C. aclandiae and wine corks experiment

[hiimisis]

It's my impression that the corks retain less water than bark and will break down at a slower rate. And since it's such an airy media, the plants require daily (or more) watering which makes their durability a nice feature.

I also kind of think its harder to pack the corks tightly around the plant since they have very regular shapes which results in larger airspaces... but this might just be because I was using a very small pot. At least when I pot with bark, I always try to find the perfect shaped piece to fit into root spaces to make the plant snug, and that definitely wasn't an option this time!

---------- Post added at 03:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:29 PM ----------

I found this old thread discussing wine corks as a medium for mounting. It also talks about cleaning the corks (which I hadn't even considered, whoops!) but it seems the plant roots like the wine residue!

Mounting on wine corks?

[plantbuddy]

Nifty idea. It'll work.

I've used cut-up wine corks alone or in potting mixes for a long time. Cut into about 8 pieces they make a nice airy addition to bark.

Used alone, they suit many of the mini-catts I grow. Watering every couple of days seems fine.

[Ray]

Fair warning: intact, they're probably fine, but be wary of using them chopped-up.

About 30 years ago, ground cork was all the rage as a potting medium - well graded, easy to work with, inexpensive - but be aware that it makes an excellent home for microorganisms (open, cellular structure, with lots of air and moisture-holding capacity), and once their populations hit some "critical point", the cork will decompose into gooey mush almost overnight.

I imagine how long that takes to happen is dependent upon a number of factors - fertilizer use, temperature, watering regimen, etc. - but forewarned is forearmed!

[plantbuddy]

"it makes an excellent home for microorganisms (open, cellular structure, with lots of air and moisture-holding capacity), and once their populations hit some "critical point", the cork will decompose into gooey mush almost overnight."

Ray, that sounds like the characteristics of many organic potting components. Gotta watch the integrity of them and avoid breakdown.

I maintain that for a plant that prefers a drier in-the-pot regime, like Catts, it works fine. Have been using it/them as an additive and alone....for over 30 years.... and have experienced none of the "gooey mush almost overnight" syndrome.

Call me lucky, or call me cheap.

[Ray]

PB - there's no telling what the differences in parameters might have been that led to that rapid collapse - far more rapid than any other organic material potting medium that I have ever seen.

I do know that orchid growers tended to use a lot more fertilizer than they do these days, especially nitrogen...

My attitude about these things is: "if it works, great!"

[hiimisis]

Update: The aclandiae I potted in wine corks seem to be pretty happy! They have put out lots of new roots and matured their new growths. I try to water them everyday, but I don't always remember so they have been staying on the dry side.

I've also potted a B. David Sanders in wine corks and I'm getting similar results

[Orchid Whisperer]

I've grown many Cattleyas in wine corks, it is a good medium for orchids that need to dry out a the roots. I posted about one of mine recently: Cattleya Orglade's Blaze: Two is company, three's a crowd, four is . . .

I have grown Cattleyas in whole wine corks until the plant has outgrown the pot (3 or 4 years) without getting a "gooey mush". I think corks cut in half would perform similarly. Could you have problems with finely ground cork? Sure - same as if you were using finely-ground bark, Osmunda, etc.

[hiimisis]

That's awesome! It's very encouraging to hear your plants actually did better in corks! I thought I was being a little weird for trying it out, so I'm glad to hear that it works well for other people too! I'm planning on moving more of my plants into corks and luckily I have a lot of friends that enjoy drinking wine and are saving corks for me

[Orchid Whisperer]

Getting friends to save corks for me is the only way I have enough corks to use for orchids. If I relied on the corks from wine my wife and I drink, I would likely only have enough corks for one plant a year!

BTW, I have not tried it yet, but I intend to try using the plastic wine corks that are increasingly common. They should also work well, but I need to test them out.

I also grow most of my Cattleyas in terracotta pots - the porous ceramic also helps wick moisture away from the roots and IMO helps keep the roots healthy.