paph medium

[SamIAm]

hi everyone, i've been looking over the many potting choices for orchids and i must say, it can make your head spin. so, i was wondering if anyone would like to share what kind of medium they like for their paphs. i have been on repotme.com so many times and still i'm undecided. i was looking at getting the mix it yourself and i think part of the problem is the ratio percentage thanks...

[jay]

I got the Paph mix from Repotme.com and have been pretty happy with it so far. I only have a couple of Paphs in it since most of mine are in S/H.

I like the mix though. Looks, smells, and feels good.

[PhalPal]

I like to mix my own with ingredients I buy fron repotme. I have sort of settled on shredded coco husks, small cork and chopped sphagnum. This recipe feels light and airy but the coco holds lots of water and keeps it available to the roots without soggy feet.

Everything from repotme looks, feels and smells good!

[orchidlover55]

I got the recipe from PhalPal and I have used it and I am very very happy with it. I tried several before she helped me when I first started and I am sticking to this one. It makes me and my orchids happy, and you can't beat that

[PhalPal]

Thanks Debra - I am so happy it is working well for you!!!

[Ron]

Hi Sam.
I have over the years used many of the so called "Recommended" mixes.
I now use a mix of 15 mm treated pine bark.
This has great drainage, last several years, best of all the plants love it.
Keep it simple as is just a medium to hold the plants, hold a small amount of moisture etc.
Check out Antec Lab at

Use of Coconut Husk Chips

Best of luck
Ron

[kmarch]

I mix up my own mix for paphs. I use:
medium bark
small bark
medium perelite
medium charcoal
chopped sphagnum
coir peat
shredded oak leaves (if available)
coarse sand (if available)

The whole potting mix quandary is much easier to sort out if you approach it systematically:
1) How much moisture does your orchid want? Always moist? Wet then dry out?
2) What mix components serve these (the above) purposes? Learn the moisture retention proprieties of the different components so you will know which ones will provide what your plant needs.
3) What ratios are most effective? For example depending on your orchid, a little sphagnum might be good, A lot might be deadly.

If you do not already own it, I highly recommend Ortho's All About Orchids. It has one of the best chapters on potting mixes. It shows you pictures of all sorts fo different components and tells you what they are and what they do.

[Bolero]

I like the mix that Kmarch has mentioned above, I think that would work really well.

My mix is a bit simpler and works well but not as well as Kevins - I use bark, charcoal and perlite but there is no exact science in the way I go about it. If it looks ok when I'm mixing it then I use it, if that makes sense.

[PhalPal]

Since I mix my own I experiment a little before actually potting a plant in it.

I will mix something up in a pot without the orchid and place it where I would like to grow it. I know within a few days if I need to add an ingredient that holds more moisture or if it is staying too wet.