Phal Repotting & Media

[mayres]

This is a quick post to show what I have found works GREAT for phals.
Moisture retention is excellent - NO FLOPPY LEAVES - EVER. Must be careful not to overwater!
Mix is approximately 75% coir, 20% perlite, & 5% charcoal. The coir comes in a brick and expands significantly. Note: I cut a small piece off the brick that weighed 69 grams and then broke it apart and checked to see how much water it held - I will try to show pic in next post - now 463 grams. So you see the media is now approximately 85% water!
First pic in this post is of supplies I use - coir from a local hydroponics store - all coir is not created equal! Good coir is well washed/rinsed and has good fiber content. Unless you know your coir is good quality you would be well advised to rinse very thoroughly yourself. I noted the website for what I use is americanagritech.com. I have repotted about 40 plants and still have about 25% of the bale left. Agricultural charcoal and perlite are purchased from a local garden department in a department store - available at many places. Some people like larger perlite which is available in large bags at our hydroponics store. The charcoal comes just a little chunker than I like, so I break it up a bit with a hammer in a zip lock bag. 2nd pic is of the media closer view - including the mixed version.
3rd pic is of the plant I am repotting as a gift to someone - note the condition of this plant after being in this mix for 13 months. I put styrofoam peanuts in the bottom - it provides an extra layer of protection against me accidently leaving the pot in a thin layer of water, helps to assure good drainage, and good air for the roots in the bottom. The phal roots seem to like it - they can attach to it and wrap around like you cannot believe! If you use them be sure and DO NOT use the type that turn to goo when wet.
4th pic is of the same plant with the previous media and peanuts just shaken off. I have not put any water on the roots to wash anything at all off. Notice there is not one single bad root in the lot! Happy happy plant .
5th pic is of the plant all potted up and ready for shipping! Soon to be on its way back east. Yippee!
Maybe this will spark some additional conversation and comments among us?
mike

[mayres]

Here is what the coir looks like when cut into a cube about 1 3/4 inches and then rehydrated! Again - rehydrated media is 85% water. It really helps in knowing when to water - is your plant/pot light or heavy? mike

[PhalPal]

Hey Mike - You are preaching to the choir here! I totally love this mix and have had similiar results to yours. Coir has a property that allows lots of air flow even though it appears to be quite wet. The only thing different that I add to my mix is Diatomite. I have never had to worry about overwatering. From previous posts I am sure everyone knows where I stand on bark (ICK) and since changing to the coir mixes I have not had one problem.

A considerable point is that I grow phals indoors and cyms outdoor (plus one Onc) and I use the same mix for all. Very hot and dry outside, and my cyms love it. Climate controlled inside, and my Phals love it. My cyms really took off this summer, and they did so right after re-potting without sulking at all. I like having ONE mix in which I can grow several varieties.

I have truly found the one mix that works for me in my conditions, after many trials and failures. I always knew within a couple of months if a mix was just not working for me because my plants began to fail and continued to fail even though I tried to change my habits to accommodate the mix. I would strongly encourage others to give this mix a try and tweek it for your growing conditions.

[sandra]

Mike, this is the coir I'm picking up on Friday from a nursery nearby called, Go-Brick Coconut Coir Fiber. I buy my clear, plastic pots there and know they carry this one product. (Plus, I'm buying another cattleya from them then too!) Have you ever heard of this? I'll condition it first, regardless. The charcoal and perlite, I've got so, I'll be ready whenever the phals are for repotting now. Also have the right styrofoam for the pots, so I'm set!!

Originally Posted by mayres

This is a quick post to show what I have found works GREAT for phals.

QUICK? I asked for what you used and in turn, you gave me a complete tuitorial, pictures and all! I am forever humbled here, thank you Mike. It's more than I expected and I feel confident that this is what I want to use for my phals. In fact, I can't wait to start getting all of them into this mix.

My phals are doing well; I'm just not happy with the medium and need to find something that I feel in sync with....if that makes sense which I believe, you understand. I hate the uncertainty with the watering issues I already explained and if I can get the leaves to obtain more body, then I'll be one satisified phal grower. In fact, it must be growing season for my phals because right now every one of them is growing more leaves. I've got 3 that are beginning new leaves before the ones prior have fully developed and like wildfire, they're growing now.

I'll be using the skewers to gage me with watering and like some of my oncs in sphag., I'll be watering up and not into the pots.

THIS WAS GREAT MIKE! You rock! Thank you!

P.S. Who are you sending that phal to?
P.S.S. I looked up americanagritech.com and there's a distributor not far from me....just in case.

[fred]

thats great Mike
I have made this thread sticky so it wont be lost as I find the information can be used by alot of the members here.

thank you Mike

[mayres]

PhalPal - I also have tried this mix 50/50 with fine bark & perlite on one of my five cymbidiums. Maybe should have gone the full route like you did, but I am very new to them and wasn't sure how well it would work - kind of wish I would have after reading your post. So far it looks excellent (since March).
Sandra - I have not tried that brand of coir, but it might be good (?). Just to give you something to compare - the type I use comes in an approximate 1/2 cubic foot package (12X12X5.5 inches). Sorry to you metric lovers You did notice that I used "grams" in my earlier illustration though? I paid $14 for this brand. They also had a cheaper brand that was $8 for the same quantity - but the worker at the store said it wasn't as good and I wanted the "good" stuff for my plants!
Some time ago I promised someone on the forum a sample of the media I use - they had expressed some questions/concerns about some they had seen. I figured what better way to see for yourself what a great job it does than see it perform with a nice healthy plant in it?
In terms of watering, this media wets thoroughly very easily from the top. You may have seen in another post that I fill my bathtub with phals and then water them thoroughly from the top - leaves and all. As long as you do it early in the day and have plenty of air movement there is never an issue with crown rot - at least I've never noted any issue.
I started out using a skewer too, but soon realized how easy it is to tell when watering is needed by the weight of the plant/pot/media - you will see this too.
Keep us updated from time to time how you like this media - I'm betting you will join Phalpal and I in touting its good characteristics. mike

[BillC]

Mike, I have been touting your mix for about a year ever since I read your original post for it. I am glad that you have enlarged and shown pics on this post which I believe should be made ' sticky ' I have nearly all my plants in the mix and they all do well.

Fred Please note!!

Bill

[fred]

good point Bill only the thread was made sticky earlier this morning.

[sandra]

Mike, if I tell you something, you've got to promise not to tell anyone else here on the forum. Some will immediately jump to false conclusions and think, there she goes again....

I've got a couple of brassidiums and one miltassia that I bought a few months ago and came potted up in coir and fir bark but before I knew what this was, it bothered me, never having seen this before and didn't like not knowing what I was dealing with. Remember that tag I posted that read about when the flowers die, throw the plant out...we'll grow more for you? Because of that tag, I believed that all those plants from this nursery were potted in cheap, ready to break down, bad for the plants....stuff! When I couldn't find info about it, I decided to change the media on the miltassia into bark. That plant is doing great, I've got 2 spikes with 18 flowers now and 2 more spikes growing. The 2 other plants remained in this coir/bark and not only are they growing, but I can't keep up with all the new growth and are also spiking like crazy. I finally wrote to this nursery, inquiring about what they use and this past Friday they finally responded and the mystery was solved.....coir! I loved this stuff before I knew what it was. And, yes...it's very accurate in telling when watering time is nearing...my original concern that started all of this!

I'm already with you and Connie (PhalPal) on this one. I'm going to check out the coir from the distributor you posted later and go for your recommendation on it.

I'll keep you posted on the progress I make here! You rock Mike!

[Sharyn]

Mike, this is a great tutorial. Now I see what you meant by the coir. The picture says a thousand words. The stuff I originally purchased was like finely ground up peat which turned to mud for me. I'm anxious to try your formula. I've already had great luck with more moisture retentive mix for the phals. Thanks for posting this - very informative!

[sandra]

Mike, I spoke with the local dealer today for americanagritech.com. He invited me to come check out all the supplies for orchids which I'm going to do either tomorrow or Friday. He's got the coir and told me that he's got quite a few bricks of it and will just give me what I need, no charge. He's also got the clear plastic pots in 4" and 5" and told me again, that I was welcome to those as well.

Maybe I should bring a male friend with me when I go. Sounds too good to be true.

[mayres]

Wow! I'm green with envy. If I was not 3500 miles away I would hide in the trunk and grab a bale or two for myself! Lucky duck.

[sandra]

Mike, I did my first potting using your ingredients. I'm still amazed at the amount of fibre that was packed into the coir brick... I have enough for a lifetime. I received this phal in the mail, bare rooted and is why it looks a little tweaked. It'll take about a week before it relaxes back into it's natural posture. This is a Mike (dedicated to you ) Phal Tien Nong Stripe. Additionally, I used Nutricote (13-13-13), slow release.

I'll keep you posted on it's progress. Thanks again...and again!

[mayres]

Sandra - that is sweet......
That looks like ONE HEALTHY PHAL! I'll be looking forward to seeing it in bloom come spring! And of course even more of those nice rigid looking wonderfully green leaves.
Blessings,
Mike

[PhalPal]

WooHoo Sandra!! It is so good to see others trying this great combo. I have finally gotten to the point in my orchid growing hobby where I know what works and what doesn't for me and my plants. I use Dynarock instead of perlite, but the basic coir mix is the same and I love it. PharmSolutions is my other great find.

My cyms are just taking off this summer; I have so many new growths. I can't wait to see them bloom this Fall!!!

[arleneg]

My Miltonia and Oncidium really like the coir mix, which I began using since last fall. However, my mix has coir and perlite. I didn't have charcoal at the time of repot last year. This time around, I have charcoal and will add granite grit or marble chips instead of perlite.

Mike, what do you use to cut your coir brick? Is a 1 1/2 inch cut enough for a 2-3 plants in 4" pots? I made a mistake of reconstituting a whole brick last time that I ended up wasting the left-over.

[PhalPal]

Arlene - I mix all of my ingredients in big batches and always make too much so I have enough for new purchases without having to take out the whole mess again. I just let it dry out and save it for next time.

Mike - do you do it differently??