Quote:
Originally Posted by silken
If you give it an airy enough media and good drain and air holes in the pot, it will dry at a much more even rate. Otherwise the top gets real dry and the bottom stays wet. I like medium bark that has been soaked (I usually microwave mine immersed in water in a pyrex bowl for 5 minutes). I add a bit of moss to help add a bit of moisture. Remember new bark dries out much faster than old bark.
If the bottom roots are always wet, then they will eventually rot. You can also use a bamboo kebab skewer. Insert it into the pot and use it to test how wet or dry it is down in the pot. Pull it out and test and place it back until you test again. Water when the stick is nearly dry. You can mist the top roots when they are silver if you want but don't let water sit in the crown of the leaves.
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Well, I still haven't killed one of mine and I deliberately still fill the crown with water every time I water them. I'm also not sure about the whole 'The Roots Must Dry Out' mindset. I can see that if you have a lot of moss in the pot, enough to obstruct the flow of air to the roots, then yes, you need to have that dry out. I find that bark without moss manages to keep moist for quite some time.
Ray, I think mentioned that he doesn't think the roots need to dry out. (disclaimer, there may be some rare orchid out there that does.)
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