Bark storage

[Wild Orchid]

Originally Posted by jeremyinsf

No need to be sad! This is just the manufacturer's recommendations. How many of us actually follow directions to the letter? ;-)

I only posted it because I know a lot of people on this board use it as premiere bark and it seemed relevant to the question.

I tend to agree. If you think of it, in tropics, nobody particularly bothers about storing bark in the "right" way and it gets rained on and soaked all the time. After all, orchids don't grow in sterile environment. I remember someone recently asked about mashrooms growing on their mounts and the conclusion was reached that even THAT was ok and not harmful to the orchids.

[GregorK]

Thank you all for your answers

well the bark i have is just a regular pine bark. nothing special. It's not an Orchiata

But thanks anyway for that storage instructions Jeremy. I think it will be interesting for many people on this forum

[Ray]

Jeremy, those are the instructions for storing the straight-from-the-factory bags, which can be quite moist.

For the hobbyist that buys in large volumes, I think opening the bag and letting it dry offers the best longevity.

I would not boil bark to rewet it, but I DO pour boiling water on it to do so.

[Island Girl]

What if you baked your bark media in the oven - low temps, for a long time (like dehydrating fruit/foods) - (with any brand - Orichata, or any other bark brand), so it would be dried out, cooled, & then stored in a plastic container, that is not completely airtight, but seals fairly well (like those clear plastic boxes, those 'Sterilite' type (right brand name?) storage boxes you find at big box stores)... Would that work? I figure that the baking would kill any spores/bacteria, and would also thoroughly dry out the bark enough, so as to not welcome any new nasties, allowing you to store it (for say, up to 6 months - tops +/-?), in a plastic storage box... Then when you want to use it, pour boiling water on it, so that the pores in the bark will open up again...? I'd like others opinions on this idea, please ....If that situation were too airtight, maybe drilling holes in the plastic container would alleviate the issue??


I like the idea of using these boxes/containers, b/c they will stack nicely... As opposed to stacking bags of media on top of each other, only to open the cabinet, after they have shifted (& somehow they always do! )... and have them all fall out on you... I learned quickly to use chip clips/clothespins to close my bags, but the whole bags still fall out! Lol

[james mickelso]

I buy in 5 cu ft bags (large bags) and just open it up and slowly use it. Takes me a year or so to use it up. I just leave it open and at whatever the relative humidity is at any given time. I used to put it in trash cans with lid and that worked too. If you are worried about bugs and fungus just heat it in the oven at 200*f for 20 mins, That will get rid of any problems. Orchiata is the best bark you can get. Some of the others like Sequoia is not as good. It is less dense and comes with more fungus. Or you could opt for the fungicide approach. Plant your orchids and then pour a dilute mix of fungicide through the pot as a precaution.

[Island Girl]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

I buy in 5 cu ft bags (large bags) and just open it up and slowly use it. Takes me a year or so to use it up. I just leave it open and at whatever the relative humidity is at any given time. I used to put it in trash cans with lid and that worked too. If you are worried about bugs and fungus just heat it in the oven at 200*f for 20 mins, That will get rid of any problems. Orchiata is the best bark you can get. Some of the others like Sequoia is not as good. It is less dense and comes with more fungus. Or you could opt for the fungicide approach. Plant your orchids and then pour a dilute mix of fungicide through the pot as a precaution.

I might have over-thunk it just a little... Lol