That's a tricky one. I wouldn't necessarily say it made the orchids healthier, per se. The ones that were in the bark for 3 yrs had amazing roots and they have grown very well and bloomed great in those years but given that I had just gotten some of them at the time of the potting, I can't say that I wouldn't have gotten similar results from a different media.

What I can say, w/out a doubt, is that if I had used a "lesser" bark then I'm sure I couldn't have gone 3 yrs and end up w/the excellent roots I have on those plants. I like to leave my orchids, undisturbed, in their pots as long I can and in the past I stopped using bark because it would begin to break down faster than I liked and caused me to have to repot sooner than I prefer w/some plants. And given how great the bark still was at the time of the repots, w/the exception of the one I opted to divide, I was able to shake/rinse the loose bark off and then just plop it into the next size up pot and back-fill. Easier on me and the plant.

So, does it make for healthier plants? I'd say yes but not because it has miracle properties in it other than it really does not break down even a fraction as fast as other bark thereby making for a healthier environment for the roots....for a long time.

BTW - the website says not to mix it w/other media and I admit that I have. W/phals, I have added a bit of high grade NZ sphagnum to aid in moisture retention and after 2 yrs the roots are great. I have also added some redwood products as well as some sphag w/some phals as well as some of my Ctsm and, again, after 2 yrs in the pots they all had really nice roots and I had no problems w/any of them. The added materials might cause for a more rapid break down of the orchiata but after the 2 yrs I had those in their pots I couldn't detect any break-down of the orchiata. I can't remember but a ccouple of the phals might have been in those pots for a little more than 2yrs. ?? Not sure now.

I don't know if that helps to answer your question or not. BTW - I use ca/mg as a regular part of my fertilizing regimen. I have serious doubts that the dolomite/calcium could last in the bark for 2+ yrs. It just seems like it would wash/leach out after awhile but I have no clue. I have a lot of plant in other materials and/or mounted so I just use the ca/mg across the board on all of them.

The manufacturer states the plants can go upwards of 10yrs between repots...is that true? I don't know and I likely never will because I can't see potting any of my plants in pots large enough that they'd have room to grow for 10 yrs. For anyone w/the space, it would be an interesting experiment.

I stopped using bark on my catts years ago for the break down reason. I use mostly leca and/or lava w/catts and it's worked very well for my space, to date. But, the grass is always green, right? So, this past spring I potted some catts in this stuff, as an experiment. In my usual media I can pot larger and let them go longer...I potted them up the same as i would normally but I used orchiata. I'm really curious to see how this goes.





I just got some of the extra large last month and it was very moist. Maybe you got some older product? Either way, I'm sure it's fine.

As for the heating of the product...I wouldn't know how much time it takes to kill all the beneficial bacteria but if you're soaking it such a short time to not kill the beneficials then I wouldn't imagine you'd get a whole lot of opening up of the product.

Call me lazy...I just can't imagine the effort/time it takes to do all of that would be worth the minimal returns. It's not that one way is better than another ...it's just different strokes for different folks. In the end, we all have our own little preferences and they all work for our individual way of doing things.

Thanks katrina thats usefull info. I'm going to have to give this stuff a try...

I mostly use bark straight from the bag - no soaking.
Sometimes I do rinse it if there are fines present.

I sometimes screen bags of bark to segregate the fine bark from the coarser bark. The coarser bark is better for Cattleya types. The fine bark I use with plants that don't mind extra dampness around the roots.

I received some of the orchiata bark (seedling and medium size) from a friend. I really like the seedling size bark for Restrepia. It does seem to be able to stay moist longer without decomposing. It is hard to get orchiata around here without mail ordering, which jacks the cost up beyond what I want to pay, so I have not purchased any.

Aren't you close to Atlanta? When we order Orchiata in bulk it is shipped out of Atlanta. If you want the name of the distributor I can find that out and relay the company to you.

BTW when I say bulk it is bags and we can order the multiple sizes of it, they don't always have to be the same bark size.

Brooke

Hi Brooke

My friend knows a distributor that is (or was) in north Georgia (don't know the name). According to my friend, that particular distributor apparently is retiring, or already has retired, but may be different from the one you know? It wouldn't surprise me if Atlanta had more than one distributor.

Yes, I would appreciate the name & contact info for your distributor - PM me (can't recall if it's OK to post info like that in a thread). Thanks!

Pre-soaking Bark?
 

That's Tim Maye at Acadian Wholesale in Suwannee GA. They distribute the Pacific Wide products - Orchiata bark and Besgro sphagnum.

Info@acadianwholesale.com

Ray gave the information - hope you can get the Orchiata, it is a very nice bark.

Brooke

Thanks Ray and Brooke! The address is going in my phone today.

besides Orchiata being good stuff for the orchids its also great for over waterers such as myself. Its very hard to overwater plants in an orchiata based mix. I have not killed one in A very long time with too much water.


when I repot orchids, the used orchiata goes into the garden and the strawberries even love it :bowing


RJ's cant miss orchid mix

orchiata 33%
charcoal 33%
dyna rok 33%


all my orchids get the same mix...make it easy on yerself