My New Experiment!!!

[nlm2951]

Thanks, I will check it, but I'm having problem with the oncidiums, I have tried differents potting medium and they are not responding . What do u use?

[keithrs]

I have had luck with seedling bark mixture and CHC mix.... I like the CHC better.

[nlm2951]

Hi. I went to OFE and they have the 5 in. he told that since they are moving to another location near by maybe after the move they will have more, but my orchids are not doing good, I lost some of the onc. and phals. I'm so upset with this that I don't know anymore, I do take care my orchids, my friend has more and she doesn't take care of them, not fertilizer, not anti-fungus, none, nada. We got some onc. at the same time she put them in a box, not media, they are there, mine gone.

[Leafmite]

Oncidiums never did well for me in bark or moss as they do for many others but once put in the lava rock, they took off, especially this summer, with the net pots. Any large media will work. You can even put them in clay pots if the media is large enough. They do really well with lots of air around the roots and watered frequently. Don't give up when you fail, just try something else. Net pots and Lava rock or CHC might change everything! I know the lava rock really makes growing orchids easy for me.
Good luck, hope things go better for you,
Leafmite

[Bud]

large: coconut husk chips, sponge rock, charcoal, lava rocks and rice hulls

this works for my oncidiums

I get them from repotme.com(this is the only place I can get media of my own concoction and they mix it for me)

[Wjs2nd]

Net pots work great. Just remember they dry out quicker. I use net pots for growing all my seedlings. Once my orchids get big enough they get mounted. I only have one orchid, a paph, that isn't getting mounted. A net pot might be nice for being able to water frequently yet not over watering. I was also thinking about S/H for my paph.

[nlm2951]

I changed the media to lava rocks and ch. but I noticed that they were dry , I don't understand, if they were soft the roots look ok. Well , let see now

[SoCalOrchidMan]

Just a few thoughts I would like to share. Net pots would work fine in humid Florida. Here in So Cal, I grow mainly in clay, a habit I acquired when I lived in south Florida. I like clay because it is natural, unlike plastic and roots cling to it for moisture. The problem is that since a pot is unnatural for an epiphyte, the inside can be moist while the outside has been dry for quite some time. To counteract this in pots 8" or larger, I invert a clay pot to force all root growth to the inside edge of the pot. This avoids root growth in the center. We have all repotted orchids from another source only to find the interior of the root mass dead. SBOE for those of you who know their method has it correct. Place the plant in a slightly larger pot with no media between the two pots. The roots grow down between the two pots where they are cool, but dry rather quickly. This way, all roots old and new remain viable.

[nlm2951]

I know I'm not going to see any different yet, but is this doesn't work, well I'm given up with the oncidiums, I had lost to many, lots of money, but let see when the next show comes

[professor plant]

Originally Posted by nlm2951

Peeweelovesbooks: Where can I find the net pots? Do u know if Ofe Supply has it. They are having a big sale the weekend of July 15-17 with orchid sale from different grovers.

I don't know where your located, but I often buy net pots from a hydroponic store in the Midwest, called Brew and Grow. They have a website. They are extremely helpful. Can fill small to large orders. Have an excellent catalog. Ect. They can usually ship the following day at about .60 cents per lb. They have numerous size net pots from 1" up, in both heavy duty and standard strength.
Good Luck.