Phal Repotting & Media

[mayres]

Yes - I have purchased a phal from two different growers that I have considered excellent growers/sellers - the plants looked really healthy, but both planted in sphag - when I got home and removed them from their pots I was horrified at the condition of the root systems - I wrote a letter of complaint to one of the growers and received no reply (disappointing) - the plant ended up loosing 2/3 of its foliage before I halted the decline and currently is but a shadow a year later from what I purchased. The second grower told me he would give me full credit for another plant. I think it is really important to know that any issues that surface down the road are from culture that YOU have provided versus damage caused by someone else.

[Catcym]

Hi Mike,
Today I'm surprised to find my Oncidium's bulbs are plump up. It's just 14 days after I switched from bark to coir. I'm very happy.

[mayres]

Excellent! Now your only challenge is to determine watering frequency so as not to keep them too damp - hopefully you have got that part figured out. This whole process is slightly different for all of us with slightly different conditions. Good luck!

[Sassismom]

Wow this is a great thread, I've been reading all the posts this morning. I was about to repot a phal, when I decided to come and have a look in here. Now I want to wait and see if I can find the coir. Is there anyone that knows where I might find it up here in S. Ontario, without ordering from the states.

[Sassismom]

I'm so happy, after my post I decided to do a little looking and found that the local hardwre store carries it and a 9lb. bale is $7. Is that a big brick and a good price?

[norris]

Yes, sounds like a good deal, and 9 lbs should last turn into quite a bit of mix when rehydrated.

[berkeleysgr8]

For the life of me, I cannot find charcoal! So, I'm going to try just a perlite and coir mix. I have enough perlite to truly last a lifetime. The bag is HUGE (even bigger than the 50 Liter bag of Hydroton)! I got it at a local hydroponics store for about $12. So, I'm going to try just coir and perlite. I have several plants that are in desperate need of repotting, so I'll start with those guys first! Thanks for the suggestion!

[butt0n]

Originally Posted by berkeleysgr8

For the life of me, I cannot find charcoal! So, I'm going to try just a perlite and coir mix. I have enough perlite to truly last a lifetime. The bag is HUGE (even bigger than the 50 Liter bag of Hydroton)! I got it at a local hydroponics store for about $12. So, I'm going to try just coir and perlite. I have several plants that are in desperate need of repotting, so I'll start with those guys first! Thanks for the suggestion!

I just went to my local nursery and found a small bag for less than $5...I would think OSH or Home Depot would have something similar.

[Catcym]

Originally Posted by butt0n

I just went to my local nursery and found a small bag for less than $5...I would think OSH or Home Depot would have something similar.

I bought a bag for about $5 at OSH. Home Depot doesn't carry it as I know.

[arleneg]

Originally Posted by berkeleysgr8

So, I'm going to try just a perlite and coir mix. I have enough perlite to truly last a lifetime.

Coir and perlite will work just fine. I've used this mix on some of my moisture loving plants. Make sure you put a little extra perlite in the mix, so the coir doesn't compact down after several watering.

I suggest using small to medium perlite with the coir.

[exasperatus2002]

Originally Posted by berkeleysgr8

For the life of me, I cannot find charcoal! So, I'm going to try just a perlite and coir mix. I have enough perlite to truly last a lifetime. The bag is HUGE (even bigger than the 50 Liter bag of Hydroton)! I got it at a local hydroponics store for about $12. So, I'm going to try just coir and perlite. I have several plants that are in desperate need of repotting, so I'll start with those guys first! Thanks for the suggestion!

You can go to your local pet store. they often sell it in boxes.

[Sheltie57]

I believe that I might have found a similar product at our local garden center. It's called Sun-Cocopeat. I tried rehydrating a small amount of it and it looks exactly like the pictures in the first post. The sales clerk at the garden center said that they really like using it since it doesn't turn into mud. Since I live in Canada I was extremely happy to find some locally. And the price seemed very good too. It was $9.99 for a 5kg block.

Here's the web address if any Canadians want to find out more about it:

(opps...it appears that I can't post a URL until I've made 5 posts. I think I'm at 3 or 4. Sorry)

I've moved one of my small orchids into this mix. I only had perlite so that was all I used. My house tends to be very humid in summer so I hope I won't rot this plant. I'm thinking that I might need to mix it 50/50 with bark but I'll try the full strength mix first. :-)

The previous post said that you could use pet store charcoal if you can't find any in the garden stores. Has anyone else tried this?

Oh, and if you live in Manitoba and want to know where I got this coir, it was from Lacoste Garden Center on St. Mary's road just outside of Winnipeg. :-)