Potting mediums

[Tsepina77]

Does anyone know if pecan shells can be used as a potting medium for orchids, or if there is a reason one SHOULDN'T use pecan shells? I have a grocery bag full of them and don't want to throw them away if I can use them

[jerrymeola]

Interesting question.

Most anything that has good drainage will work, but the question is how well will it work and what is it doing.

All organic material decomposes and with orchids needs to be replaced as it decomposes. So first question is how fast will it decompose and is it work worth the effort.

Second, drainage is very important but a ceratain amount of water needs to be retained or the medium adds nothing. This is your problem with pecan shells. The water wil run right through and the shells will not retain enough water to be worth the effort. Effectively you will growing the orchid bare root. The shells will help a little in keeping the plant in the pot but why bother if the orchid is to be grown with a medium that does not add anything to its growth.

Growing bare root is an excellant way to grow many orchids in high rain areas like here in SW Florida. Totally bare root and you never need to change potting medium that does not exist. So the final answer to your wuestion is that you can make it work, it will add nothing to the orchid's life and add work to yours. Looks like they go in the garbage.

Potting medium is inexpensive and you may want to consider hdryoponic stones that will drain fast and have the advantage of never decomposing.

You might want to use them as a mulch on your other houseplants that don't like to dry out quickly or use them around a plant outdoors.