Help with the substrate

[Merita]

Hello everyone:
I would like someone to guide me where to buy a decent substrate for cattleyas. I have been cleaning, washing and boiling the one they sell in the market here for years, but it has already reached a limit, what it brings is mulch with long wood chips, old, compacted, wet and dirty, you can only see a few pieces of old and used bark. I show them to you, I have already thrown two bags in the trash.

[Bayard]

Try some Orchiata bark. You can get big bags in different sizes from Josh’s Frogs.

[Merita]

Originally Posted by Bayard

Try some Orchiata bark. You can get big bags in different sizes from Josh’s Frogs.

Thanks, I'm going to look for the page to see if I get rid of this headache.

[estación seca]

What you are showing would be OK for small Cattleyas in small pots, or for Oncidiums. For larger Cattleyas in your climate, yes, use much larger bark like Bayard suggested.

I find LECA clay balls from the hydroponics shop also work well for Cattleyas.

[Merita]

Originally Posted by estación seca

What you are showing would be OK for small Cattleyas in small pots, or for Oncidiums. For larger Cattleyas in your climate, yes, use much larger bark like Bayard suggested.

I find LECA clay balls from the hydroponics shop also work well for Cattleyas.

Thank you, I would have liked to use it but the one that I show when you squeeze it it falls apart, it's like decomposing, it's not bark

[Ray]

Merita, LECA can be used as a regular potting medium. In plastic pots, it holds moisture quite well, while remaining airy, and it never decomposes. Outdoor growers in FL use it a lot, as it “plays well” with the rains.

[isurus79]

You boil your bark?

[Merita]

Originally Posted by Ray

Merita, LECA can be used as a regular potting medium. In plastic pots, it holds moisture quite well, while remaining airy, and it never decomposes. Outdoor growers in FL use it a lot, as it “plays well” with the rains.

Thanks Ray, I use coconut fiber baskets, I think that with leca it would be necessary to water a lot, I have never used it but I will try too. Is it bought by Amazon?

---------- Post added at 04:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:15 PM ----------

Originally Posted by isurus79

You boil your bark?

Yes, I do not trust the substrate that I buy that seems already used.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by Merita

Yes, I do not trust the substrate that I buy that seems already used.

Oh! You need fresh bark! Boiling it will really shorten the bark's lifespan.

[mook1178]

I use repotme.com. They are a little expensive, but their pre mixes are the best I have found. If you have a lot of orchids, it may be better to by each component separately and mix by hand. THey have the separate components as well