brassavola digbyana

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Irisha99

Thanks so much, Roberta. Will search perlite of good quality on amazon.

Specifically look for #3 perlite (or super coarse) You can get smaller quantities at places like rePotme.com, price per unit is high but you probably don't want a 4 cu. ft. bag at this stage... You can certainly use other inorganic material, such as lava rock, pumice, etc. There's nothing magic about perlite, its function is just to keep the mix open as bark breaks down. So don't worry too much about the details, it's the end result that you want. Large bark is important, what else you put in there of similar size is much less important. You could use cut-up wine corks to do the same thing that the perlite does.