Favorite chunky media
 

Happy Thursday all-

I'm eager to learn about your favorite chunky media and why they're your favorites. Particularly non-media media (wine corks, broken terra cotta chunks, etc.) and your experience with them.

I live in Miami and the humidity in my growing space is always astronomical, which despite the obvious benefits is also an occasional annoyance (I can hear the groans of disgust from those of you growing in arid regions ;) ).

Strong air movement and net pots have all served me well, but finding the right blend for those plants needing a quick dry at the roots remains elusive. Over the years I've found that most all of my orchids fare better with super chunky (1.5"+ particle size) media in sparse amounts over anything else, but media this size has been difficult for me to find- my local suppliers don't quite have what I'm looking for.

I've experimented with lava rock, charcoal, and LECA this past year. A few of my Dens took well to the lava rock, and the charcoal gives me mixed results. My plants seem to uniformly hate LECA. The charcoal is messy and I have concerns about it neutralizing compounds in my fertilizer.

So what works well for you?

I grow many Cattleya alliance plants in nothing but whole wine corks in terracotta pots. Some have told me they can break down after a while; I have never ovserved that at all. The plants completely outgrow the pots and the corks are still OK.

I also use very coarse Douglas fir bark (retained on 1-inch seive). The is sieved from my bags of Better-Gro bark (from Lowe's and similar places). I also like "lava rock" sold for landscaping. You can use just about anything that is non-toxic and either inert, or breaks down slowly.

(Edited: autocorrect had turned "non-toxic" into "non-working", I changed it back . . . hate technology sometimes)

I mostly grow in LECA. Of those that aren't, they are in Orchiata.

I don't know if it will be feasible for you but tree fern might be a good choice. Very well draining and long lasting medium. I've gotten plank pieces that are very dense that absorb and retain water but there are also loose fibers types (sold as planks/totems to loose fiber). They aren't expensive as mounts but is probably most expensive if you want chunks to fill pots.

Odd that they seem to hate LECA. I have a lot of things in LECA, lava rock, sponge rock, busted up large chunks of styrofoam, mounts, clay pots, things bare root in clay pots. Amen on the baskets... I’ve also been trying out epiweb/ecoweb this past year and a half on a dozen each of my Dendrobiums and Cattleyas. it’s kind of like the back scrubby part of a sponge. I cut it up in cubes for baskets and pots and a large square that I have tied on a raft. I’m also trying out a few slabs of this stuff as a mount for my Angraecum germinyanum, one of my C. aclandiae, and a Bulbo. Again- so far, so good on all of these. It seems to hold just enough moisture in its structure but still super airy (my bifoliate Cattleyas seem to be happy with it), holds the orchids in place pretty well, big or small roots can snake through it, doesn’t break down and doesn’t seem to hold on to salts as much as leca or lava rock.

I use LECA, wine corks, and very large perlite depending on rest of medium used. If I use bark, it's always Orchiata. My favorite, of course, are the wine corks. :rofl:

You've already mentioned what I like "best" lava, and lecca. Here's one I don't hear spoken of: Fish tank filter medium-- the plastic type. They are often little balls filled with nooks and crannies and great to keep air at the roots in a semi-hydro situation or when the plant needs to be in a more compacted environment (the "throw a handful of potting soil in a scenario)-- and I am really thinking of phrags in mud.