Pre-soaking Bark?
 

Greetings, I read in another post that bark should be pre-soaked to enhance its water retention properties.

How long should the bark be soaked before being used?

Thank you. :)

You don't HAVE to pre-soak but when i do it i soak the bark overnight/the day before reporting the orchid. You can also pot the orchid, then soak the plant in the pot.

Hope this helps;)

Yes...very much. Thank you.

I soak my bark overnight in a large tub to capture what I consider the "good, clean" bark that float to the top. I discard the debris (water logged bark and dust) that sink to the bottom of the container. The amount of debris will vary. If I get a "bad" bag, I might end up discarding as much as 20% of the bag.

Thanks for that post. Presoaking made never sense to me...now it does 😀

Thank you for the information. I'm going to soak bark tomorrow night for use on Saturday.

It is easier to repot with dry bark. When you fill the pot, tap the sides of the pot and the bark will jiggle down into the open spaces.

I have been growing orchids for several years and have never pre-soaked my bark.

Brooke

I don't pre-soak my bark. As a result, I am very careful to give a little more water for the first few weeks since I know that the bark isn't retaining water so easily.

I used to pre-soak bark when I had low humidity but now I have a humidifier with a humidistat I don't bother.

Thank you to everyone for all the guidance!