Hi Everyone, I ordered a few doritis from a retailer a few days ago, I
just wanted to know what kind of medium they thrive in....I heard they
don't do well in overly-moist mediums.
Anyone got any input?
-Sandra

sandra wrote:
Hi Everyone, I ordered a few doritis from a retailer a few days ago, I
just wanted to know what kind of medium they thrive in....I heard they
don't do well in overly-moist mediums.
Anyone got any input?
-Sandra


I have a big one growing in a basket... But they seem to do fine for me
in almost anything, including peat based mixes.

Somebody will no doubt correct me, but I think in their habitat they
grow terrestrially in sand. And no doubt in other places. They seem to
be adaptable.

--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

Some people can grow in peat-based mixes ("mud"); I can't even show that
stuff to my plants.

There are many things you could use, which would be best depends on your
humidity and your watering habits. If your humidity is very low and you
don't like to water frequently, the mud might work for you. But I think
coco-chips or bark would probably be a more forgiving choice. If you find
it dries out too fast for your watering schedule, you can layer in some
sphagnum to hold moisture longer. Kenni


"Rob" wrote in message
...
sandra wrote:
Hi Everyone, I ordered a few doritis from a retailer a few days ago, I
just wanted to know what kind of medium they thrive in....I heard they
don't do well in overly-moist mediums.
Anyone got any input?
-Sandra


I have a big one growing in a basket... But they seem to do fine for me
in almost anything, including peat based mixes.

Somebody will no doubt correct me, but I think in their habitat they grow
terrestrially in sand. And no doubt in other places. They seem to be
adaptable.

--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

I agree with Kenni, and will take it further:

One's choice of medium has as much - if not more - to do with your growing
conditions and watering habits than the plant, itself.

Take phrags, for example. Some live in mud along the banks of streams.
Put them in even a "mud mix" in my culture and they're dead. In my GH, the
"streams" (my watering) do not oxygenate as well as an ever-flowing
rain-and-melting snow stream, so I have to use a more open, but still
moisture-holding medium.

The longer I grow, the more I understand that "air management" is the key to
orchid growing. Focus first on that, then tailor your medium to provide the
right amount of water, and you're 90% there.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
...
Some people can grow in peat-based mixes ("mud"); I can't even show that
stuff to my plants.

There are many things you could use, which would be best depends on your
humidity and your watering habits. If your humidity is very low and you
don't like to water frequently, the mud might work for you. But I think
coco-chips or bark would probably be a more forgiving choice. If you find
it dries out too fast for your watering schedule, you can layer in some
sphagnum to hold moisture longer. Kenni


"Rob" wrote in message
...
sandra wrote:
Hi Everyone, I ordered a few doritis from a retailer a few days ago, I
just wanted to know what kind of medium they thrive in....I heard they
don't do well in overly-moist mediums.
Anyone got any input?
-Sandra


I have a big one growing in a basket... But they seem to do fine for me
in almost anything, including peat based mixes.

Somebody will no doubt correct me, but I think in their habitat they grow
terrestrially in sand. And no doubt in other places. They seem to be
adaptable.

--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

I'm a windowsill/lights grower. I've got Dts. buyssonia growing in
semi-hydro in a deep pot and Dts. pulcherrima in both bark and
semi-hydro. They are happy. The buyssonia has 7 pairs of leaves--looks
like a Vanda. One of the pulcherrimas took a blue ribbon at a show this
year.

That being said, I've killed Doritis in moss, and I've killed them in
short pots. My experience is that they like loose media and tall pots.
They like having their media flushed regularly. I grow mine warm, but
I'm not sure that's the only way--it just works for me.

Unless the plants are in rotting media, I'd wait until spring to repot
them. Let them get used to your environment before you stress them by
repotting them.

BTW, have you seen these plants in bloom? The first Doritis I bought
were based on photos I'd seen in catalogues--photos of just a few
flowers. What I didn't know until my pulcherrimas bloomed is that they
flower like delpheniums--there's a long spike (my last one was about 3
feet long) with buds. Then the flowers open consecutively and die,
beginning at the base of the spike. So you get six or so flowers
blooming at a time, but never the whole spike at once.

I agree with Kenni and Ray, and will take it further:

These guys want to run a little drier than most Phals. I grow Phals in moss
in plastic pots. For Dor pulcherrima and some of its primaries, I use moss
in clay or an open bark mix in plastic with equally good luck. The Phals,
Dors, and Dtps are grown side by side and put on the same watering and
fertilizer schedule, but the Dors do get an extra flush every now and then.
If I normally grew Phals in an open bark mix, I think a basket would be a
good option for pulcherrima. I do not think I would do any unnecessary
repotting until March, but get repotting done in early spring so as not to
mess up the July blooming. For some reason I have had a lot of luck with
this group and have received several awards on pulcherrima and its
primaries, it was all luck and the credit goes to the plants.

Pat
"Ray" wrote in message
. ..
I agree with Kenni, and will take it further:

One's choice of medium has as much - if not more - to do with your growing
conditions and watering habits than the plant, itself.

Take phrags, for example. Some live in mud along the banks of streams.
Put them in even a "mud mix" in my culture and they're dead. In my GH,
the "streams" (my watering) do not oxygenate as well as an ever-flowing
rain-and-melting snow stream, so I have to use a more open, but still
moisture-holding medium.

The longer I grow, the more I understand that "air management" is the key
to orchid growing. Focus first on that, then tailor your medium to
provide the right amount of water, and you're 90% there.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
...
Some people can grow in peat-based mixes ("mud"); I can't even show that
stuff to my plants.

There are many things you could use, which would be best depends on your
humidity and your watering habits. If your humidity is very low and you
don't like to water frequently, the mud might work for you. But I think
coco-chips or bark would probably be a more forgiving choice. If you
find it dries out too fast for your watering schedule, you can layer in
some sphagnum to hold moisture longer. Kenni


"Rob" wrote in message
...
sandra wrote:
Hi Everyone, I ordered a few doritis from a retailer a few days ago, I
just wanted to know what kind of medium they thrive in....I heard they
don't do well in overly-moist mediums.
Anyone got any input?
-Sandra


I have a big one growing in a basket... But they seem to do fine for me
in almost anything, including peat based mixes.

Somebody will no doubt correct me, but I think in their habitat they
grow terrestrially in sand. And no doubt in other places. They seem to
be adaptable.

--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit