Phyton is copper based. I may be wrong but Physan is not.

"Diana Kulaga" wrote in message
...
Just my 2 cents here. I'm a firm believer in Physan, but if I were growing
inside, I'd rather put up with the smell of bleach for a few days than the
smell of Physan. And even outside, we occasionally wash down the grow
areas with bleach. As far as copper based products are concerned, I
wouldn't categorize myself as a *tree hugger*, but I imagine that any of
us who ardently love orchids, or any other plants, have at least a modicum
of concern about the environment. Copper has its place, but it's one of
those elements that does not break down in the ground. From what I know,
it pretty much stays where it lands. Chemists, correct me if I am wrong.
Also, if you grow Dends, be very careful with it. Dends will drop their
leaves if treated with a copper based product.

Semi hydro works wonders for some of my plants. I often wonder why I
haven't bitten the bullet and gone for it on a wholesale basis.

Potting medium? Orchids are not as fussy as we think they are. But, you
need to adjust watering, etc., based upon the medium you choose. I have
been growing Catts and Dends in plain old river rock or pea stone using
plastic pots for about 5 years. No problem. But I tend to *underwater*, so
I am gradually going to Aliflor or Primagra (sp?). Our Phals are in
Aliflor now, for the most part. We got tired of root rot. The exceptions
are small plants which dry out faster; those get spaghnum. For the plants
that I have in a CHC mix, we need to take into account how much water that
stuff wicks up - a lot!

There are as many ways to pot an orchid as there are people who grow them.
Two recent speakers at our society meetings illustrate this. Jeff Adkins
(Adkins Orchids, Fort Lauderdale) did a demo on repotting Dends. He used
CHC 'plugs'. I would hesitate to use them for Dends; too much water
retention during our rainy season. But he grows great plants, so who can
argue, except that he has a more controlled environment than we do? And
Michael Sinn (Canaima Orchids, Ellenton, FL) is an undisputed expert on
Venezuelan Catt species. I bought two plants from him, a mossiae and a
leuddemanniana, and both are in baskets with spaghnum. That won't work for
my grow area, so after they bloom I will repot them into something more
suitable for us.

Hmph. I guess that was a dollar's worth, not 2 cents!

Diana