Is tree fern a good medium for paphs and phrags?

[Optimist]

Many of my paphiopedilums are spiking and/or newly growing roots. I am thinking of moving the paphs over to tree fern with maybe a smattering of chunky bark in the mix. Does anyone use tree fern for paphs, or is that a no-go? It seems that there would be good aereation and good moisture retentiveness, and it also looks like leaf litter, but I am worried about how long it takes the tree fern to decay.

[Ray]

There is no “good” or “bad” medium. There may be good or bad under your specific growing conditions .

That said, the only tree fern I’ve ever seen really wasn’t very good at retaining water. I’ve always considered it to be the additive used to open up a denser mix.

[Roberta]

There's a relatively new tree fern product from New Zealand (supposedly a sustainably-grown crop) that may be what the OP is talking about. I have been playing with it as a substitute for sphagnum as a medium . (picked up that tip in a growers round table of the San Francisco Orchid Society). Some longer fibers that hold it together (useful when it's used in a net pot), but most of the material is very soft, nice fibers. It seems to hold water well and also stay airy. The individual at the the SFOS meeting who suggested it says that it lasts better than sphag. I have only been had it to play with for less than two months, but it seems to have some very good characteristics. Worth trying for a few things, not enough experience with it yet to recommend more broadly. Will report when I have a better idea of how well it works over time. Here's a picture of the bag. It is also sold for use in reptile enclosures. (Different label same stuff)

[Optimist]

What I have is also from "FernWood" company, (like the package Roberta shows) and the blurbs on the package say it is "Ideal for Orchids." i have it in a barbatum so far. (I bought a small test size bag of it). The softer pieces do hold water, and many longer pieces go through it to hold it together. The pictures on it make it seem more like a terrarium substrate, but they seem to be marketing it for different uses; reptiles, terrariums, orchids and epiphytes. It is somewhat expensive, but I do not have a huge orchid collection.

The paphs seem to want a somewhat airy but also somewhat "closed" mix that retains moisture for long periods of time. So far I have tried bark, from large to tiny, rocks and lecca, and now I want to find something that emulates compacted leaves on the forest floor. Like I said in the first post, I will still have large bark (or even stone) in the mix. I am thinking of repotting my rothschildianums after Easter.

Sorry for sideways pictures, OB is the only forum program that does this.

[Ray]

It’ll be interesting to hear of its longevity.

[Optimist]

Originally Posted by Ray

It’ll be interesting to hear of its longevity.

Yes that is the thing I am most wondering about. My problem with Paphiopedilums has been with the "forest floor" type. And it definitely is a problem with both drainage and water retention. Like you say, crown rot is about water retention.

[Roberta]

My only caution with any new medium... don't repot your whole collection in it until you have observed it for awhile. It is is soooo tempting.

[estación seca]

How often do you have time to water? My Paphs and Phrags do extremely well in S/H but the reservoir must not go dry.

[Optimist]

Originally Posted by Roberta

My only caution with any new medium... don't repot your whole collection in it until you have observed it for awhile. It is is soooo tempting.

Truly. But I would rather have this as a "component" of a mixture, than, for instance, choir.

---------- Post added at 07:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:24 PM ----------

Originally Posted by estación seca

How often do you have time to water? My Paphs and Phrags do extremely well in S/H but the reservoir must not go dry.

During the hot/growing season, I water every day. Ha, I force myself to, because they are so crazy expensive now that I mostly have paphs and phrags. (I decided to keep my collection small and go for mostly blooming sized adult plants, and that can get expensive!) No specific time. My phrags are in semi hydroponic. The paphs are either int standard pots with a bottom pot resivoir, or in SH pots. The ones in SH have either lecca, or lava. Others have chunky bark mixes. One is on life support-- with rock wool constantly wet.

I only have around 15 orchids.

[MateoinLosAngeles]

Originally Posted by Roberta

There's a relatively new tree fern product from New Zealand (supposedly a sustainably-grown crop) that may be what the OP is talking about. I have been playing with it as a substitute for sphagnum as a medium . (picked up that tip in a growers round table of the San Francisco Orchid Society). Some longer fibers that hold it together (useful when it's used in a net pot), but most of the material is very soft, nice fibers. It seems to hold water well and also stay airy. The individual at the the SFOS meeting who suggested it says that it lasts better than sphag. I have only been had it to play with for less than two months, but it seems to have some very good characteristics. Worth trying for a few things, not enough experience with it yet to recommend more broadly. Will report when I have a better idea of how well it works over time. Here's a picture of the bag. It is also sold for use in reptile enclosures. (Different label same stuff)

I have the same stuff and have been testing it on Phalaenopsis (100% tree fern) and Cattleyas (1/3 tree fern mixed with bark). I was planning to test on Catasetinae next Spring. I got it because I keep Cattleyas in baskets, and I wanted to keep them moist for longer, so I've been testing it as a top dressing on some and mixed with the medium with others. It seems dense, but the orchids look fine, so I'm assuming it is airy enough.

My paphs are in orchiata precision and perlite. I think the tree fern might be a good option, however, it might be a tad more acidic than bark (especially buffered bark like Orchiata), so they might not love it as much. I add a tsp of dolomite lime to my paph pots, maybe that'd help. If you end up experimenting, please report on the results!