hard to go from s/h back to bark

[alaskan79]

I just got two compots of cattleya's and was thinking of putting them in s/h. My question is it hard to go to a bark mix after they are growing in s/h.

[mtorchid]

I suppose you could force the orchids to eventually re-adapt, but why? If done correctly, I would imagine that you and your Catts will love s/h. My Catts, Phals, Dens, even Paph love s/h. The only ones not is s/h are mounted to bark or sticks. Personally, I would never put an orchid in traditional potting mix again. To me, that would be orchid abuse!

[Ray]

Once you get the plants established in one method of growing, switching it to a different one will mean that the plants will have to grow new roots adapted for that new environment.

[Oscarman]

I guess you are asking for the future and selling the plants after they grow up. I would go S/H and maybe along the way you can convert a few of the buyers!

[alaskan79]

Yes I was thinking of selling the extra ones and keeping a couple of the nicer ones. Thanks for the info

Henry

[Fairorchids]

Ask yourself how many people grow in S/H, vs not. If you want to sell established plants, I suspect it will work better to grow them in bark, and eventually switch the few you want to keep to S/H.

[mtorchid]

Originally Posted by Oscarman

I guess you are asking for the future and selling the plants after they grow up. I would go S/H and maybe along the way you can convert a few of the buyers!

Good point! Unless your buyers have too much time on their hands, it might be attractive to tell them that with s/h, no need to repot until growth demands it as clay pellets don't break down to the point of smothering roots.

[BettyE]

Just for the record...I grow in both leca & bark ( fir )
This is because, after growing ALL of my orchids in leca for over two yrs. I have found that some prefer the bark. And soooo, I have put all of my phals back in bark. They are growing new leaves now, and I certainly expect flower spikes late winter. Others, which seem unhappy have been going back into bark also. Orchids that are doing well, I have left in the leca. Just my update on my orchids on leca. BettyE

[Leafmite]

I tried growing in LECA and most of my orchids did not fare well so I went back to red lava rock. They are all recovering nicely. The phrag is the only orchid still in LECA. It actually likes it.

Bark is not as heavy so if you are going to ship these somewhere, I would definitely go with bark.

[stonedragonfarms]

I'm with FairOrchids and Leafmite on this one; as an avid buyer of cattleyas, a plant in S/H would be a deal breaker for me. If you're planning on selling a few plants in the future to recoup flask costs, I'd probably pick 4-5 keepers and pot them up your preferred way and pot the balance in either sphagnum or generic seedling bark mix; the benefit of sphagnum is its super easy to bareroot plants for shipping (and also easy for growers who like to mount plants), bark, of course, is pretty standard in the cattleya growers repertoire.
Just my $.02,
Adam