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linda_leaf

orchid mix

I bought large boxes of orchid bark, charcoal, and perlite. I talked to Bill Fender before he retired and shut down his business and he told me how to mix everything. It's time to repot orchids and now I can't remember what the proportions should be. Is it 3 bark, 1 charcoal, 1 perlite? Robin, can you help me?

Linda Leaf

Comments (8)

  • shear_stupidity
    11 years ago

    I'd like to know this, too.

  • wallisadi
    11 years ago

    Mix sounds good, bot make sure you soak it overnight in a bucket of water. Soaks it up and it packs in real nice around the roots. Lot softer too, so the roots don,t get damaged. Watched my wife do it many times! Hope this helps!

  • shavedmonkey (Harvey in South Fl.)Z10b
    11 years ago

    What kind of orchid are repotting? After 20 years growing orchids I have come to a conclusion about methods. There a many successful methods for the same plant. I know many successful orchid growers and they all have a different rinkle. Basically there are many methods.

    One of my thought processes is what are the orchid situations in nature and try to copy it.

    Some plants that I pot don't have any of your listed ingredients. I use lava rock.
    Others I use a premix of the same listed ingredients. And there are others doing the exact opposite. With success.

    General rules. Don't drown your orchid means no plate under the pot. Water clay pots more than plastic. They must get wet, but they must dry. I like morning watering. Morning sun is best, avoid afternoon sun. Exclude Phals. Get quality feed and follow direction. THey need air movement. Not much, but needed. Then there is temperature. It is up to the grower to know what the low temp they will tolerate. They are all different.

    In potting, don't bury the roots into the mix. Orchids are air plants. Fill the pot with medium, almost to the top. Be sure to cut all old and dead debris. Protect and be very careful with the new roots. They break easy. Place the plant on the medium and add a rhizome clip or 2. The plants must be firm in the pot or things may not work out. All I can think of.

    Good luck

  • garyfla_gw
    11 years ago

    Hi
    Sounds like good advice to which I'll add if you're growing your epiphytic orchids outdoors many species prefer to be mounted on tree fern ,cork slabs real trees if you have a method for cold protection. I much prefer leca or crushed lava rock if exposed to the elements It is probably best to keep them portable who knows what ma nature will dish out next year.???lol
    To me bark has some very serious drawbacks ,particularly for florida good luck!!! gary

  • keiki
    11 years ago

    Linda you can get a hundred different recipes online. Mostly it depends on what you are growing and how often you water them. Many people are shying away from fir bark but I still use it. As gary said it does have drawbacks and my biggest is how quickly it breaks down. Anyway you asked so here is what I use.

    Catts and oncidiums
    4 parts fir bark or coco husk chips
    1 part charcoal
    1 part sponge rock or peralite or aliflor

    Dens (mount if possible)
    2 or 3 parts fir or cocohusk (depends on how it looks)
    2 parts alifor or lava rock
    1 part charcoal

    Phals and paphs (water once a week with this mix)
    6 parts fir bark
    1 part perlite or sponge rock
    1 part charcoal

    My new boss disagrees with this completely but he grows everything in a greenhouse. He also told me that dends will lose all their leaves if the weather gets below 50. Hmmm I guess that means none of my dends have leaves NOT. I am also chaging to sponge rock.

  • shavedmonkey (Harvey in South Fl.)Z10b
    11 years ago

    I love to install orchids in the landscape. I try to expose them to morning sun. I do not add to the landscape the warmest loving orchids. It freezes here every 10 years or so. I use what I call nurseryman tape. It is about 1/2" wide. No adhesive and it is kinda stretchy. A wire will kill trees. This tape degrades and breaks. By then the orchid has its roots adhered to the tree. Mounted on cork or wood is a good idea if cold is an issue.

    Like I said, Many effective ways. No single answer.

    I like to keep all my orchids above 50. They go into my small greenhouse. With a heater. The dendrobium orchid is one of the largest groups of orchids in any genus. They are varied. Over 1000 species. I have one that has 6' canes. It drops its leaves every year regardless of the temperature. It produces one or 2 canes a year. Each cane will have flowers for 5 or so years. Leaves are only on the new growth.

  • linda_leaf _z10a_southwest_fl
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. I have a large collection of various types of orchids, most of them coming from Fender Orchids. Bill Fender had a lot of interesting bare root orchids really, really cheap. I was a regular customer.

    I ended up mixing my three ingredients 3 bark-1 charcoal-1 perlite (actually it is sponge roc)and it looks just like the premixed bags I have been using.

    My orchids are in a shade house and I do have plastic hurricane-type planels we put up to enclose it in the winter, plus a couple of heaters. In the summer when a hurricane threatens, I bring all of the orchids into the lanai, then we put up the metal hurricane shutters around the lanai.

    Orchids are fun. Everyone should have some.

    Thanks.
    Linda Leaf

  • garyfla_gw
    11 years ago

    Hi
    had to show a pic of this catt growing directly on a carambola. This is its sixth year Though only one flower still a nice specimen gary