Say bye-bye to tree fern medium?

[MelissaSE]

I spent my day off today at Carter & Holmes and of course bought more orchids than are good for my bank account. (Never mind, as Emily Litella would say!)

One purchase was an Aerangis distincta, which is in a little pot. I plan to mount it (like my other Aerangis, which seems to be doing really well), so also picked up some tree fern slabs and a totem pole for future use. One of the employees mentioned that tree fern was going to become unavailable in the near future (like redwood bark) . Has anyone else heard this? The C&H people all seem to be extremely knowledgeable, so I don't have any reason to doubt it.

I guess I should try to stock up soon...

[kmarch]

I wouldn't put much stock in that report. When I first started growing orchids about 15 years ago we were being told that withing a few years bark mix would no longer be available. It never happened and shows no signs of happening. Did they by any chance have an alternative available for you to buy instead of tree fern?

[Ray]

Actually, I suspect you will see increasing prices and reduced availability. The C&H folks may have overstated the urgency (or you misunderstood them, or they might be dead-on, for all I know!), and I believe Kevin may be underestimating it, but the fact is that there has been a lot of overharvesting in the wild, and farming of the the various dicksonia species is fairly slow, as it take 15 to 20 years for them to reach maturity.

Mikael Karlbom of Dusk Interiors in Sweden addressed the issue with his creation of Epiweb, which is a tree fern substitute made from recycled PETE soda and water bottles. The same material is available in the US as EcoWeb.

[syndywindy]

I have heard tree fern is becoming harder to come by also, and if you can get it, it is more costly.

[jcaesar1310]

I heard the same thing 15 years ago when I started growing orchids. Perhaps C&H meant that they won't be carrying it much longer. A lot of distributers drop products when the profit margin gets too small. I have a lot of luck with coconut husks as mounts.

[MelissaSE]

Originally Posted by kmarch

Did they by any chance have an alternative available for you to buy instead of tree fern?

Well, they also carry cork slabs, and I could always harvest some of my own crepe myrtle branches from trees in my yard. I guess cork is a pretty readily renewable resource... most of the floors in my house are covered in it

I'm not planning to mount hundreds of orchids anytime soon, but I will probably get some extra tree fern pieces next time I order from rePotMe. It didn't look like C&H had a shortage, there were giant boxes of the various size slabs, totems and pots in the supply area.

[MelissaSE]

Originally Posted by Ray

Mikael Karlbom of Dusk Interiors in Sweden addressed the issue with his creation of Epiweb, which is a tree fern substitute made from recycled PETE soda and water bottles. The same material is available in the US as EcoWeb.

This sounds interesting. I'll check it out... thanks!

[orchids4me]

Interesting thread being I've come to find the need for some fine and medium tree fern for some chids I have.....
Thanks
Emmaye

[LouisW]

I have always been curious about how tree fern is obtained. Is it farmed or collected wild or what?

For mounting you can also use cork which has a constant, and sustainable production in Spain and Portugal. Prices may vary, but i dont think its going anywhere as a product.

[Stitz]

I ordered 4 cubic feet from Tropical Plant Products this morning. It's out there.

I was running low from my last 4 cuft from OFE. OFE doesn't wish to sell it (and a LOT of other stuff) these days.

What's up w/OFE?

--Stitz--

[digitalgate]

yes , yes yes, just switch over to coconut husk. That never run out.

[Stitz]

Originally Posted by digitalgate

yes , yes yes, just switch over to coconut husk. That never run out.

Also,coconut coir. It is very useful. It is an excellent additive to the bottom of clay pots to cover the hole. I have been using it on a limited basis with success. It is especially good with small, Oncidium species as the primary component of a potting "medium". I intend to use it even more next year with duplicate, divided plants as an experiment.

I pull it apart and then, I let it "ride" in the back of my pickup truck for a few months to "season" it. Then, it goes to the potting shed.


--Stitz--

[jcaesar1310]

Originally Posted by Stitz

I was running low from my last 4 cuft from OFE. OFE doesn't wish to sell it (and a LOT of other stuff) these days.

What's up w/OFE?

--Stitz--

I agree. I made trip down there this summer with a shopping list of items I have always bought from them before. I walked away with a bottle of Pysan and 3" pot clips. They didn't have anything I needed! I've been going to Broward Orchid Supply more and more.

[Stitz]

Originally Posted by jcaesar1310

Posted by Stitz
I was running low from my last 4 cuft from OFE. OFE doesn't wish to sell it (and a LOT of other stuff) these days.

What's up w/OFE?

--Stitz--

I agree. I made trip down there this summer with a shopping list of items I have always bought from them before. I walked away with a bottle of Pysan and 3" pot clips. They didn't have anything I needed! I've been going to Broward Orchid Supply more and more.

jeannie at Tropical Plant Products is a WHALE of a lot more helpful and pleasant, unlike Carlos at OFE who often has an "attitude".....

--Stitz--

[leeflea]

MelissaSE, first of all, I'd have loved to have spent the day at C & H as it was they who helped me tremendously when I first started growing orchids and remain helpful. Maybe, one of these days, I can make a pilgrimage.
I don't use tree fern fiber much but I keep the med.size on hand just in case I need it. I do have one orchid now which is growing in it, the Psychopsis.
I have what looks like the trunk of a tree fern ( I'm saying 'looks' as I've never seen a tree fern ) in which I had an orchid planted for a couple years.
If harvesting the tree fern is damaging the environment I can understand the possibility of it not being available in the future but I have the same question I saw someone else ask: are tree ferns farmed or haphazardly gathered?
I'd hate not having access to it just in case I needed it.
Lee

[LouisW]

From what I can gather from a google search most treefern product is currently harvested from wild plants. They are legally harvested under regulations but there is growing concern that they are in increasing danger. They are harvested from cleared land. There is some agricultural cultivation to provide product but that seems to be an underdog at the moment. Again thats just a quick google search.

Like I said before. If you are concerned buy cork. it is sustainabley harvested without harming the trees and seems to be a really good industry all around. You tube it to see how the people use hatchets to carefully remove it from the trees.

[MelissaSE]

I think cork is a good choice if/when tree fern isn't readily available. It's definitely a sustainable product - I replaced the worn-out carpet in most of my house last winter with cork flooring, which is really amazing stuff! And cork slabs have a lot of nooks & crannies for roots to grow into.

An update on the Aerangis that I mounted a few weeks ago (on tree fern) - it's doing well and has nice fresh green tips on its roots.