Quote:
Originally Posted by james mickelso
You can also use lava rock or even granite rock in the bottom of a pot to help keep it from tipping. Tucker, do you wash the coco chips for awhile when you get them to leach out the salts? It stays too cool and humid here to use them much. But I thought I would try them in smaller pots. When potting up an orchid, it isn't necessary to get the media completely filling the pot around the roots. These are air plants and don't need to be covered in media. It just stabilizes the plant in the pot. A plant stake works too. Here's one I made. It was easy. Wire and a pair of pliers.
|
I get my coconut husk chips from a couple of good sources but I do rinse them. I have a plastic bucket and a large strainer. I put the chc in the bucket and fill it with water. After 10 or 15 minutes I pour it through the strainer. I do this three times before using it. I don't soak it overnight.
For what it's worth, here is the basic phal mixture from an excellent book on the history of breeding phals called 'Moth Orchids'.
4 parts medium coconut husk chunks or medium bark.
1 part medium charcoal.
1 part medium aliflor (LECA) or sponge rock (large perlite)
For smaller phals the author recommends using the same mix but with 'small' or 'fine' instead of 'medium' ingredients.
Linear Mode
