GardenBanter.co.uk - coconut coir fiber; opinions?

Most of what I've seen for sale as cocoanut fiber is not the fiber like you
see made into basket liners. I've seen it sold as cocoanut (coir) dust or
pulp as well as fiber. It looks and feels somewhat like peat moss. It
doesn't clump as much, is easier to wet, breaks down more slowly, and
nowhere near as dirty to use. It's sometimes advertised as a peat
substitute. If that's the stuff you've got, I've used it with sponge rock
and some perlite for paphs and phals with great success so far. I've also
used it as a peat substitute in any mix where I might otherwise use some
peat. I've only been using it for a year, but no complaints and things are
looking great. Even seedlings are doing well in a coir mix with perlite and
small bark. It's a little more expensive than top quality peat, but a whole
lot more convenient in shipping, storage, etc. I don't know if this is what
the others were referring to with their recommendations but it sounds to me
like what you were describing. You might need to adjust a few things like
pH, fertilizer amounts, on anything fussy. I have recently seen compressed
coir fiber made into slabs for mounting as a treefern substitute. Haven't
tried them yet but intend to soon (they're priced like treefern and in the
same sizes).

"Pamela Claus" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I was at the orchid show in Toronto this weekend. While I was there I
picked up some bales of coconut coir fiber.
When the fiber was soaked it had thick consistency and I am a little
concerned about using it for orchids.
Is there anyone on this news group that has used the fiber as a
potting medium and if there is, how well did it perform?
Thanks,
Pamela