How tightly do you pack your medium?

[peeweelovesbooks]

Originally Posted by shadytrake

I find it harder to pack tightly with my hydroton so I mix it with the local arkolite which is not round. My s/h are doing better now that they are tighter.

I also had this re-confirmed with the mounts. A learner judge here who is an expert with cattleyas told me that they need to be firmly tied on the mount or in the basket to encourage the root growth. She has a bunch of awards and her catts are gorgeous so I'm taking her advice.

What is arkolite?

[Leafmite]

I use large lava rock and I've found that if I pot in spring, the roots have grown enough by autumn that the orchid is completely stable. Any plants that need stabilized are staked until they are stable. As for breaking roots, I think if they created horror movies for angraecums, that would be the main theme. But, I live where the growing season is short, where 2/3 of our days are labled cloudy and partially cloudy means the sun is still obscured. I don't use lights or a fan (my spouse and teenagers complain), our house stays in the sixties during the winter and the weather is so unpredictable that the five day forecast often changes completely from one day to the next (difficult to pick the right day to water). So, no, tight packing would send all the orchids to the compost pile.
Leafmite