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

[Hmmm15]

Hello folks,

I need to repot my phal from grocery store pretty soon, as I can see lots yellow roots from its clear container.

I try to avoid mixing stuff myself (though it will probably benefit my plant most), since it requires quite some efforts.

I google a bit online, lots ppl recommend Schultz orchid mix. However I couldn't find it from homedepot nor Walmart amazon is out of stock also. Is this product discontinued?

Can someone please recommend some ready to go mixture that are good for phal ?

Thanks a lot!

[tom_e_boi]

Better-Gro® Phalaenopsis Mix is an excellent choice, and the Better-Gro® brand is officially endorsed by the American Orchid Society. I tried their mix for the first time this year and loved it so much I went back to Lowes and bought some more of it. Except I bought the Better-Gro® Special Orchid Mix which doesn't have the Canadian chunk peat. Instead, I used some of their Better-Gro® Premium Grade Orchid Moss® and mixed both 50/50. The way I mixed them together was by first soaking the moss to rehydrate it before squeezing out the excess water, fluffing it back up, and then mixing it in half and half with the bark/charcoal/perlite blend.

The bark/charcoal/perlite mix worked fine by itself, but dried out fast so I found myself having to water them every single day throughout the Summer months. Once I mixed in the moss, the pots didn't dry out as fast and held onto the moisture longer, while still allowing the roots to breathe.

While repotting with the 50/50 bark/moss blend, I noticed that the bark doesn't allow the sphagnum moss to compact and kept the medium well aerated, even when I packed it in firmly enough to hold the orchid in place. And afterwards, one of my Phals that hadn't grown any new leaves all Summer, sent out a new leaf less than a week later. Plus, I noticed all of my Phals roots began growing at a much quicker pace than they were when they were in just the fir bark mix alone.

If I'd known that they were going to grow like that after I blended in the sphagnum moss, I would've done that at the beginning of the growing season. The Phalaenopsis mix includes the Canadian chunk peat, which holds onto moisture too, so you would probably have similar results without having to do any mixing yourself.

[naoki]

How about straight medium bark in a plastic pot? It works well if you are in a relatively humid area, or if you don't mind watering frequently. If you can keep the humidity really high, a clay pot might be better. If you are in a dry area, you can just add a little bit of sphagnum moss to adjust the watering interval.

In general, something works for one person is not necessarily best for you because of the differences in the cultural condition and life style. Also, potting media isn't that important as long as you can water/fertilize appropriately.

If you do want to have something mixed for a kick (and if you don't want to do it by yourself), you can get it from
Orchid Mix - Orchid Potting Mixes by rePotme

[WhiteRabbit]

I like medium bark mix. I haven't used the Better Gro(w?) Brand, but have seen others recommend it. The HD near me has started to carry it. Lowes might also. Or if you can find just the medium bark for orchids, add some perlite, charcoal if you wish. I like Gubler's medium bark mix, but don't know about it's availability near you.

[cbuchman]

You might want to check out the thread on this Board around semi-hydroponic growing. Phals seems to love it. I'm trying it on a rescue Phal now, but it's too soon to tell. Also look at https://www.firstrays.com/semi-hydro.htm for a lot of good information.

[tucker85]

Either straight medium bark or medium coconut husk chips works well. A mix that has one of those as the base is good too. Personally I don't like the mixes that are very fine grade, almost like dirt. They stay too wet for me.

[Hmmm15]

Originally Posted by tom_e_boi

The bark/charcoal/perlite mix worked fine by itself, but dried out fast so I found myself having to water them every single day throughout the Summer months. Once I mixed in the moss, the pots didn't dry out as fast and held onto the moisture longer, while still allowing the roots to breathe.

While repotting with the 50/50 bark/moss blend, I noticed that the bark doesn't allow the sphagnum moss to compact and kept the medium well aerated, even when I packed it in firmly enough to hold the orchid in place. And afterwards, one of my Phals that hadn't grown any new leaves all Summer, sent out a new leaf less than a week later. Plus, I noticed all of my Phals roots began growing at a much quicker pace than they were when they were in just the fir bark mix alone.

If I'd known that they were going to grow like that after I blended in the sphagnum moss, I would've done that at the beginning of the growing season. The Phalaenopsis mix includes the Canadian chunk peat, which holds onto moisture too, so you would probably have similar results without having to do any mixing yourself.

Thank you for sharing your experience!! If I go with the 50/50 bark/moss route, how to water it usually?

[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!

[tom_e_boi]

Originally Posted by Hmmm15

Thank you for sharing your experience!! If I go with the 50/50 bark/moss route, how to water it usually?

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.

[naoki]

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!

I think Tom gave you good info about watering. The better gro orchid bark should be pure bark, and it should work. People talk about high and law quality bark, but I use whatever I can find in Home Depot/local garden shop. We don't have much choice here. With better quality stuff, they may be more even sized and last longer, but I repot once a year, and I haven't had a problem. Also, you might want to wash off the dusty bits. I noticed that PetCo Reptile section has fine bark, too. But for adult phal, chunkier bark may be safer.

With regard to the quality of sphag, my experience is different from Tom's. For 100% sphag potting (e.g. for small seedlings), higher quality stuff lasts longer for sure. But sphag in my bark mix is usually < 30% (by volume), and I use whatever sphag, and I haven't had a problem (yet). My reasoning for this is that most of the air way for the root is supplied by the space between the bark and not by fluffiness of sphag. So I thought these cheaper short fibered sphag is good enough.