Trouble understanding different orchid needs
Login
User Name
Password   


Registration is FREE. Click to become a member of OrchidBoard community
(You're NOT logged in)

menu menu

Sponsor
Donate Now
and become
Forum Supporter.

Trouble understanding different orchid needs
Many perks!
<...more...>


Sponsor
 

Google


Fauna Top Sites
Register Trouble understanding different orchid needs Members Trouble understanding different orchid needs Trouble understanding different orchid needs Today's PostsTrouble understanding different orchid needs Trouble understanding different orchid needs Trouble understanding different orchid needs
LOG IN/REGISTER TO CLOSE THIS ADVERTISEMENT
Go Back   Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web ! > >
Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #11  
Old 12-16-2017, 06:50 AM
bil bil is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,393
Trouble understanding different orchid needs
Default

Really, for all epiphytes, there is no 'preferred medium.' They would grow on a treebranch with no media at all, and I have seen amazing displays of phals where they hang from the ceiling on a cord with the roots radiating out like Medusa on a bad hair day.

Put simply, media is something we force on our plants to make our lives easier.

Thick rooted epiphytes (Like Phals and Cattleyas) are better off in very coarse bark (2") that has been sieved to remove all the small bits.
Fine rooted ones like dens, oncidiums etc are best in fine bark that again has been sieved so that it remains nice and open.

That's the basic, simplest advice. From there we move onto those with more specialised needs, for example that need more moisture retention. eg Paphs and phrags. There you can start to add moss, but it pays to use it as a layer on the bottom covered by sieved fine bark. If the moss is exposed to the light, sooner or later it will go green and slimey.

From there you can expand it to cover all needs as you learn more.

One point, orchid pots need to be shallow. Diameter is irrelevant, it is the depth that matters most, as with a dense, water retaining mix like fine bark and moss, ESPECIALLY if they are mixed together, depths of more than 4" increase the risk of anoxia and root rot.

Basically you can grow orchids in dog turds if you know what you are doing, but I wouldn't recommend it to a beginner.
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 12-16-2017, 09:36 AM
rbarata rbarata is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Mar 2015
Zone: 10a
Location: Abrantes
Posts: 5,504
Trouble understanding different orchid needs Male
Default

For now I would keep growing the genera you have been successful with and focus about knowing your environmental conditions.
Note that inside the same room you can have different conditions depending on the place.
For ex, I grow catts and phals in the same room. Catts need much light with a few hrs of sun (ingeneral) while phals don't need as much and no direct sun. I've put the phals in the back of the room, farther from the window.
__________________
Meteo data at my city here.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
bark, orchid, soil, trouble, understanding


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
An Orchid Buyer's Guide for Beginners King_of_orchid_growing:) Beginner Discussion 55 06-30-2024 07:57 AM
Sources of Orchid Seed s1214215 Propagation 8 05-13-2021 09:25 AM
Tom Mirenda to speak Jul 10 at North Jersey Orchid Society meeting - Everyone Welcome cbuchman Orchid Show Announcements 4 06-28-2014 07:50 AM
The BEST Orchid Companion! epiphyte78 Off Topic - Totally 6 09-29-2013 06:04 PM
Trouble Understanding Plant Label landanew Hybrids 9 01-05-2012 07:53 AM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:34 PM.

© 2007 OrchidBoard.com
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.37 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Feedback Buttons provided by Advanced Post Thanks / Like (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Clubs vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.