Orchiata

[Jungeoma]

Bil, like I said the misting system is a cheap simple thing we bought last fall on sale. It connects to a garden hose. We will put it up this spring with a timer. It only needs to come on during the worst heat, from around noon 'till 4PM.
Last year we were going to get one of the patio misting systems installed, but they take too much water and we are in a drought. There are also fans with a water ring connected to a hose that do a good job. But I will gladly share my results with you.

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[Roberta]

While it is hard to separate the usually improved growing just from repotting, I do think that I have had better results with some plants that in other media had just never rooted well. I'm in a dry climate, and have not felt that it dries out too fast. The range of grades makes it easier to match the media to the plant. (Otherwise the choice is between seedling bark and big-medium bark, neither suitable for mid-sized plants) Fortunately, I have a retail source, with reasonable prices, quite nearby... shipping expense would probably raise the premium to the level where I'd think again.

[Ray]

You're right, Roberta.

For example, I have found that the #5 "Power" grade (9-12 mm) is excellent for paphs in Air-Cone pots with no additives in my greenhouse, but I top-dress with sphagnum for those in my house. Many of the plants coming into the mainland out of Hawaii are in #5 or #5A, with a bit of sponge rock.

[Roberta]

I have also found that their largest grade (#7 Super) works really well for Catts, Mexican Laelias (like anceps, etc) and relatives, which I'm more and more putting in baskets. The big chunks don't fall through the holes, and leave rather large voids, packing just enough to hold the plant. Therefore the plants dry out fast after watering.

[Jungeoma]

I have been topdressing the Phals with sphagnum moss last year and will do the same with all the plants in Orchiata rather than incorporate it. Also noticed that Orchids in pots with solid sides rather than slotted ones stay damp longer. Whatever helps.

[Zabeta]

I can't speak to the technical stuff about its composition (and I'm too impatient to do what Ray suggests with the boiling water), but for what it's worth: I live in a dry climate, and I've found that plain Orchiata (even in a small size) dries out too quickly for oncidiums. I use a small size for cattleyas and dendrobiums, and I add a little sphagnum for oncidiums and others that need more water retention. They seem to like it. They definitely like it better than the coconut husk I made the mistake of using before. And it really does seem to be more resilient than regular bark.

[Roberta]

I used coco husk for Cyms for several years, had good results for awhile, but lately the quality has really declined and the stuff that I have been able to get breaks down faster than bark. If it dries out it is hard to re-wet. I agree, I have stopped using it for anything.

[platinum60]

I re-potted some of my orchids that really needed to be re-potted and I have found that my phal leaves are turning yellow and my zglm. Luisendorf "Rhein Clown" rhizomes are drying up. So I am having to water them a lot more which is disappointing to me. I'm thinking about adding some sphagnum moss to the mix to help with this.

[Cym Ladye]

The one word of advice I have is if anyone is switching from coco or regular bark to Orchiata, they do it on a 50/50 basis the first time. I speak primarily of Cyms, zygos and masdevalias but they do not like the fast turnover to Orchiata from a coco mix.

[platinum60]

Thank you all! I think I might repot a few that seem to not be doing well in just Orchiata and add some sphag. I have added sphagnum to the tops of a few phals and to a few plants that did not have any roots to get them started and they seem to be doing okay.