Question: Degarmoara Shibumi 'Purple Rain'

[Dimples]

Sounds like a 50:50 mix (maybe 70:30) of the smaller Kiwi bark and the seedling bark would be best. The seedling bark is softer and starts absorbing water sooner and the Kiwi bark will provide the long term structure and air space.

ES, thanks!

[dbarron]

I will add that I'm also figuring out watering in finer bark on a cooler growing Oncidium alliance young plant (Schunkeara). In just a few weeks I managed to cause a crinkled leaf (I *HATE* those). Right now, in the tiny 2 inch pot with two PB, I'm watering about every 2 days (having stepped up from 2x a week). I may have to cut back as we went from 80 yesterday to 45 highs today and it looks like summer and Indian summer has now ended. I suppose it's just keep an eye and heft the pot till I figure out how heating and lower humidity will affect it.

[Dimples]

My general preference so far with orchids is to have them in medium that I can water as often as I want. Up until September I only had phals so that was easy peasy. I have a zygopetalum in small-medium bark plus a little sphagnum around the edges of the pot and it seems to be happy with watering 2-4 times a week depending on our temperatures. That part of the house stays very warm all year except when we have extended cloudy weather in late winter, but it never drops below 70F as the high and our heat keeps the overnight lows above 63F. Hopefully the bark mix will stay airy but retain enough water to support crinkle-free growth with a few waterings a week. At this point I just hope for growth!

[Roberta]

The trick is to come up with a collection of media with various water-retention characteristics, so that you can water everything the same and have different effects depending on the needs of the plants. So more water-retentive for Oncidinae, more open for Phals, very open (or none at all) for Catts. Water often, you won't be overwatering the ones that need more drying wihch will happen naturally. That's how I manage to say sane with a yard full of orchids with different needs... the only parameter that I concern myself with as far as location is concerned is light (and temperature for the warm-growers that need the GH). Then I just water every couple of days and everybody stays happy.

[dbarron]

I try to balance what is best for the plant (if it needs constant moisture there will probably be fine bark or sphagnum involved) and sanity (who needs sanity, after all, it's over rated). I like to have media that I preferably only need to deal with about twice a week at most, but some aren't ready to transplant out of sphagnum tiny pots yet, so we just deal with it.
Other than that I have only about 25 orchids, and I'm pretty much out of windowsill space, I can inspect them every day or two and see who needs water based on tells and pot weight. It works for me. I love spending time with the plants anyway.

[Roberta]

I agree that sanity is highly overrated... Individual attention is great at 25 orchids. 1500 or so needs a little different strategy. (And I did start with 1... Beware...)

[dbarron]

Roberta, if you have 1500, you better be a vendor

[estación seca]

Martin Motes of Motes Orchids says the motto of every good gardener is, "I will look at every plant, every day." I was a good gardener in the past but I've let myself buy too many plants. Someday in the future perhaps I'll be a good gardener again.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by dbarron

Roberta, if you have 1500, you better be a vendor

Nope, people often ask if I sell them... I only buy them. Each is an individual. Would I sell my children???

[dbarron]

I have a modest town garden with lots of plants and while I may pass by every plant every day, inspecting visually every plant every day is beyond me. And I'm retired *lol*. Unless you count a crown/growing point as 1 plant, I don't really think my entire indoor and outdoor plants tally up to Roberta's total of orchids. I also am one of those that typically have one of everything and there aren't a whole lot of repeats in the garden except where something multiplies clonally. I'm still boggled at 1500 orchids...Roberta you blew my mind I think!