Another Potting medium question.

[Sea_Sun88]

CAN I USE SMALL GRAVEL. THE KIND THAT YOU USE IN A SMALL FISH TANK AS A POTTING MEDIUM FOR MY PHAL?????
I've seen people use it and they had no problem with it.

Thanks

Chelsea

[Aniko]

I'm afraid the ordinary gravel doesn't work for this purpose.
Here is a link to a thread on semi hydroponic culture:

Semi Hydroponics

[brookn]

Maybe as drainage in the bottom of the pot, but I agree with Aniko. Not going to work. If it helps, I use bark, perlite, charcoal, and a bit of sphag thrown in. aniko uses sphag, and others like coir for their phals. I am finding that the mix has to be open enough for air to get in, but still retain some moisture. Phal roots can dry out very fast if the medium is wrong, and they consequently do not to sit damp for too long, it can be hard to find the happy medium. Skewer method is best.

[kmarch]

I have 2 Cattleyas potted in pea gravel so it can be used. The important question here isn't "can I use gravel?" but it is, "How can I give my Phal the conditions it wants?" Phals like to be kept evenly and gently moist. If you can do that while using gravel then your plant will do well, not because you did or did not use gravel, but because you gave your orchid what it needed. This is always the bottom line.

[Sea_Sun88]

Originally Posted by kmarch

I have 2 Cattleyas potted in pea gravel so it can be used. The important question here isn't "can I use gravel?" but it is, "How can I give my Phal the conditions it wants?" Phals like to be kept evenly and gently moist. If you can do that while using gravel then your plant will do well, not because you did or did not use gravel, but because you gave your orchid what it needed. This is always the bottom line.

Good point.

Thanks for the advice.

Chelsea

[brookn]

kevin, you have catts in pea gravel? Are you using it similar to s\h, i am curious. Missouri is all rock and gravel. They say that we are rock farmers here, i can get pea gravel all day long. i might experiment with one of my catts that will be here soon, can you give me more info on how you are doing it? i still don't think i would put a picky phal in it,but if it works for someone else then good for them. (they are probably better at growing than i am)

[kmarch]

brookn,

The jury is still out on how successful the Cattleya/gravel thing will be. I have had one for about a year (give or take a month) and the other about 7-8 months. Both have gone through a complete growing cycle with good results. Both are now in sheath, one is developing buds in the sheath. I give them the same care I give my bark-potted Cats, watering once a week. What I can't tell is what the roots inside the gravel are like.

Given my watering habits and my conditions I would trust myself to pot my Phals in gravel, but that's just me and my habits/conditions. Gravel holds no water (of course) and so it dries out fast. Maybe smaller gravel, with less air space between pieces would take longer to dry out and therefore be more suitable for Phals. I'm just not sure. But I do know the bottom line is givign the plant what it needs. his thread has got me thinking....maybe I will take one of my Phals and pot it in fine gravel and see what happens.

[pikevi]

I like to try hydroponics/semi-. But I am not sure if it is too early to delve into it.

Aniko: thanks for the links.

I wonder if any orchid species is easier than others to try first!

[brookn]

Keep us updated on that kevin, I am curious to see if it works. Thanks for the info.

[kmarch]

pikevi

Personally I would not use a species to experiment with hp culture. I'd use a mature vigorous, healthy hybrid. Species orchids tend to be less tlerant of less than ideal conditions whereas hybrids are pretty hearty.

Gust a thought.

[pikevi]

Thanks kmarch.

I am just thinking of trying it to see how it will work.

BTW, it was a wrong choice of words I used. I meant what type of orchids will respond well to hydroponic growth.

I have a few questions but I will ask after reading up a bit on the 'net.

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by pikevi

...I meant what type of orchids will respond well to hydroponic growth.

Somewhere on the forum Jerry posted a hydroponic how-to and the pic he showed was of a Paph. I think Fred made it "sticky" so you should be able to find it easy enough.

[Bolero]

Yes catt's will grow in that gravel, one of our better cattleya nurseries use it extensively in their growing.

I have a couple of plants in it as well, but only because I haven't repotted them into Coconut yet. But the gravel seems to work well.

[kmarch]

Bolero, maybe my Cattleyas are from them?

[Hummer344]

I use dyna-roc in all my mixes. It is a pourous rock, it absorbs 150% of its own weight in water and doesn't decay. 2 months ago I seperated a phal into two pieces and planted one in my regular mix(fir bark, coconut husk chips, and fine dyna-roc), the other in straight fine dyna-roc. I have treated each the same as far as watering and fertilysing and they both seem to be thriving. If you are intrested in dyna-rock you can find it on line at www.dyna-gro.com

[PhalPal]

I have a book written by an infamous Phal grower and he has a great sense of humor. He wrote in his book about an on-going discussion between he and his friends regarding the 'best' media for phals. They challenged each other to successfully grow a phal in the most unlikey of media for one year.
The winners: broken glass and beer bottle caps.

I would think that gravel (and broken glass!) would do harm to the roots and do more harm than good, especially for the finer rooted types.