Quote:
Originally Posted by jkofferdahl
Deena, you might be overdoing things with your soaks. How thoroughly the bark absorbs water is far less important than how thoroughly the roots do. Think of the bark as an insulation to assist the roots in holding water rather than as a source of water for the roots. If you slowly flush the pot with water the roots will get what they need.
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jkofferdahl, if you run water through the pot, there will be dry spots left on some of the roots. Sometimes the bark forms pockets that prevents water from getting to the root. This is visible if you lift the orchid out of the pot as you're running water through it. Quick soaks ensure that 100% of root surface gets exposure to water and fertilizer and solve the issue of dry pockets. This was recommended to me by another member and my orchids have been doing better since I adopted this technique than when I was simply flushing them with water, not to mention less time consuming for the many orchids that I have.
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