I just ordered some new potting materials, I'm going to see how it does on all my orchids. Terrestrials and ground ones (I forgot the "term" for that). It's compressed and prewashed CHC and Dyna-Rok II Medium Grade. I haven't figured out the porportions yet... both seem to hold water pretty well, according to what I've read. I guess the Dyna-Rok will be used more for holding the roots in place than anything else.
Edited to add: I'm also going to add some charcoal. How much am I supossed to add?
To add a little extra moisture since they're not growing in a greenhouse, I thought I'd add some chopped sphag to the mixture. But how do I chop sphag??????
Should I be using a stronger fertilizer solution for this mix? Or the same amount as if I were potting in a bark mixture?
I just read a whole article about the merits of CHC but I can't remember how slow they break down, if at all. Do they?
Guess that's it. I'll let every one know how the results.
This message was edited Jan 20, 2005 10:08 PM
Chopping Sphag? New Mix
dumb question, what are CHC and Dyna Rok?
CHC is chopped and compressed coconut husk chips. It's suposed to break down very slowly or not at all (can't remember) and holds a lot of water while at the same time allowing alot of oxyen to reach the roots.
Dyna-Rok holds alot of water and won't decompose. There for there's not root rot b/c nothing is breaking down.
Incase you want to do some reading, here's the article on CHC: http://ladyslipper.com/coco3.htm
And here's the ebay auction that explains what Dyna-Rok is: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4350464407&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT
Both of these products are new to me and I expect I'll never see them for sale locally. They sound pretty good. CaptMitcha, the 'ground orchids' are the Terrestrials. The others are called epiphytic (or lithophytic if they naturally grow in rocks rather than tree branches). I cut sphagnum with scirrors into 2"pieces. I don't use it anymore as it stays too wet, or conversely, if it gets too dry it a pain top try to re-wet it.
CHC breaks down but more slowly than bark. How long it lasts depends on how you water (ie, the plant's water needs). There is also an issue with salt accumulation - more so than with bark. That is discussed on antec's site, ladyslipper.com. Paphs and phrags seem to like it, as well as some, but not all, epiphytes.
The amount of charcoal and sphag etc you add would depend on the size of the ingredients, as well as the pots you use, the plants you are potting, your watering habits, and your growing conditions. You'll just have to adjust as you experiment.
I use a relatively dense mix for the phrags, looser for some of the paphs (others are more dense), and even more open (with the addition of clay aggregate) for my oncidiums.
Fertilizer has been the same for me.
Dynarok is being used by people in Florida with good results on catts. Note though, that in florida they pot catts to hold more water then up here. I haven't used it myself, so can't comment.
Sphag I just rip apart with my fingers. You could, of course, cut with scissors. If you want very fine, like Super Sphag, you can send it through an old blender with water.
I may end up soaking the CHC more often and longer than advised just incase of too much salt.
Is there any ingredient I can soak it in to leech out salt?
the method described on antec's site is what I've heard people recommend.
Ah, I didn't realize what it was. I bought coconut chips last Summer and I have started to use the stuff in my mixes.
Also, some people from Antec attended the Parkside ( another Orchid nursery having nice plants) Orchidfest last Summer in Ottsville, PA. They were offering compots and flasks. I always had wanted to try my hands at a flask, so I asked which one was the easiest and not so expensive, in case I manage to lose them. I picked up a flask with Paph. Black Currants x Macabre 'Candor Blackheart' HCC/AOS for 35 $. I was shown how to deflask and given a bag of their seedling medium mix, which they talk about on their website.
So far so good, the babies are growing. I only lost some of the really teensy ones.
And my Paph Winston Churchill, which I used as one of the Guinea Pigs trying out the CHC, is looking fine and is budding. I think I like the stuff.
Is antec the ladyslipper site?
Congrats on deflasking! How many babies did you end up with from that flask? I meant after losing those smaller ones you spoke of. Isn't it hard to wait all those years for flowers?!
yes, it is the Ladyslipper site.
I just counted, I wound up with ca 30 babies. No, it isn't hard to wait for them to flower, right now I am just happy to see them growing. Those little plants are really cute and I have lots of other flowers to keep me happy in the meanwhile. But I wouldn't want to do a whole bunch of flasks at the moment. This was my experiment, I just wanted to know how difficult it is.
I must repeat, I did take a flask which was supposed to be on the easy side. A while ago we were a allowed a glimpse into the lab of a professional grower, it was very interesting and the whole process of flasking etc has to be precise to yield good results.