Proper pot size for kingianum?

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by Troythediver

I had only grown in spaghnum and was convinced that my orchids would thrive doubly in bark. When I switched, the first batch did very poorly. I was used to watering every 2-3 weeks. I had to readjust my watering completely because they all dried up too much.

I'm always a bit reluctant to recommend media for that reason. How well a medium works depends on whether your watering frequency and the evaporation/transpiration rate of your conditions will suit the water/air requirements of your plants so every time you switch mixes you have to relearn how to water. If you switch to a drier mix like bark or CHC, yes, you'll have to increase the watering frequency. My issue with sphagnum is not that it's a bad medium. It just doesn't hold its structure for very long when you fertilize it. I find Australia Dendrobiums do better when they're left in the pot for a few years rather than repotted annually, which is why I'm recommending a longer lasting mix.

Originally Posted by T0dd

I've been doing fine with Sphagnum (with some bark mixed in), and I don't mind repotting as long as I have a small number of orchids.

Then again, I'm new at this, and it might be informative for me to try CHC. If I were to do that, for small kingianums, should I use the "small" size? Maybe a mix of small and medium? It IS dry in my house, so it seems like small might hold onto moisture a little better.

My summers are hot and dry so the main reason I use CHC in my mix is to keep the mix a little wetter than I can with bark. CHC by itself breaks down too quickly in my conditions but, mixed in with bark and rock, it seems to work for my conditions. In these parts smallmedium/large varies with the brand of bark but for the size pot you've got I'd use around a 10mm particle size - again, work for my conditions. Increase or decrease the size depending on how much you like to water.