Quote:
Originally Posted by SilverShaded
Katrina, did you think the plants are healthier or was it just that the bark lasted longer between repots?
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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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray
Katrina,
Most of the Orchiata I've gotten over the last couple of years has been much drier, if not totally dry, than the bags I used to get in.
You are correct - it harbors both penicillium and trichoderma species, but with the relatively small amount of water I use, it cools pretty rapidly upon contact, so I don't imagine I'm wiping their populations out entirely. Besides, I apply Inocucor Garden Solution anyway...
As to the "opening up" thing, I don't think the expansion is 100% reversible. It's more like a highly-compressed sponge; wet it and it swells to full size, but when it dries it stays that same size.
The lack of availability in Canada is government-related. The U.S. East coast distributor is Canadian, and I know they're working on it, but the feedback they're getting relates to the ridiculous concern over potential competitive damage to the Canadian timber industry.
Ray Barkalow
firstrays.com
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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.
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