Soil & Pearlite??? SOIL??!

[jrodpad]

I just got a lovely DTPS Chain Xen Pearl Cxl in bud from C&H tonight. It came extremely well packed and in seemingly perfect condition.

What I can't understand however, is that it is potted in pearlite and topsoil. Yup, topsoil. You're thinking, nah, can't really be topsoil, not from an operation like C&H... maybe from the supermarket, but C&H? I'm totally serious.

Well, I'm going to call them tomorrow and see what gives, but in the interim, I've got a bucket of medium bark, charcoal and pearlite soaking right now.

What? Any ideas why this might be growing in topsoil?

Help!

-J

[Lagoon]

Hay J

I don't know why anyone would put an orchid in topsoil
I grow in peatmoss based mixture and coir, sure its not one one of those?
I have seen them in promix, seems this is popular down here.

[RosieC]

Is it possible that it's actually really really broken down bark. I've seen Phals in stuff that is sooo broken down that it looks like soil, with a very ocasional lump that shows the bark it used to be.

Still I would have expected a proper nursary to repot before it got to that state.

[jrodpad]

Thanks guys - I'd be shocked if it was broken down bark mix, it's fairly uniform and black. It appears to be fresh - it doesn't smell sour it is uniform and spongy.

I really hope that it is a peat moss blend (I have no experience with peat, so I wouldn't be able to identify it), because then at least I wouldn't be worried about neglect or potential root rot.

I've attached a couple of pics - what do you think, peat? Soil?

Also - I've never grown a dtps before, do you think I could repot into bark mix without blasting the buds?

Thanks.

- J

[RosieC]

Hmm. Don't know what it is, but I would repot straight away.

Dtps is now classed as a Phal so just treat exactly like Phals. Most people find no problem repotting in spike or flower and with medium like that I would be most concerned to get it repotted before you get any root problems.

[Lagoon]

It doesn't look like the regular promix to me, the perlite isn't the right size - likely a self made mix.
Without seeing the mix in person, I find it to hard to tell. Coir and peatmoss look very much alike, so its difficult from photos'.

If this type of media scares you, then repot in something you grow well in. Up til now .... it looks like its doing fine in that mix. Do whats best for you're growing conditions and enjoy you're new 'chid

[jrodpad]

Thanks again Rosie and Gloria.

I gave C&H a call and they're excellent customer service rep talked me off the ledge and explained that it is in fact a peat/pearlite mix that they use for a fair number of their phals and not soil. She explained that because it holds in a bit more moisture than their bark mix (but still breathes more than something like soil) they use it on their moisture-lovin' phals. Apparently, it turns from the black that you see in my photos to brown when it needs to be watered - though I've had great success with the skewer method that I learned from the OB, so I'm going to stick with that.

I'll give it a go - like Gloria pointed out, it seems to be doing just fine in the stuff...

Thanks again.

- J

[quiltergal]

Sky Island Orchids used to sell their Phals potted in that stuff. I hated it. Had rotted roots in no time. I asked the grower and he told me he was lazy and hated watering. If memory serves me correctly he said they could go 3 weeks between waterings.

[Duane McDowell]

When I worked in the industry, we grew most of our orchids in a soil-less peat-based mix. Overall, they did very very well. Watering is very different in these media than in a bark mix or sphagnum. Among others, we grew phals, catts, oncidinae, some angraecums, some dendrobiums and complex paphs in the mix.
I think it's really important to repot plants when you buy them. Then they'll be in the mix that YOU know how to grow in.

[RosieC]

I agree with Duane... a mix that does well for one person (in this case the nursary) may not do well for you, so it's a good idea to re-pot in what you are used to.