potting media ideas
 

I tend to let my phals in bark dry out too much, but I am skeptical of putting them in straight spag. Has anyone had success with a 50/50 bark, spag mix? I am hoping for more moisture retention, longer watering intervals. Also has anyone tried those water absorbing beads, (not sure what they are called) I have seen them at the mega stores. Maybe mix them in with bark? Any other suggestions Thanks!

Hi Wendit, it is possible to grow phals perfectly fine in straight sphag- I do it right now with all of my phals. I find that as long as I pay attention to moisture levels- a.k.a not overwatering (I water about every 7-10 days in my plastic pots and about every 5-7 days in my 1 mini clay pot), they do just fine with no root rot. I have read about people having success with 50/50 bark:sphag mix and there are various "recipes" for these mixes available online.

One thing that I would recommend against are those water-absorbing beads. Part of the problem with those beads are that many of them will retain the dissolved solids from your water/fertilizer and eventually burn your roots. Another thing to be wary about with them is that they may eventually leech chemicals as they start to break down that will kill your phals- they were not designed to be potting media. I am not an expert in this field, but this advice is based from what I have read.

I think there is a thread here on OB somewhere that discusses the use of water beads, etc. Good luck!

I rescued a mini Phal from Lowes back in Spring. When I repotted it, I decided to try the 50/50 bark/sphag mix for it. Not only did the mini Phal respond much better, but I liked how both the sphagnum moss and the bark mix worked well together. Up until then, all of my Phals were in only the bark mix. Which worked okay, but once Summer came around, they all needed to be watered on a daily basis because they dried out too fast. So I decided to repot all of my Phals into a 50/50 blend of the bark and moss. After doing so, all of my Phals responded much better to it and started growing at a much faster rate than before.
My brief experience with using the 50/50 blend has been nothing but a positive one. I find that you get the best of both mediums, the loose airiness of the bark mix and the great water retention of the sphagnum moss. I also noticed that the bark mix prevented the moss from becoming too compacted, even when I packed it in firm enough to hold the plants in place. Keeping the blend well aerated, while still allowing the roots to breathe without drying out too fast.
In the past, I've had relative success using both mediums on their own, but from now on, I definitely plan on using the 50/50 blend. Well, that's just my :twocents:. Of course everybody needs to find what works best in their growing conditions, but as for me I find that these two mediums seem to compliment each other beautifully. Keep us posted on this if you decide to give it a try. I would also love to hear from others and get their feedback on using a 50/50 bark/moss blend too. :D

I use pure New Zealand sphagnum moss for my Phals and almost all my orchids. I pot the Phals in clear slotted plastic pots and put a few styrofoam packing peanuts in the bottom of the pots for drainage. I pack the moss as loose as possible. Lately with my newly potted Phals I have been watering using a spray bottle and spraying the moss heavily until it is moist. With my older Phals I water normally. I have also added perlite to the moss before too. It adds a little bit more aeration to the moss. I have heard that many people have used the 50/50 sphag bark mix with good results too.

If you have issues with watering try the wooden kabob skewer trick. Put skewers in the middle of your pots and pull them out to see if the plant needs to be watered. If it is wet don't water and if it is dry water. If your not sure if it is dry enough wait one more day and check again. This might help if you try a new medium you are not familiar with. It takes a lot of the guess work out of watering.

I agree that the gel water beads are not a good idea. A member tried them not long ago and it rotted the roots on the plant. Those beads are for decorative purposes in flower arranging. I had a houseplant that was given to me growing in those beads and it ended up dying from rotted roots and orchids need a lot more air to their roots than houseplants. The beads stay way too wet and who knows if what they are made of would be toxic to orchids. They also wouldn't keep the plant stabilized that well. Here is the link to that other thread about the gel beads. http://www.orchidboard.com/community...gel-beads.html Good luck and welcome to OB!

I use a mix of sphag and medium bark for all my Phals and they seem to do very well. I too like the moisture retention and the medium size bark allows me to keep the potting quite open and airy. I also find clear pots work great.

I also grow phals and found that a 70/30 mix of sphag and bark with a bit of perlite mixed in works wonders for them as the air in my house is on the dry side. It is tricky learning how to water but I use clear pots and clear solo cups (for my smaller plants) so that I can monitor the root color. That combined with a bamboo skewer check when the roots start to look silvery gives me perfect watering times. In the summer I usually only have to water every 5-7 days and 7-10 days in the winter. Also if you decide to go the straight sphag route I read on here that the trick to watering is to leave 1/4" space between the top of the sphag and the lip of the pot. When you water only use enough water to "fill up" that amount of space. I never over watered a phal I had in pure sphag using that as a guideline. Hope that helps!