How long is too long to pre-soak bark mix?

[Bahar]

Hi there.

I started soaking some Better-Gro Phal Mix in a water/Physan solution about 3-4 weeks ago. I was only planning to soak it for a few days, but then I had a personal crisis come up and had to hold off on repotting. The mix is still soaking. I usually soak for about 5-7 days max. I am thinking 3-4 weeks is way too long and that I should just throw it out. Does anyone know whether is would still be ok to use this mix?

The reason I am even considering using it is: (1) I can see the bark in the pot is really breaking down and I probably should have repotted it 2 months ago (obviously want to avoid root rot) and (2) I am going to be going out of town tomorrow for 5 days; once I return, I am going to start driving across the country 3 days later (2000 miles) with my orchids in the back of my SUV. If I'm going to repot before I leave, I feel like I should do it now, so I'm not repotting the plant 2-3 days before it's subjected to the stress of a 4-day road trip.

It's not showing any visible signs of stress, and I noticed the emergence of a new spike about 2 weeks ago. So, it can probably deal with the old medium for a couple more weeks...

These are my thoughts. Just wondering what other, more experienced, growers would do in this situation.

And also, even if I dump the soaking media, for future reference, I'd like to know how long is too long to soak a bark mix. I worry that such a long pre-soak will result in the mix decomposing faster than usual and also worry about mold/fungus developing from sitting in water so long (by now, the Physan is obviously inactive).

Any thoughts or advice?

[WhiteRabbit]

[Helene]

Have no idea, so just bumping

[MattWoelfsen]

First, if you are moving cross country and setting up a new home 2k away, I would not repot established plants. Keep them as is, and they won't be prone to scatter their potting media if they are newly potted and tip over during the move.

At your new home, don't repot right away, give them time to acclimate, while you also acclimate.

Then when you find the time to re-pot, take your potting media and put it in a good sized bowl and pour boiling hot water over the fresh media. Let it come to room temperature and drain excess water.

While waiting for the new media to cool down, take your first plant out of the pot and remove old media as gently as you can to minimize root damage. Examine the roots and remove any dead or decayed roots. Then in a bucket with luke warm water dip your entire plant in your bactericide (Physan?). You can probably reuse your old pot, so clean it out throughly. Rinse he pot in your bactericide solution.

Repot the plant in its fresh mix, and once it is gently packed into its new pot, pour the bactericide water into the new plant--pot and plant. Set aside to drain. Throw out any old media into the garden. In order to not spread any pathogen from one plant to the next, I'm recommending a fresh start for reach plant. Throwing the bark away in the garden won't harm garden plants--I do that with all of my old bark/planting media.

Repeat process.

Soaking media for days at a time with any additional chemicals like Physan is not beneficial and may prove toxic to the plant. I have soaked plant media for two or three days and it actually started smelling sour. The reason for soaking bark is to get the cells to open up and absorb moisture. Pouring boiling water and allowing it to come to room temperature does the same thing--but it keeps the bark fresh. Also boiling water would kill any pests that might've hitched hiked in the bag.

You want the plant to get the Physan and not the bark.

[Bahar]

Thanks for the advice. I'll repot after the move.