New and wondering if my orchid is healthy - Page 2 - Orchid Board

meghan · #11 02-05-2012, 03:16 PM

Thanks for the tips

I found some premixed stuff online at a garden center but I did read online that many are more like potting soil and to be careful so I will probably check it out and see what kind of consistency/how broken down it is but I will mix in moss for sure to not make a huge transition. For now I have lightly packed the moss back in but enough that there is stability. It was slightly damp so I didn't water it but I put rocks and a small amount of water under the container.

camille1585 · #12 02-05-2012, 03:24 PM

If the best bark mix you can find still has lots of fine particles, what I do is either pick out the chunks of bark by hand (time consuming), or put some of the mix in a colander and sift out as much of the junk as possible. The you have a somewhat decent mix to use as is, or mixed with other potting ingredients.

bballr4567 · #13 02-05-2012, 03:27 PM

I ordered some online because no stores carried here and just yesterday they (Lowes) got a shipment of medium sized bark chips with moss in it. lol

I do what you do Camille with the stuff I ordered though as it has tons of small particles in it that go everywhere when I water.

meghan · #14 02-05-2012, 03:31 PM

Thank you guys for all the help I really appreciate it!

camille1585 · #15 02-05-2012, 03:33 PM

I gave up finding a good bark mix and refuse to pay lots on shipping for a bag of bark! Over here I managed to find bark used for landscaping that's both small enough for orchids, and also comes from french maritime pine, which is what orchid mixes often contain here. Still not perfect compared to the stuff I could order from growers, but good enough for me.

bballr4567 · #16 02-05-2012, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camille1585

I gave up finding a good bark mix and refuse to pay lots on shipping for a bag of bark! Over here I managed to find bark used for landscaping that's both small enough for orchids, and also comes from french maritime pine, which is what orchid mixes often contain here. Still not perfect compared to the stuff I could order from growers, but good enough for me.

Our landscaping stuff is often covered in oils to prevent weeds so its a no-go for plants.

camille1585 · #17 02-05-2012, 03:44 PM

I remember back when living in the US that the landscaping stuff just stinks so bad when it's freshly spread!! Can't imagine it being good to grow anything, and I don't think it's the right kind of bark anyway.

smooche6 · #18 02-05-2012, 03:51 PM

Hi!

The cheapest effective way to keep the humidity up for the plant (orchids tend to like higher humidity than there is in the house) is to buy a plastic dish (kind of a really shallow flat-bottomed bowl) fill it with rocks/gravel, and fill it half way with water, and sit the pot on top of this (make sure the bottom of the pot is NOT in contact with the water, phals don't like wet feet). also, as soon as flowering is done, repot the plant as you do not know how long its been sitting in the current potting mixture, and the mixture is likely decomposing somewhere down in there...When repotting, cut off any dead roots and check for dampness, bugs, etc. and repot it in a special orchid bark mixture. Until then, enjoy the flowering and make sure its receiving adequate light/humidity (most important for orchids!)

meghan · #19 02-05-2012, 09:25 PM

I ended up going to Home Depot and bought a bag of Schultz brand mix. It has bark, charcoal and volcanic rock I believe. I also couldn't resist checking out the orchids they had and they had really big vibrant blue phals but they were a bit pricey for me right now, just in case I end up killing these by accident I figure going a bit cheaper for now would be best.
I did however buy a nice smaller pinkish phal though and it looks really healthy especially the roots and is already in some sort of bark mixture.

As for the wood skewers, bamboo works good right?

silken · #20 02-05-2012, 09:41 PM

You didn't miss much with the blue Phals! There are no naturally blue ones and they are likely the ones that have blue dye injected into their bloom spike near the base. They will bloom white next time. It's a fad!

Yes, kebab skewers I think are usually bamboo and they should work fine. If it is always in the pot, then it will absorb water and dry out just like your potting media does so a good way to tell what's happening in the bottom centre of the pot.