia discolor that is planted in straight sphag. This is the ONLY orchid I have been able to grow this way, all the others end up with root rot. But this is also the only jewel orchid I have. I've had it for 3 years now and no problems. I do, however, let it dry (sometimes a little too much *wincing*) in between waterings.

Has anyone tried s/h with jewels yet? I'm very tempted to try with a small one just to see how it does.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Imperial_Exotics

As I occasionally indulge in what my friends call over kill...

Okay...

Don't take this the wrong way...

I'm noticing a trend here.

Unless your friends have the unique and often times not-quite-so mainstream hobby of growing plants, (particularly orchids), I think that their opinions shouldn't matter as much. Look, all I'm saying is, sure they might notice things that might or might not be valid to a grower, but you might want to see how much weight that opinion carries with actual growers. If they're guy friends, it's just guy talk (you know, the friendly ribbing and stuff).

Here's something that might help you out...

Plants are actually very sexual creatures. They are by far the most sexual beings on this planet and they have no qualms about it. Their reproductive organs (flowers for flowering plants) are totally geared for the most effective and efficient manner of making sexual reproduction possible.

Orchids in particular are very adept at using other animals to do their sexual bidding. Most of them are masters of deception.

Don't take my word for it. Look up videos of orchids being pollinated by insects. There are also numerous articles about it.

Orchids are also the largest family of flowering plants on Earth. Nothing tops their sheer number of diversity at present. They've also been around since roughly the mid-Cretaceous period, (thats right, about the time Tyrannosaurus rex just started to "rule the Earth"). Here's a link to a brief article:

http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/fo...lion-years-old.

Another one...

Look at some of the pictures of the flowers of Cattleyas. Pay particularly close attention to the center of the flower... Look familiar?

[Imperial_Exotics]

No worries....I'll be the first to say my friends tend to be idiots.

Although they are correct about me going to overkill. For my fish room, I went with an extremely elaborate, very scientific, recirculating water system based on a paper I wrote almost 20 years ago regarding the the Amazon eco system. I could have done a far cheaper system based on the aquarium hobby of simple filtration and water changes.

Instead I built a plumbing frankenstein, with meters and gauges, pumps, injectors etc. creating a near self sustaining Amazon river system.

So I can see where they think I go for over kill at times. I just figure that I need to give the frogs, fish or plants the best possible natural environment that is manageable.

My work space is more laboratory than hobbyist by intent, not accident.

Originally Posted by King_of_orchid_growing:)

Okay...

Don't take this the wrong way...

I'm noticing a trend here.

Unless your friends have the unique and often times not-quite-so mainstream hobby of growing plants, (particularly orchids), I think that their opinions shouldn't matter as much. Look, all I'm saying is, sure they might notice things that might or might not be valid to a grower, but you might want to see how much weight that opinion carries with actual growers.

[WhiteRabbit]

I experiment some with media - last year I decided to try a few Catt types in straight horicultural pumice - and they love it! lol
They do need to be watered more frequently than the ones in coconut husk chips, but they have been putting out LOTS of new growth - more than the others.

As Royal said - just don't use your most expensive, or favorite plants when experimenting I first tried the pumice in desperation for a small Catt that I had rotted all the roots on.

[Jerry Delaney]

Phillip is right. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!!