Bark Question
 

I recently switched a handful of my orchids over to a new type of bark (they needed some that wasn't quite as chunky). The bark they were previously in is still in great shape and not broken down at all. Is their anything I can do to sterilize it and use it for different orchids? I know with reptile stuff you can bake it in the oven and that make it safe to use again but I wasn't sure if that worked for orchid bark. I have a pretty good size pile of it and I hate to throw it out.

On a similar note…where do you guys get your bark at? The new stuff I got was from repotme.com and was quite a bit more expensive than the old bark but is clearly higher quality. I feel like it is hard to judge the size of the pieces on most websites and they give great descriptions which is why I went with them. Would love to hear what others have had good/bad luck with though.

Thanks!

I don't see why the bark couldn't be baked in the oven. I would just set it to a lower temperature and check on it. Maybe wash it through some water beforehand.

I get my bark at Lowes. I usually get Pro-mix ; I've heard bad things about it, but what I buy seems to be some good sized chunks of bark with perlite, not peat moss like others have said.

Not to be dismissive, or make too many assumptions, but how expensive is bark in your area that it would even remotely be a consideration to spend the money and time it'll take to use heat sterilization on it and make it reclaimable?

Speaking from personal experience, I'd not reuse the bark from orchid to orchid. Generally, the orchids get fresh mix when they are repotted. As the mix breaks down, they are repotted. No matter how much you bake, you aren't making broken down mix any less broken down. And heat, while it will take care of pathogens, does not restore nutrient & mineral balance, and it does not restore the mix's cation exchange capacity.

Typically, my acceptable level of reuse is to repurpose old mix for garden use, or to help aerate traditional soil mixes for other house plants.

I agree 100% with Mr. HR. I never re- use medium between orchids. I use old bark as a mulch on non-orchid houseplants, or toss it in the woods.

I dunno. If none of your plants had any issues with disease then why throw it out? But if they were just fine in it, I wouldn't hesitate to reuse it. Up to you. I reuse moss all the time and never have a problem. Orchids aren't pus..uh..pan..uh...as vulnerable as you might think. They have lived on this earth with all these bad guys for 100 million years or so. They can take care of themselves. Cost is up to you. If the media isn't broken down and the orchid wasn't in trouble, I would reuse it. Trying to sterilize the old media is tough and doesn't necessarily get rid of all pathogens if there are any to begin with. Your call.

I use Orchiata bark get it at my local orchid store thing here pretty cheap for 40 Liters of it comes in big bags, and then i just mix Perlite comes in different sizes.. i use to buy small bags.. but.. ... you know you get more and more so now i have to get the bigger ones.

How hot and for how long would the baking need to be to kill virus? Given viruses aren't always evident...that would be my biggest concern.

Viruses and other pathogens aside...it seems like it would be a huge PITA.

The virus issue should be primary concern.

If you have no local source, suggest you look at Roberts Flower Supply in OH.

You will never be able to bake bark hot enough to rid it of viruses. It will burn before that happens. If it was saturated, then autoclaved for about 30 minutes at peak temperature and pressure, that might do it.

True, the heat it takes to unwind or destroy DNA or RNA will surely burn off the bark. lol

Just throw them away and get a bag of new bark.

I have used chunky bark from repotme in the past for my phals and catts.
I like their stuff.

Now, I use orchiata bark mainly.
Also bought from repotme, but I have also bought orchiata from Kelly's Korner, Tindara, and other place I do not remember.

They are basically the same I think.

I have bought a bag of bark from HD, and upon opening, I went back to the store for refund. lol
It was just soft, like as if they were made of paper and moss glued together with rice. hahaha