question about soaking medium before potting

[zcivic]

i repotted 3 of my phals but didnt soak the medium witch is a medium bark for a day before potting (just last week) is there any way to soak the whole plant for a few hours to help saturate the medium if should i take them out of the pots and soak it for a day and repot

[kmarch]

You have a couple of options:
1) Soak some mix overnight and repot your phals in the soaked-up mix.
2) Fill your sink with water so that it comes just about level with the top of the pot. Put some strips of secure tape over the top of the pot to prevent the dry mix from floating away. Set the pot to soak in the sink for a few hours.

Other members might have other good ideas too.

[Hummer344]

Filling a sink might be an overall waste of water. A clean bucket would do the job.(can you tell we are bound for water rationing in my area? LOL) What ever water is left over can be used in your garden.

[kmarch]

All good points Hummer. Being in a drought-stricken area myself I should have been more mindful about water conservation. Heck, we even have a little hourglass timer in our shower to time us so we don't take showers that are too long! Thanks for keeping us, rather ME, mindful of such things.

[tom499]

When I used bark I presoaked it a day before using it, then let it dry abit overnight, so when I was repotting it wouldnt stick to my hands etc, I lost a fair bit that.

With hydroton though I dont have that problem

[NancyH]

Hi Tom, what is Hydroton? Thanks, Nancy

[zcivic]

so it wont hurt the plant to sit in water for a few hours?

[zuri]

I've let a few of my catts that are in bark & net pots soak for a few hours. As long as I'm not using fertilizer, I just use a kitchen bowl that's just a little bigger than the orchid pot that I'm putting in it.

It was experimental at first but I think they like it.

[Anton]

You can soak them as previously mentioned, and also I would add some liquid kelp fertilizer or other disolvable fertilizer to the water, so that the potting mix absorbs it, and gives the roots ongoing nourishment.

This gives them an extra boost for several weeks while they get over the stress of being repotted.

[lmartiny]

I was going to say soak them as well.

[CulpableCaptive]

Originally Posted by zcivic

i repotted 3 of my phals but didnt soak the medium witch is a medium bark for a day before potting (just last week) is there any way to soak the whole plant for a few hours to help saturate the medium if should i take them out of the pots and soak it for a day and repot

You may have already taken care of this but the orchids do not need to be soaked if that worries you - nor do they need to be re-potted.

If you take a gallon of water and add 1/4 teaspoon OR 1cc OR 1ml, NO MORE of dish detergent to the gallon of water - the detergent breaks the surface tension of the water and the potting medium WILL become wet and re-saturated.
The detergent WILL NOT hurt the orchids or any other plants.

This formula works for ANY potting medium that has become too dry and difficult to re-wet.
I have been using it for years and yyeeeaaaarrrrrssssss.............
It is the surfactants in the detergent that work as wetting agents.
It is even possible to buy surfactants to add to soil either before, during or after watering to prevent the problems from happening again.

You may have noticed that insects can often walk on water because of the surface tension of the water. If detergent is added to the water the insects will sink like rocks once they touch the surface. It's all the same principle - except you're not trying to wet an insect but your potting medium.

If I am in a hurry with potting medium, I pour boiling water over the UN-PLANTED orchid mix - wait about ten minutes and run it under tepid water until it cools down. It can then be used right away.

You would have to ask someone who has a doctorate in physics (not I) as to WHY these techniques work – but they work.

___________________________________

“It is pleasant at times to play the madman.” – Seneca (5 BC – 65 AD)

[NancyH]

Hey, thanks for the post. I will pass it on to my Orchid Club members at this weeks meeting. Nancy

[rodcuda]

Detergent is very good but I use detergent that does not contain phosphorus. Detergent can also be used when applying fertilizer and pesticides as it will help it stick to the plants and soak into the medium as well as allowing the plants to soak up the water easier.

[LauraGR]

One thing I do if I don't have time to soak is to use my spray bottle and spray the plant and pot a number of times. It seems to soak in better when misted like that. The other day I was in the sun porch and somehow the load on one shelf shifted and the whole thing came crashing down - what a mess! So I had to get a dozen plants quickly back in pots. I used the spray bottle all along the way - put in a handful of bark, sprayed, put the plant in, sprayed again, more bark, more spray. I had worm tea and hormone rooter in the spray as well. Everything came out alive and well, and I only lost one paph bloom - the smaller bloom on the same plant is still fine!

[Ron]

My penny worth, although it maybe too late.
I would not bother trying to wet the bark with the plant in it.
Reason. If you wet it for one hour soaking with plant in it it would maybe only penetrate the bark surface by 1/16 of an inch or so.
If you need dry bark for use in a hurry.
Put it in a buckett and pour boiling water of it and let it stand untill it cools down.
By then the moisture should be 1/4 of the way through the bark.
I do it all the time and it helps get rid of any bugs in the bark. I always give it at least 24 hours.
Dry bark sheds water and if plants placed in it they will be dry in minutes. Death of the plant results as you can not keep the medium damp.
Best of luck
Ron