Japanese potting media & methods

[theorchidapartment]

I stumbled upon the YouTube channel of what I gather is a monthly Japanese orchid magazine, Engei-Japan and found it interesting to see some of the potting methods and supplies used in Japanese orchid growing.

We've all seen the traditional sphagnum mound neofinetia in the squat pots, but here's a demonstration of the same technique on a Bulbophyllum. And outside of sphagnum moss, it seems like inorganic media is the norm. Maybe ubiquitous in Japanese horticulture because of bonsai...? No bark in sight in any of the videos on the channel!

Obviously these videos don't represent all of Japanese orchid growing, but I am curious if people have dabbled in these methods, media, supplies, or if you've encountered other orchid traditions (so to speak) that aren't as well represented in American and European growing.

[DirtyCoconuts]

I am a serious proponent of huge chunks of lava rock as my main medium with very large perlite and some charcoal

I think that humidity and rain are major factors in MY growing and so I need the drainage and airiness

Bonsai uses much smaller pieces but similar concept

[theorchidapartment]

Yeah! I'm no stranger to exclusively inorganic media, but it seems like they are favoring the smaller aggregate used in bonsai, as seen in this video. Haven't seen the smaller stuff used for orchids, but I guess the idea of moisture retention and good drainage and aeration are shared with bonsai to some extent.

The pot shapes are also intriguing. Seems like the two main types are short squat and tall skinny. (They called the latter a trumpet pot.) The big hole at the bottom is quite common and apparently there's a piece you can put at the bottom if you're using aggregate rather than moss.

I've been on a bit of a Japanese gardening tools kick for my work as a landscaper and now I'm curious to delve into orchid goodies!!!

[frank_in_la]

Very Japanese... using dentist tool to clean orchid root? My hats off for their professionalism. I like it.

[theorchidapartment]

The cleaning in that video is next level! Teeny brushes and tartar scrapers. I can see the potential benefit but it also seems like it could be a bit risky if not done with the utmost care.

Most of the people in the other videos just rinse the roots, haha. I do also like that this series seems to be showcasing different orchid growers around the country.

[DirtyCoconuts]

I love seeing what other people do and how they solve the problems I have and how they solve the ones I don’t have also.

The more ideas you have in your head, the better you can problem solve and the better your creativity will be

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by theorchidapartment

The cleaning in that video is next level! Teeny brushes and tartar scrapers. I can see the potential benefit but it also seems like it could be a bit risky if not done with the utmost care.

Most of the people in the other videos just rinse the roots, haha. I do also like that this series seems to be showcasing different orchid growers around the country.

Right? I thought I was being OCD because I sometimes use tweezers, or a magnifying glass. That is next level!

Having said that, not getting out the dental tools for that next level. It IS a bit more OCD than I'm comfortable with. I'd make a terrible dental hygienist!

---------- Post added at 10:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:33 AM ----------

PS Someone with a better memory... what's that Japanese pot with inorganic medium thing that a lot of folks use? Self watering pot if I remember correctly. Pretty pricey as well. I can't come up with the name of it.

[Ray]

Some comments about the bulbo video:

1) Translations could use some help.

2) Only in Japan will you be able to easily get all those grades of sphagnum.

3) There is no way in hell I'm spending that much time potting up a single plant!!!

[theorchidapartment]

Hahahaa there was one that, when the person was knocking the pot to settle the media, the english caption just said "Calm down"

[Jeff214]

I think it's relatively common to see inorganic media in Japan for orchids, as well as mixing it in pots/soil for normal plants. As DirtyCoconuts pointed out, it's probably better suited in hot, muggy climates like Japan (and Florida) where 90oF+ weather and constant rain is the norm during early to mid summer.

Inorganic media like Akadama tsuchi (赤玉土) hyuuga tsuchi (日向土), and shikanuma tsuchi (鹿沼土) were always listed in gardening books and sold at local hardware shops. My parents had some of their orchids repotted by a local nursery (in Japan) and it all came back in tall pots filled with inorganic media. It's obviously anecdotal but using inorganic media seems more commonplace over there than say the US. I'd love to use inorganic media but it's rather expensive and hard to find here. I can only find large diameter hydroton locally!