Coconut Husk Fiber

[cupcake]

I'm not sure about coconut husk. A certain grower from Lincolnshire seems to be the main advocate. All his stuff is grown in it, but I transplanted 2 chids to it and they both died. I use bark for chids with fine roots now and have had no further fatalities.

[kiki-do]

I use coconut husk all the time. I don't use it straight, but mixed with other things, including some bark. I've never had a problem....in fact, my orchids do very well. Perhaps there was something more going on with the plant that died other than the coconut husk????

[Dorothy]

I have use coconut husk chips (not fiber) on my orchids and they are happy and healthy .. I also pre-soaked the chips in espom salts first for 24 hours, rinsed in water quite a few time then gave them a final soaking in water before repotting ..

[Ray]

Coconut chips and coconut fiber are entirely different creatures. I use the fiber to line baskets, to anchor plants to mounts (I staple the fiber to the mount on either side of the root mass), or as a medium for stuff that likes to dry out instantly.

Coconut husk chips became an immediate hit as a substitute for bark when decent quality bark become more difficult to obtain.

I actually like it better than bark, as it wets and rewets more easily, and seems to take a lot longer to break down.

I have heard, however, that paph growers have issues. I'm not sure what they are, and certainly don't have the problem myself, as all of mine are under S/H culture.

[shakkai]

Judi, I've not seen it here... chips yes, but not fibre. Did you get the fibre from the Lincolnshire grower? I've not seen it in the sundries section here. Which plants did you try that didn't like it?

[ruthann]

I switched 90% of my orchids to S/H. I have left some in orginal medium, ie my baby neo. I terrible about knowing when to water, s/h lets me water whenever... Ruthann

[Bolero]

All my plants are in Coconut and I have not lost any plants to the medium. I cannot believe how well Cattleya's and Masdevallia's grow in it to be honest. Paphs could do better, it might not be the best medium for them I guess although some of them thrive while others grow in a struggle. Not sure if it's the medium with Paphs or it's me........

I highly recommend it, I wouldn't use anything else. Make sure it's a high quality product, not just the stuff people use as mulch on garden beds.