Newbie question: which brand of orchid mix is good for phalaenopsis

[WhiteRabbit]

Originally Posted by Hmmm15

Naoki, WhiteRabbit, Tucker85,

Where do you get the medium bark?

I found these from my local, are they ok to use?
Better gro Orchid bark:

Gubler*4-Quart Fine Bark (white rabbit, is this the one you mentioned?)

Thanks!

Better gro medium bark should be good. I do use Gubler's BUT the medium bark (not fine) for Phals. I have gotten just the medium bark for orchids at a local hardware chain, or local retail nursery/garden supply chain. Home Depot near me has at different times also sold either the Schulz bark or bark mix, now the Better Gro bark and bark mixes (I think there is a Better Gro mix labeled for Phals - haven't tried it. The medium bark should work well), as well as the Gubler's. I will say with my experience of killing Phals, I do love the Gubler's
MEDIUM bark mix for my Phals, as it's QUITE chunky, and has a fair amount of chunky perlite in it as well. It does dry very quickly the first month or two, so needs more frequent watering during that period - once it has aged a bit, retains moisture a bit longer.


I haven't checked out Lowes - the nearest to me isn't near enough to make the trip worthwhile for me, but I think they may carry either orchid bark or bark mixes.

Just stay with medium bark, not fine, and any brand should be ok. (DON'T use Miracle Grow - much too heavy - I've even killed terrestrial orchids in it)

[Wynn Dee13]

I'm glad you mentioned the Miricle Grow mix Sonya!

Stay away from that! It is ONLY peat moss with a little bit of perlite. It is mainly dirt so it will kill your plant.

Personally straight bark dries out too fast for me and my Phals. I actually use straight sphagnum moss but the 50/50 mix sounds good or if you don't mind watering straight medium bark will be a good choice too. If you only have a couple orchids then watering frequently is no problem but I have way too many so if I had to water that much watering would be my whole life! I love sphagnum moss but from reading many posts on here many people don't. It all depends on your watering habits and your growing environment. Good luck!

[Hmmm15]

Originally Posted by tom_e_boi

You can tell by the difference between the weight of a drier pot that's a lot lighter, and one that's just been watered.
Or I've seen some people on here suggest using the bamboo skewer method, where you place the skewer in the pots (careful to avoid the roots), and just pull it out when you want to check and see if it's dry. Which is a pretty clever idea, only watering your orchids when the skewer's are no longer damp.

One more thing, if you do use sphagnum moss, make sure it's one of the high quality varieties. Back when I first started growing orchids, I made the mistake of using some low quality variety that was still technically "sphagnum moss", and only ended up with a bunch of rotted roots on my orchids.

Love the bamboo skewer idea it will definetly help newbie like me to get the watering right, especially when the pot is not see through!

I have ordered both better gro moss and bark. Can't wait their arrival. Thank you so much!!

[Hmmm15]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Better gro medium bark should be good. I do use Gubler's BUT the medium bark (not fine) for Phals. I have gotten just the medium bark for orchids at a local hardware chain, or local retail nursery/garden supply chain. Home Depot near me has at different times also sold either the Schulz bark or bark mix, now the Better Gro bark and bark mixes (I think there is a Better Gro mix labeled for Phals - haven't tried it. The medium bark should work well), as well as the Gubler's. I will say with my experience of killing Phals, I do love the Gubler's
MEDIUM bark mix for my Phals, as it's QUITE chunky, and has a fair amount of chunky perlite in it as well. It does dry very quickly the first month or two, so needs more frequent watering during that period - once it has aged a bit, retains moisture a bit longer.


I haven't checked out Lowes - the nearest to me isn't near enough to make the trip worthwhile for me, but I think they may carry either orchid bark or bark mixes.

Just stay with medium bark, not fine, and any brand should be ok. (DON'T use Miracle Grow - much too heavy - I've even killed terrestrial orchids in it)

My local home depot and loews dont have many choices. I ended up ordering Better Gro bark from Homedepot online store.

I was reading reviews on better gro bark. some complaints the bark size is too big. What is a medium size piece of bark like? My plan is, if better gro is too big, I will break it manually

[Hmmm15]

Originally Posted by Wynn Dee13

I'm glad you mentioned the Miricle Grow mix Sonya!

Stay away from that! It is ONLY peat moss with a little bit of perlite. It is mainly dirt so it will kill your plant.

Personally straight bark dries out too fast for me and my Phals. I actually use straight sphagnum moss but the 50/50 mix sounds good or if you don't mind watering straight medium bark will be a good choice too. If you only have a couple orchids then watering frequently is no problem but I have way too many so if I had to water that much watering would be my whole life! I love sphagnum moss but from reading many posts on here many people don't. It all depends on your watering habits and your growing environment. Good luck!

I only have 5. watering them one by one isn't much labor for me yet

Wow, straight moss! What is the moss density like. Most likely I won't do straight moss, but I am very curious . I bought a very pretty phal planted w/ moss only before. I watered it every 10 days or more, however it died quickly with leaves getting yellow and falling off one by one. I wish I could have known orchid board earlier.

[Bill U.]

I currently have all of my orchids in 100% moss as well- the density is not too bad- they are definitely pretty tightly packed, but not so much in the root ball area.

For me, I want to make sure that they dry out and get some aeration, so I make a mix of about 90-95% sphagnum moss (gotten from Home Depot) and then the rest is Spanish moss (also from Home Depot). The spanish moss will not hold the moisture as well as the sphagnum, so mixing it in will help create drainage and keep the roots from staying waterlogged and help decrease rot potential.

With my mix, I normally only have to water about once a week during the summer, and even less frequently during winter, but that is entirely dependent upon your growing conditions.

[Wynn Dee13]

Originally Posted by Hmmm15

I only have 5. watering them one by one isn't much labor for me yet

Wow, straight moss! What is the moss density like. Most likely I won't do straight moss, but I am very curious . I bought a very pretty phal planted w/ moss only before. I watered it every 10 days or more, however it died quickly with leaves getting yellow and falling off one by one. I wish I could have known orchid board earlier.

I pack the moss as loose as possible and use rhizome clips or steaks to secure the plant in the pot. I also add a few styrofoam packing peanuts to the bottom of the pots for drainage. I use 100% New Zealand sphagnum moss. For Phals I use clear plastic slotted pots. For Cattleyas I use clay pots.

Phals bought in grocery stores and big box stores often come in tightly packed moss. If you don't know how to water the plant in that tight of moss repot it or at least take some moss out and loosen it up a bit. The way I pack the moss it dries out pretty quickly. With my Phals I have been watering by heavely misting the moss until it is moist. It has been working great. These are all new plants I got in the last few months and they are already establishing themselves in their new pots.

Good luck with your repotting!

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[Hmmm15]

Originally Posted by Wynn Dee13

I pack the moss as loose as possible and use rhizome clips or steaks to secure the plant in the pot. I also add a few styrofoam packing peanuts to the bottom of the pots for drainage. I use 100% New Zealand sphagnum moss. For Phals I use clear plastic slotted pots. For Cattleyas I use clay pots.

Phals bought in grocery stores and big box stores often come in tightly packed moss. If you don't know how to water the plant in that tight of moss repot it or at least take some moss out and loosen it up a bit. The way I pack the moss it dries out pretty quickly. With my Phals I have been watering by heavely misting the moss until it is moist. It has been working great. These are all new plants I got in the last few months and they are already establishing themselves in their new pots.

Good luck with your repotting!

Thank you for the great tips!!

	Mistking Looking for a misting system? Look no further. Automated misting systems from MistKing are used by multitude of plant enthusiasts and are perfect for Orchids. Systems feature run dry pumps, ZipDrip valve, adjustable black nozzles, per second control! Automatically mist one growing shelf or a greenhouse full of Orchids. See MistKing testimonials

[Hmmm15]

Thanks everyone for being so helpful! This is truly a rewarding learning experience for me! Can't say thank you enough!