New order from C&H in what looks like potting soil

[SHag42]

Hello all,

I just received a new order of phals today from Carter & Holmes.
1-Newberry bouquet "blushing Bride" Bare Root
1- corningiana Bountiful x Graprade" in moss
The other 2 Michael Crocker Contrast and Be Tris Newberry
were in this medium that looks like sponge rock and a little dirt. Never seen this in a orchid plant before. Wondering if any one else has. I just found this to be a little odd. Should I go ahead and repot them in bark?

I am excited about my new orchids they all are near blooming size and I can't wait to see them bloom.

[kindrag23]

I don't care for the Carter and Holmes mix, so I replant in Better gro for phal's and they all seem to be doing quite well.

[AnonYMouse]

Are those two seedling sized? I've had one plant come with its roots in a brownie plug which was drop-potted in conventional media.

[kindrag23]

What is a brownie plug?

[jeremyinsf]

I was pretty grossed out by the media my order came in. Maybe it's just because they mass produce things, that they don't put them in a quality mix. I'm probably not going order from them again any time soon. They'd have to have some cross I can't find somewhere else that is in spike/bud to get me to order again.

[SHag42]

Originally Posted by kindrag23

I don't care for the Carter and Holmes mix, so I replant in Better gro for phal's and they all seem to be doing quite well.

Yeah I didn't care to much for it either. Figured I will repot them this weekend. It just kinda seemed weird to me and I wondered if anyone else had gotten plants this way.
I use the better gro also but it is the special blend. the one for phals has peat in it and stays to wet with the humidity here in Fl.
Thanks and Happy Growing.

[kindrag23]

Ahh I forget about ya'lls humidity. I use it for the opposite reason. Bc sometimes its so hot here if I didn't use it I would be soaking them every day

[SHag42]

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

Are those two seedling sized? I've had one plant come with its roots in a brownie plug which was drop-potted in conventional media.

No the are not suppose to be. They were listed as blooming size. I will let you know what is inside the pot when I repot them this weekend. I hate those plugs. They are hard to remove and rot the middle of the roots.

---------- Post added at 09:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:27 PM ----------

Originally Posted by jeremyinsf

I was pretty grossed out by the media my order came in. Maybe it's just because they mass produce things, that they don't put them in a quality mix. I'm probably not going order from them again any time soon. They'd have to have some cross I can't find somewhere else that is in spike/bud to get me to order again.

I have to say I might agree with you. I had two orders come this week. This one and one from Oak hill, the seedlings I received from Oak hill all came packaged well and planted in bark. The plants all look healthy, just small. Which I think is going to be great fun watching them grow. The ones I got from C&H were not is that good of shape. In fact the one that was bare root has most of the center roots rotted out and the rest don't look so hot. The rest I will know more about when I pull the out of the mess they are in. I will take picks and post them when I repot.
Who do you order from now? I have looked around and it is hard to find a place to order orchids that does not have outrageous prices. I know some orchids are expensive but some of these places are charging top dollar for common orchids. I don't mind paying good money for quality plants but I don't want to be ripped off either. I would greatly appreciate any advise on this.

Thanks

[kindrag23]

Kawamotto is awesome! They sell from ebay.

[gnathaniel]

C&H does pot some stuff in pro-mix (peat and perlite) from what I've seen. Many orchids, including Phals, do very well in this kind of mix provided you use it right.

Nothing wrong with repotting things right away if you don't like pro-mix but I'm a little puzzled by the apparent disapproval of C&H's quality/growing practices I'm seeing expressed here. As far as I've seen C&H sells excellent plants at very fair prices.