Potting advice needed.

[Sandy4453]

Don, thanks for your input, so very appreciated. My doubts come from all the intergenerics (namely, Beallaras and Miltassias) that I lumped all together when considering their requirements....big mistake. Unlike you, I went away for the month of August and when I returned, my orchids were in frightening conditions...and I had a caretaker!

Originally Posted by Tommyr

I grow mine in long fibered sphag moss. Some with perlite mixed in. They seem to love it. I let the media dry almost totally out between waterings. I have 4-5 Carnival Costumes in spike right now.

Tommy, love the Carnival Costume. I almost lost mine just a couple of weeks ago, when I noticed some leaves falling and upon closer inspection, some leaves were chewed. After some neem oil and pesticide, I found a milipede (or centipede, not sure). I have that one in spagh/tree fern/sponge rock. No spikes but my Sweet Sugar is about to burst!

[Jerry Delaney]

Sandy,
I grow a fair number of intergeneric oncidiums and have settled on a mix of 4 parts medium CHC, one part #3 perlite and one part of medium charcoal. I am not sure if the last two are necessary, but I sure feel better with them in there! I really pack the mix and tend to use the smallest pot I can get the roots in and still allow at least 2 - 3 years of growth. You & I probably have the opposite problem in that the mid afternoon humidity here usually runs in the mid teens in the summer. I have been using this mix about the last 8 years and so far, it's OK but I am beginning to feel that some of the CHC isn't as good as it was a few years ago. I probably need to search for a new source. The picture shows some of these plants on the very right side of the greenhouse. By the way, that isn't brown tips on some of the leaves, it's a figment of your imagination!

[Sandy4453]

Originally Posted by Jerry Delaney

By the way, that isn't brown tips on some of the leaves, it's a figment of your imagination!

LOL! Didn't see any brown, Jerry. I was too busy drooling over all those plants you've got. I see pics like these and I get impatient waiting for 'someday' when I get to have my GH. The Onc.s (more than the rest) really taking a beating here in summer if I don't have fans constantly running. It's humid here 12 months a year, a break now and then in winter and constant from about May through October. I never used CHC as the main ingredient but use quite a bit in some of my Phals and Bulbos. I ended up using mostly tree fern and spagh (4:1) and putting a big layer of charcoal and styrofoam on the bottom. Now, if I can only figure out if I put the oldest growth in the right position in the pot...only 2 bulbs and I'm not sure if the smallest growth is just starting or if it's the first of the two.

[Jerry Delaney]

[QUOTE Now, if I can only figure out if I put the oldest growth in the right position in the pot...only 2 bulbs and I'm not sure if the smallest growth is just starting or if it's the first of the two.[/QUOTE]

That's why the pots have a center!!!!