"bb" wrote in message
...
On 11 Jan 2004 15:42:46 GMT, nospamX (TRAINMAN9)
wrote:


Most of the plants potted in medium bark mix are doing terrible. They
start new
roots for the most part and they seem to die off when they touch the
bark.

I had the very same experience, but I attributed it to my newbieness.
The new roots did just fine until they touched the bark. Hmmm, good
luck.

bb

Tennis,

Just in case you *do* want to change mediums - it looks like we will all
have to do so eventually - I thought I'd toss in a couple of ideas.

Jerry Rodder is growing his cattleyas in 100% coir. I never thought they
would do well in this medium. I thought it would hold too much water for
their roots. But hey, you know Jerry. If its an oddball idea he's one to
make it work. He uses 100% coir, no perlite or anything else. And plastic
pots, which I was *sure* would rot their roots out faster than you could say
Jack Robinson, but no. He had a Cycdes Wine Delight in the same medium that
had a pseudobulb about a yard long and 4 inches in diameter. No fooling. I
couldn't believe it.

Fordyce has a few catts in what's commonly called 'Gorrilla Hair'. I think
that's sold in garden centers as ground cover too. Its the strands of
Redwood bark left over after the bark is stripped from the tree. Frank is
only experimenting with standard Catts in the mix, and says its too soon to
tell. But he has some cyms in it, and they do well. Acme Orchids uses
ground Gorilla Hair as the main ingredient in the Disa mix, becasue it
doesn't break down in the Disa wet culture. Plus Acme is in the heart of
Redwood Country, and so the stuff is ubiquitous.

Others say coconut chips. I've tried coconut chips before and find that
they are too springy. Plants do not 'firm up' well in the pot. When I have
used them with success its been as an additional item in the mix, such as
1/4 chips, 1/4 lava rock, and 1/2 bark. But that gets us nowhere, because
bark is getting scarce. Other swear by CHC, and I'll leave them to discuss
their love for that medium. In my hands it isn't necessarily as satisfying
as I'd like it to be because it *is* cheap and is readily available too.

So where does that leave us?

Probably with coconut chips. In some form. (Caveat Emptor)

K Barrett