Favorite potting mixes

[tom]

I know, its almost a pandora box, and everyones has its own recipe, but i dare to ask: whats your favorite all around media for growing your Bulbos?

[H20]

lol People will hate me for this one but I just use pure Long Fiber Sphagnum Moss. Under the right conditions it works great I make sure it’s never too deep. If the pot is too deep I'll put a solid block of Styrofoam in the bottom of the pot to make it shallower. I don't leave the moss loose either, I make sure its snug but not rock hard. Lately I've been learning more to the looser side and I want to start experimenting with putting ground up Styrofoam in the moss and keep the moss even looser. This is how Marrio Ferrusi grows most of his plants and I've seen it work great with some of the random Bulbo's he grows.

Can’t wait to hear about everyone else’s

[rtsingleton]

I'm a huge fan of non-organic mediums. I love epi-web for mounting and expanded shale for pots. Both do very well for me considering how often my greenhouse gets water and how damp it stays.

In Thoms' book on Bulbophyllums that came out recently he explains how he uses cedar baskets that he custom makes with sphag in the bottom and then sets in shallow trays. He just fills the trays up and lets the water soak into the moss/roots that way. I hope to try it with some different medias once I have a build day.

[H20]

Oh I love Bills new book SOO funny, I just love how its not all about getting everything perfect and he jokes around haha

If your misting that much maybe you wouldn't even need to sit it in water? Bill deff proves that bulbo's like water though. SO much for people say NEVER to sit orchids in water

[mdahms]

I grow in long fiber sphagnum as well, bark mixes dry too quickly for me to keep most Bulbos happy. I use packing peanuts either whole or broken up to keep the sphagnum up off the bottom of the pot. I recently got some large perlite/sponge rock and diatomite and have mixed it with chopped sphagnum for an experiment I am planning. The new mix would stand up better over time because I admit that I don't repot my plant often as I should. I would need to water more often but I think the plants would benefit from the mix because it would hold a good amount of both air and water.
I have Bulbos on treefern as well but I am a little worried about them because of salt build up. I used to grow my Bulbos in cedar baskets but by the time they covered the top and sides of the basket the salt build up would suddenly cause them to crash because of root loss. A less permanent home seems like a good idea for my plants so hopefully the treefern does not end up having the same problems.
Does anyone else use treefern and have you noticed problems with salt buildup over time?

Mike

[marc]

So for me it depend :

Bulbo under light : long sphagnum moss with perlite (small on, i can't find big one in Europe )
In the Tank four ways :

- in sauce pan with sphagnum, on corck
- on corck with shagnum
- on Hygrolon as Karlboms orchids (it's a really good media cause no need to change it but it need to be watering twice a day -it dry very fast)
- on Epitube (a plastic tube cover with a mix of peat on a canvas -i'll made pics if you want)

i'm starting to grow Bulbo on rockwool cause i grow lots of my plant in this media -Paphiopedilumn, Phal and more... I will see.

But for me the best way it's mounted cause the plant look so natural...

(Sorry if my english is a little bit strange... not easy to explain for me )

[orchidnut]

I also use straight NZ Moss with packing peanuts for drainage. The moss is placed in loosely but firm and I repot every 2 yrs to freshen up the root conditions. I find it easy to repot...I simply wash the moss off with little damage to the roots. I agree with Marc mounting is the best way but I am an indoor grower with recently refinished hardwood floors

[H20]

Once again, I still use pure Sphagnum for almost all of my Bulbo's it's quick easy and works for my setup. I do find that going 2 years is a little long for me as the moss decays as well as most plants are too far off the pot to leave for 2 years.

[jamesh]

I like long fiber sphagnum as well. I will put a light layer of orchid bark accross the bottom of the pot but that is about it. Here in texas we get weird weather and it is hard to keep many plants in anything other then sphagnum and keep the moisture levels up.

[Lika]

Hi guys!

I grow all my bulbos on slabs of epiweb, in the beginning I had the slabs covered with moss-mix, but the moss-mix got caught up in the waterpump for my self-watering systems.

Now when I buy a new plant I place a piece of hygrolon on the epiweb first and place the plant on top of it. I have all my plans on self watering system and therefor I needs something to help carry the water to the surface of the epiweb.

I also love non-organic materials. I hate re-potting!

Linda

[goods]

I'm going to try drilling holes in the plastic saucers people use under pots with sphagnum as a medium. I'm thinking it will provide the shallow "pots" for drainage, but still have the moisture benefits of moss.