Orchiata tips

[Fairorchids]

Originally Posted by Ray

I think you should have added "in my growing environment.".

I have many of my paphs in Orchiata, and they are doing quite well. I resell a lot of them out of Hawaii, and you'll find most of them are in Orchiata plus coarse perlite, and it's really hard to argue with their results.

You are right. I buy Paphs in HI too, and those that I elect to keep I have to repot quickly, as the 'HI mix' is unsuitable for watering once a week in NJ.

[james mickelso]

And with orchiata and a young plant like an oncidium which doesn't like to be repotted For as long as possible, orchiata can last a few years to accommodate this habit. It is only necessary to repot when the media breaks down or the plant runs out of room to grow.

[lexusnexus]

Thanks for the info, Ray...

[Speed_Tracerz]

Originally Posted by Ray

Nope. The hot water causes the dried cells within the wood to expand more than cold water does, allowing it to absorb more water.

Wouldn't steaming the bark accomplish a similar result? And furthermore, regardless of how you initially wet the bark, once it has reached the desired saturation point, what if you then microwaved the bark? Wouldn't micro-wave radiation cause the water in the wood to further heat up and expand without losing the dolomite? What would happen to the wood then? Just brain storming since I don't have any on hand to experiment with.

[Paul Mc]

Very interesting conversation and thoughts!

I recently repotted 28 orchids in Orchiata, namely immature orchids, Paphs, Phrags and fine root ones in Classic. I wondered about adding some sphag, and sadly my poor Dracula is withering away. However, I did notice how dry everything was in the new media, especially with my water loving orchids, so I started watering more frequently for those to compensate. Honestly though, the dryness is always an issue when you repot, based upon my personal experience and methods.

[HighSeas]

Originally Posted by james mickelso

And with orchiata and a young plant like an oncidium which doesn't like to be repotted For as long as possible, orchiata can last a few years to accommodate this habit. It is only necessary to repot when the media breaks down or the plant runs out of room to grow.

Very good point James! I use orchiata on all of my Angraecoids for just that reason. They HATE being disturbed and since you want to repot as little as possible, the use of a high quality medium meets that objective!

[RosieC]

Good to read all the info here. Someone is selling Orchiata in the UK now and had some at the show at the weekend. It was really interesting to see the stuff for real not just read about it and I'm seriously considering trying it next time I run out of bark (only bought some a couple of months ago but I've done a lot of repotting since).

Personally I quite like the idea that it wets easily on the surface, but dries quickly because it's so hard in the center. I can see that if you don't want to water as often that's a disadvantage, but for me, who likes fast drying so I don't suffocate the roots, it sounds like a good thing (which is the reason I like Leca as a plain medium, because it dries so fast).

The guy selling it said he's moved his personal collection to it exclusively over the last year and been really pleased.

[Paul Mc]

As a side question, how do you guys think it stacks up from a price point comparison to other media in terms of up front cost in relation to long term (need to repot 3-5 years or so as opposed to every 6 months to 2 years)? Personally, I am finding it quite inexpensive given my point of contact, but that's because she won't ship and is working to keep that cost down.

[RosieC]

I would be interested in that as well. It's still new in the UK so no-one here has experience of how long it lasts.

It's a more expensive in the UK, I could get 5L of other barks for about £4-£5 while 5L of Orchiata is £6.99 but if it lasts longer it's still could stack up.

It also depends on how much plants like it compared to other barks of course. I would be prepared to pay more for something my plants like more

[cbuchman]

Our Orchid Society made a group purchase at a very advantageous price. You need to have a Pallet full to make it worthwhile. Maybe you can order a larger amount through a local distributor/Orchid Nursery and save on the shipping?