No, Physan is not copper based. That's one of the reasons I use it. We have
a bunch of Dends.

Diana

"Al" wrote in message
...
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