Has anyone found a suitable substitute for Douglas fir bark? This has now become so terribly expensive, particularly when you add in shipping, that I need to find something that will replace it. Lowe's sells a good, clean grade of cypress bark (mulch), but it is not in chunks like the fir bark and there is really no way to truly grade it as fir bark is (fine, medium, large). I stocked up this summer on Douglas fir bark, but with so many plants, I am sure I will run out of this in the spring. I see that a couple of large orchid sellers, one is Carter and Holmes, no longer sells Douglas fir bark and has substituted cypress for that. I don't know if they have a source that does something special to make it more suitable for orchid growing.
Ken
Growing Orchids
