Tree Fern Substrate

[BArmstrong]

Hi all,
A few years ago I was introduced to a newer shredded tree fern fiber. At the time the person said how exciting it was and was becoming their "go to" potting medium. I did a wholesale purchase of orchiata and threw in a bag of the fern fiber to try. Well it's sat for a few years and now I'm starting to think about using it. I'm wondering what everyone's thoughts are now that this has been around a bit (I know potting media fads come and go). It seems to hold quite a bit of moisture and I'm thinking about potting up several oncidium and zygo plugs in it. I attached a photo of the product for reference of what I'm talking about. Thanks for reading this!

[Roberta]

I have been trying it out on a variety of plants that had ben in sphagnum, mostly in net pots. I have been using it for about 6 months, and am seeing some good growth on the plants that I used it on. I think I can say that it does no harm, is at least as good as sphag, and it has some characteristics that are definitely better - drains very well, and if it dries, it's a lot easier to wet. I haven't been using it long enough to test longevity, but the person who gave me the idea (in a society talk) has been using if for precisely that factor, sphag breaks down and gest nasty. I need to use it for longer to be able to say anything about longer-term behavior, but so far, I like it a lot. I have been using it for Pleurothallids, small deciduous Dendrobiums, Oncidinae, Maxillarias mostly.. So the verdict - i like it a lot, will be using it more as a sphagnum replacement. Will take some more time before I totally endorse but so far so good.

[BArmstrong]

Thank you so much Roberta!!! That's really encouraging to hear. I'm hoping my results are good as well.

[Roberta]

There was also a very recent discussion on the Board (on a fairly old thread). Is tree fern a good medium for paphs and phrags?, I'm not the only one "test driving" the medium.

[MCD]

I have about 20 or so orchids in tree fern, mainly because I got several batches from a grower that uses it extensively, but then also bought an additional bag for my own use. They're mostly small phals in 3-4 inch pots.

Several haven't been repotted since (one and a half years), and my observation is that there is very little if any breakdown at all. It does compact down a bit over time, but not to the point where it's an issue. I've seen very little root rot, and the ones that I repotted looked very good when they came out.

I did a few experiments at some point; it seems to hold almost as much water as loose sphagnum, but dries out faster, so requires more frequent watering for me. You may want to rinse or sift it before use, the bag I got had a fair amount of small particles mixed in, which can clog things up in the pot. If you give a good rinse when you water that will wash out over time.