moss or bark for phal?

[Queenslander]

What are rice hulls. Never heard of them in OZ. We prob. eat them.

[thakshila smith]

Have you seen paddy? and rice grains. Hull is in between that parts..
Vitamin B is rice polishings. Hulls you cannot digest.
After grinding paddy you get hulls and separate it from rice and forget about it. It is actually poor man's fuel to burn the fires.
rice is a blessing to us.

[johnblagg]

I use 100% rice hulls for my phals ...untreated straight from the rice bins uncleaned....

I let it sit outside in a pile and just scoop up a pot full as needed plop a phal in it and keep it watered as much or little as the hulls dictate.When very fresh after harvest they are dryer and after a few months in a pile hold more mosture.....I will take pictures today of this summers growth every phal has at least 2 new leaves and they are even larger that old leaves once again....plus I have one with a double crown that formed last winter.

[thakshila smith]

thanks in advace for pics! John

[Eyebabe]

There was an excellent article in the AOS Orchids journal a few months back about growing phals in New Zealand sphag moss.
It was extremely interesting and yes the key is to NOT overwater.
I also found it interesting that any size pot over about 4 inches was not recommended as there would be too much water retention centrally.
I recently got some very small species phals and they arrived in bark mix; they began to "phal" and I switched them to s/h; they "phal'ed" some more and I put them in NZsphag.
Heeding the advice of the article, they have perked up nicely in their 2 inch pots

[Lady Tottington]

Originally Posted by Queenslander

I too was like you. All Phals.in supermarkets are packed in spagnum moss. that is I think because they have travelled a while before settling into shop, and believe me, assistants do not water plants. How many do you see die at their hands. Anyhow, I too, bought one of these, took it home, and looked at it. The spaghnum moss was so wet, it needed rescuing. While it was flowering, I removed all the moss, trimmed some of the roots (which were quite black and mushy), used some cinnamon on the cut roots, styrofoam on the bottom of a clear pot, some light bark, perlite and gently packed in orchid, tucked roots in, and only watered surface for a couple of weeks, when felt dry to touch. Now, 3 months later, this orchid did not hiccup, still flowering and another lot of buds came and are about to flower. A total of 5 months of flowers. Is this a record. ........ So go to it girl.Let us know your progress.

5 months of flowers!? You are my hero. I pray for such good luck! I did take the one packed (and I mean PACKED) in moss out, removed it all, and the roots were surprisingly plump and happy. I potted up from the small little pot it came in to a 3 1/2 inch pot, and the leaves look happy, but I am losing the last flower from one of the stems, but that could be due to age I suppose, but could also be shock?

Anyhoo, soaked the bark the first time, last week, and then watered again yesterday and have misted the top layer of bark only a few times, making sure to avoid getting water in the crown. So far, so good, I pray I can continue. I have a skewer and am monitoring it probably more than I should, out of paranoia!

[Lady Tottington]

Originally Posted by thakshila smith

thanks in advace for pics! John

same here!

[Queenslander]

Sounds like you are doing everything fine. Don't fret about Phals. they are v. hardy. Just don't wet the plant too much, and avoid the crowns. Mine sit in our bathroom, near an open window, temps. between 23 deg. celsius and a low of 12. They must love the steam. They are very healthy.

[johnblagg]

actually I dont even pay attention to that issue and never have problems with the phals at all with any kind of rot of fungus ....maybe rice hulls heve something that wards off fungus like corn meal is supposed to .....now I cant say the same with catts I have had a few issues with the leaves developing black spots and aven falling off just about the time the Pbs should be swelling up and filling out ....I know its my fault there for sure.

[Royal]

Hi LT,

I agree with the advice from Gloria (lagoon). The transition to bark can be rough on a plant grown in sphag. Adding some sphag to your bark mix can really help it adjust.

Another point to consider is pot size. Some plants do well for me in sphagnum, but mostly the smaller pots like 2.5" or 3". Once they get up to larger pots (4" or 6") I usually go for a bark mix. In bigger pots, sphag stays too wet for too long under my conditions.