What media dries the most evenly?

[Pinkeed]

Originally Posted by bil

The roots start out green, and then turn greenish grey, and finally end up brown and dead looking.

That makes more sense.

Originally Posted by Leafmite

When I bought my sesquipedale, two years ago, I suspected that it had no good roots and, certainly, it did not. I encouraged root growth by using a seaweed product I bought off of Amazon just for it. If yours hasn't grown roots, that might be worth a try. Just look for a product that has a high rating.

I'll have to look into this.

Originally Posted by estación seca

What do you mean by dove orchid - Peristeria elata? This is a terrestrial orchid that prefers to stay quite moist during the warm season.

Yep, Peristeria elata. This is a 2nd plant. I still have my larger one that is in root growth recovery and I guess could now be considered small as I lost the 2 largest bulbs to rot. It did really well for about 2 years, but then I messed up and watered it too much once or twice during dormancy (towards the end of last year). It's not very forgiving of that unlike some other orchids.

Originally Posted by AnonYMouse

You're all still talking about this or have you gone off on a tangent? Here's some stuff I've accumulated (not pictured: regular LECA, Orchiata, various forms of tree fern, CHC). Bonsai mix, Akadama and Kanuma are for terrestrials I've recently got into.

Got off on a tangent....
Back to the topic at hand. I have never heard of some of these. Have you tried them all out?

In other news...
I did pick up the red lava rock, but have not had a chance to test it out yet. I was very surprised that you get such a huge bag for only $4!

[Leafmite]

Lava rock: Be sure to either rinse in a bucket which is dumped outside or to rinse outside under the hose. The dust can clog up drains/pipes.

Yes, it is very cheap compared to most of the other medium and it doesn't need replaced every year. It doesn't decay so one never needs to worry about removing bits of bark off of roots. To re-pot, one can just drop the entire mass of roots and rock into a larger pot and add more rock. One can also use a larger pot and leave the orchid in the same pot for a few years. In the case of some orchids, it is a permanent set up. In the bag, too, are different sizes of rock.

Just a few notes: Lava rock has sharp edges and the growing tips of roots are very tender. I usually am very careful when laying the rock around the roots and, if the orchid has the potential to wiggle in the pot, I stake it very well and try not to move the orchid until the roots are established.
Because it is a long-term medium, one needs to flush the medium well now and then to get rid of excess fertilizers that build-up.
As it doesn't use nitrogen during the decay process, you can actually use fertilizers with less nitrogen.
It doesn't contribute any nutrients or lower pH through decay, either.

Lava rock is not always the best choice of medium. For Bulbophyllum, Masdevallia, Draculas, and, occasionally, (when I don't repot them in time) Cyncnoches, I use a good quality NZ sphagnum moss. These need to stay moist all the time and the long-fibers, combined with either basket pots or a shallow bowl, leaves plenty of air get to the roots.

[Pinkeed]

Leafmite Thanks! This has been very helpful. I repotted some things that like to stay wetter in sphagnum moss and plan on trying out the lava rock on a cattleya that finished flowering a week ago and is in bad need of a repot.

Also in case anyone is wondering I put the dove orchid in sphagnum moss. I'm planning on putting the Anagraecum in a basket or mounting. It really doesn't seem to like media all that much. So if I use anything at all it's just going to be a little bit of moss or lava rock.