GROW STONES for orchid media

[IncurablePlantHead]

I just got 2 big bags of Grow Stones from a hydroponics store that was reducing inventory. I didn't pay very much but I looked it up on the web and it was pretty expensive it seemed to me. It's a recycled glass product. I like it a lot. Especially the nice grey with maybe a tinge of blue. It contrasts well with clay pots which I use a lot. The statistics on the media is pretty impressive too. Anybody else tried it?

[Ferns Daddy]

I've never heard of this before but if its some thing recycled I would like to learn more about it and if it would help me grow my orchids with out using a bark mix or lava stone.

[RJSquirrel]

its come up before and I have used it..i didn't find it to be anything special. its inert so it offers nothing for the plants much like bark and our moss we use already...I found that it stayed too wet for my growing habits which at the time were strictly indoors under lights. as it is aimed at hydroponic gardening uh cough cough.

its not going to hurt your plants so is okey to play around with it f that's what you wan to do

[vjo]

I have used it in medium as an additive just like perlite. It holds about the same about amount of moisture...Jean

[Tabbyblack13]

That looks like something to use with a S/H system. Might be something to try.

[Ray]

Long-term, there may be issues with its use.

It is made from recycled soda-lime glass, so will have a pH on the alkaline side of neutral, as opposed to the acidic side most orchids prefer.

I tried working with the stuff a few years ago - the producer sent me a HUGE box of the stuff - but the size grading was quite irregular, so I had to do my own screening (a PITA).

It worked in S/H culture, but is very lightweight, offered no real advantage over LECA, and the chemistry part concerned me.

[katrina]

I've been using it for a few months now...and I like it. I have both the small and larger sizes. It is very light weight so it's not a good stand alone medium for top heavy plants.

• I'm using it in the bottom of pots where I have the plant in saucers of water...good wicking.
  
• I'm also using it in a mix of LECA for catts that require a bit more moisture. [some of the skinny growth catts]
  
• Also...in a mix w/bonsai medium w/a couple of rupic laelias.
  
• Also....mixed w/shredded redwood for some plants that like a bit more moisture.
  
• Also...mixed w/orchiata w/a couple of phals.

I think I might be testing it in a couple other ways but I can't think of them right now.

Too soon to know for sure (less than a year/full growing cycle) how this all will work out but I'm pleased (in all set ups) w/the early results.

Again, very light weight so personally I wouldn't use it w/any of my larger plants but I like it w/the small ones.

[Brooke]

I've been using both sizes of the Grow Stones and like it for certain plants. I find a lot of the Angraecum family love it. The ones that like moisture but need lots of air to the roots I sit in a small container of water. It actually wicks better than LECA products. On sunny days I water the containers but on ugly days I ignore them. The roots remain green and damp but not soggy.

I also tried it with my seedling size Orchiata. Previously I had used larger perlite and charcoal in combo with the bark but had problems retaining some moisture in the mix. I used the small Grow Stones and it immediately holds moisture but isn't soppy wet. I am using this mix on Phals, Masdies and Bulbos.

I am testing a large Myrmecophia in the small size to see if the Catt family likes it (clay pot).

Brooke

[ALToronto]

Sounds like another recycled glass product I tried - Poraver. As Ray said, it's very alkaline. I poured RO water into a glass of Poraver, let it sit for a day and then poured it off. The pH read 9.6. I don't know if constant exposure to acidic fertilizer will drop the pH eventually, but I decided not to use it. It's less dusty than perlite.