Potting Medium

[Ray]

Originally Posted by estación seca

You actually do want your medium to completely dry out between waterings. Wet medium is the cause of the vast majority of Phal deaths.

I have to totally disagree with that. "Wet medium" is not the issue; water trapped between the medium particles, thereby cutting off the airflow pathways and suffocating the roots, is the issue.

Look into the natural habitats of many orchids, and you will find that many, many of them live where daily rainfall and high humidity are the rule, so being wet is obviously not the issue. If it was, they'd all be extinct!

Now, I will agree that moving a plant from a very dry culture to a constantly wet one will be an issue, as the plant's roots will need to be replaced for the new environment, but the same is true if you move it from a wet environment to a drier one.

I have plants that have been in a constantly wet medium for 20 years in semi-hydroponics, where the LECA medium prevents the trapping of interstitial water, so suffocation is prevented.