Cork pieces as medium

[Ray]

Stephen,

Be VERY aware that a medium in a basket and the same medium in a pot will perform entirely differently. The fact that cork in a basket dries very quickly may extend its longevity. Your idea of large chunks will help, too.

As a caveat...

Several years ago (about 20 or so, I think) ground cork was the "new wave" in orchid potting medium. It was readily available, cheap, very well graded, size-wise, and held moisture well without being soppy. Unfortunately, it - in pot culture, anyway - it apparently harbored quite a microorganism population, and in what seems to be an "overnight" phenomenon, went from an open, airy medium to a root-suffocating, slimy sludge.