Orchid bark

[elitebettas]

Hey everyone,
Where can i purchase sterilized orchid bark?

[mayres]

Hmmmm. Does it really need to be "sterile"? I know what I use is heat treated - but not technically sterile. Have you checked the places like lowes, home depot, garden centers of grocery stores or all in one stores like walmart? All these kinds of stores have orchid bark in my area - hopefully some Floridians will soon chime in with the hot spots in your area.

[sandra]

Originally Posted by elitebettas

Hey everyone,
Where can i purchase sterilized orchid bark?

Why sterilized elitebettas? Schultz and Better-Gro are excellent mixes, both come in a variety of mixes and sizes too. One thing you might want to do and is what I do, instead of soaking the mix for 24-48 hrs., is boil it for about 15 minutes, let it cool off, then drain. I do this to skip all the soaking time but it may result in what you're trying to accomplish, perhaps?

[FLaCo]

Today I was reading on an article about how bark alone breaks down and produces acid. A mix will neutralize that because of the addition of horticultural charcoal. I plan on adding some charcoal to some of my pots which have bark only.

[brookn]

You can bake the bark 200 degrees in the oven for an hour our so to sterilize.

[articuno75]

What about boiling it? That's what I do and when I simmer the bark for a half hour or so it softens it up and ready to use as soon as it cools. Beats the 24 hour soak thing by far!

[pikevi]

elitebettas: Is there any particular reason for needing sterile barks?

I can think of only one reason.

If you really need it and if you use fir bark you could use an oven at 40-42C (104-108F) for 10 mins. and take them out and leave them in the freezer for about an hour. [caution: higher temperature may burn the barks ; presence of resins may catch fire]

****Please stay by the side of the oven.

On top of it you also could treat them in hydrogen peroxide and allow sufficient time, at least one day under the light, for the H2O2 to break down into water and oxygen.

If you are not too concerned about pollens or spores microwaving should suffice but, then , there may not be a need to sterilize anyway..( caution: If there is moisture the barks will explode)

Btw, if you take them outside they will be exposed to the things that you MAY be trying to get rid of. And the plants have to be 'prepared' before being potted in the sterile medium.

I hope Tobi can suggest a better method.

Good luck, if you still want to carry it out.

[JLu]

Interesting subject that has always intrigued me. What do we mean when we say "sterile" potting medium? Here are the meanings of "sterile" from a commonly used, reliable dictionary:

1 a: failing to bear or incapable of producing fruit or spores b: failing to produce or incapable of producing offspring <a sterile hybrid> c: incapable of germinating <sterile spores> dof a flower : neither perfect nor pistillate 2 a: unproductive of vegetation <a sterile arid region> b: free from living organisms and especially microorganisms <a sterile syringe> c: lacking in stimulating emotional or intellectual quality : lifeless <a sterile work of art>

It is my opinion that most people believe 2b...free from living organisms. Do you agree?

It is also my opinion that marketing and sales people know no reasonable bounds in their quest for customers and will say anything that might lead to a sale. In other words they are merely used car salesmen who you seldom see in person, but only in writing on bags. Why am I so harsh? Because they have earned their reputation!!

Is there any such thing as sterile potting medium? I don't know because I don't even know what a "sterile" potting medium is. I have written to one "certified organic store" that advertises "sterile" potting medium to ask them what their definition is. If they reply, I'll let you know.

I do know this much. Some "sterile" media are simply free of "soil". They usually, but not always are peat based with additives such as perlite or vermiculite. I'm not sure what motivates people to accept peat as "sterile" by the commonly accepted definition since it comes from the plant kingdom equivalent of the animal cesspool. It's rotten plant matter trapped in an anaerobic state of partial decay. Does anyone believe that's sterile by a reasonable definition?

Another strange definition is free of weed seed. How was this done? Could be with chemical treatment that kills most seeds or with preemergents that kill many germinating seeds. It could be with heat, but I surely doubt that it is heat applied in a manner that will assure even and effective treatment like running through a kiln or continuous roaster like a cement dryer. It is more likely piled up in the sun until needed for bagging. It doesn't seem likely that burning expensive fuel is part of the process for producing "dirt" cheap potting media.

Can you buy "heat" treated media? Probably at some price. I'm half way expecting this super expensive "certified organic" store might tell me for sure. I'll be a while hearing because it's on the left coast.

Would you want to buy heat treated media? I'm not so sure actually. Heating orchid media is sure to break down its cellulose structure some and hasten the breakdown of the mix. I'm thinking that's not what we are looking for. BTW, the same applies to heating it yourself. I've seen on some forums where freezing media outside during the winter kills fungus gnats. That's really interesting. I wonder where all the outdoor fungus gnats spent the winter....Brazil??

Let's suppose you actually get some real "sterile"media. Exactly how long will it be sterile after you use it? Anyone want to be operated on with tools left outside a clean room? You cannot keep it sterile so why worry about it anyway? I can't figure it out, but I'm all ears for an explanation. I admit, I don't know. Something tells me that orchids don't grow on sterile trees.