Just bought some Aussie Gold Orchid Mix

[Dave]

I was feeling lucky this week so I picked up some some Aussie Gold Orchid mix from Kellys Korner orchids at the last orchid show. I never thought I'd spend $18.50 for a small bag of potting medium...but nothings too good for my ladyslippers.

What make Assuie Gold special is that it contains Diatomite which doesn't break down so that means less root rot. I'll keep everyone updated as to how this compares with my regular bark mix.

Ingredients: Diatomite - a natural rock from Australia, Coir Fiber, Charcoal and Perlite.

[Gin]

I bought some of the Aussie Gold awhile back and put 2 of my Paphs. in it prior to that they were in bark .
They were given to me and worse for wear , happy to say they took off in the Aussie Gold .
A lot of my other plants especially the Catts. are in just the Hydro. pellets not in s/h . Specie Phals. are in Spag. Vandas in baskets with large bark hunks . Gin

[Dave]

I forgot to mention that before I planted them in the Assusie mix they were in just a bark mix looking sad
So far my lady slippers are doing really well in the mix even with irregular watering patterns. Now to see see If I can get them bloom soon.

A lot of my other plants especially the Catts. are in just the Hydro. pellets not in s/h

With regards to your hydro pellets, how often do you water them? Do you just let the containers sit constantly in the water and the pellets draw up the water as needed? This is what I am doing with a couple of my phals.
Also what do you mean by pellets not in s/h ?

[Gin]

lolol I am not to clear at times ,fast fingers slow brain .
I have my Catts. in the greenhouse and water with a submersable pump in a trash can of rain water in just the pellets I don't have to be so careful of overwatering them .
I water them about 2 times a week depends on the Temps. if cool they might just get watered once a week .
I have some of my Phals. in (semi hydro. s/h ).. but not the Catts. some people do grow them that way .
Would depend on Temp. and humidity if grown in the house , might end up to much watering .. ? Gin

[Ladybug]

Gin's success with paphs and Aussie Gold inspired me so this weekend I'm moving mine into it. I've got a couple of Phals, a Den, a Macodes and a small Blc in it, too. Have to admit the plants sure look happy right now! I might even yank the Phrag Don Wimber from it's sh pot and give it an AG try cause it sure hasn't done anything in 6 mos.

Happy repotting!
Maggie

[TZ-Long Island]

Good luck with it (sorry you paid so much). It scares the heck out of me. I just received a Phal planted in it and pulled the plant out of it five seconds after I watered it. It is easily overwatered and stays soggy so you have to have the right (unusual) conditions for it.

It fits into the same ease of use catagory as Promix and Sphagnum moss. If you do not get the hang of it your plants are in trouble.

The marketing behind is misleading (but obviously very successful). It is not any more reusable than other mixes because it has an organic portion to it; and the diatomite in it does not give plants any more soluble silica than perlite, or the clay in pots for that matter. When was the last time an orchid died of silica deficiency anyway?

Diatomite itself is quite useful for orchid mixes, but it holds so much water on its own that adding peatmoss or coir only reduces oxygen to the roots.

[Gin]

Hi TZ, good to see you ! I have missed your good info .
I bought a couple of Phals. in Pro Mix , was lazy and did not repot . when I got around to it... a year later lol .. Surprise! a pot full of roots .
About AG, I don't see how it could be reused except to the same plant with the Fert. salts still in it . Gin

[starwhiz]

I read somewhere that diatomite dries out easily (similar to clay pot that absorbs water) so it prevents root rot from over watering. Paphs I thought
need a moist medium but not too wet. Just a thought.

[Gin]

Ladybug did a lot of experments with Diatomite on several plants maybe she will post the results . I think she said it did absorb water ? Gin

[Ladybug]

Gin's right, I tried some dens and phals in Diatomite. I already had a B. Little Stars growing well in it and figured it was worth a shot. Weeelll....so far, after a few months....the phals were looking rather sad and when I dumped them out of their pots I found some very DRY roots! Granted the phals had been in sphag previously....but I never dreamed they'd be too dry! I even watered alot more often, too.

The Dens seem happy in Diatomite, but again....I'm watering more frequently than when they were in bark! Why is that? I grow indoors under fluorescents and expect to water more than if in a gh but I thought Diatomite would hold more water, longer than bark?

The B. Little Stars that just loves this stuff....once a week watering/clay pot and it's in a west window!

Another thing I did was try AG on some and, so far, I'm NOT seeing the mix staying too wet. At least the roots are more moist, which I think has to do with the other stuff in AG and not the Diatomite. My problem is figuring out how dry is too dry, as the instructions say not to let it dry out or you have to soak the pot for a couple of hours.

I'm guessing....but I think the Diatomite may actually wick the moisture OUT of the organic stuff in AG and that's why they claim you can't over water in it???

I even tried some phals in clay pellets only, in plastic pots (non sh)...BAD idea for me...again, nearly every root had dried to paper. In a gh it would be great, but growing indoors didn't work for me since I refuse to water every day.

Just thought I'd toss in some thoughts on what I did and what didn't work in case anyone else wants to point out something I might have done better.

Maggie

[Mercedesladie]

Hi,

I just received some AG and decided to plant some of my Orchids in it including my one and only Pahp. The orchid baskets that I have been using have holes all around them including the bottom. When I repotted I put sphagnum moss on the bottom and all around the insides of the plastic pot . I then put a little AG on the bottom placed my Paph and filled the the pot with AG. I then put the basket in one of those Crackpots that I just love. Now I am concerned the plant will stay too wet because of the sphagnum and there will not be enough air circulation. Any advice will be welcomed. Also when I purchased this paph from the sick table for $3.00 it did not have a tag. Can anyone tell me the name?

Thanks,
Mercedesladie

[prisana]

I wish they have Aussie Gold at my local garden centers. I found out about it while looking for infor on orchids a while back. Why so expensive though? Is it really that good ?

[arleneg]

A few weeks ago, I bought a small bag (10 lbs) of Aussie Gold mix and have just used it on my Black Jewel orchid. We'll see how it does in the next few weeks.

Just some tidbit of info... I read somewhere that diatomite can hold a lot of the salts from fertilizer and that it's not easy to flush it out with regular monthly water flushing. So keep that in mind.

For those who are interested in trying AG out and don't have a nearby nursery who carries it, you can order the mix through http://www.aussie-gold.com .

Let us know if the mix works for you and for which plants.

[Bolero]

Is this an Australian product then? It contains diatomite and bark? Or something else?

I haven't seen it for sale here so the name and contents intrigue me.

Darren

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Darren, put your location in your profile so we know where 'here' is.

[Bolero]

Originally Posted by Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

Darren, put your location in your profile so we know where 'here' is.

I am in Australia. I will add that to the profile but my location doesn't help in answering my questions. I am not looking to buy it, I just want to know more about the product.

[PhalPal]

I don't know if your question has been answered quite yet, but Aussie Gold is made in San Diego, California. I went to an orchid show there last week and met the owners of the company. The Diatomite is what is from Australia and the importing of this heavy product is what makes it so expensive. I also found some at a farm supply store, so if you are in the states, try there!

[arleneg]

Bolero,

A few posts above, I've included a link to the product's website.

[Anton]

Darren it is an American product using the name "Aussie" as the dolomite is from Australia.

Marketing ploy.

[jerrymeola]

This had been an interesting thread. I do not use the product and I do not know anyone in Florida who does.

Based on the ingredients it has two I do not like. Diatomite which packs down with water and I do not like anything that reduces air circulation over the roots, and coil, (which many like) which I do not like.

You would do just as well with bark, perlite and charcoal at a lot less money.

The only thing Diatomite can do for a plant is raise the PH of the mix. Unless you have very acid water, this is not an advantage. Coil is a sterile mix and I like to grow with natural microbes growing in my mix.

The plants used for the examples in this thread are not good choices to evaluate the mix.

Paphs do not like stale mix and should be changed once or twice a year. Therefor, re-potting into anything will help.

Dens grow in anything and I have found nothing they can not take even bare root on a single large rock (pretty but a little difficult to start)

Ladybugs experience with B. Little Stars is also a plant that grows in almost anything. I grow mine bare root.

I am interested in Ladybugs experience with her Phals, since I do not see anything in the mix that would cause this result. Possibly the coil left too many air pockets around the roots, although, you can get air pockets with bark as well.

[jerrymeola]

PhalPal

I question the truth of the companies statement about pricing. Diatomite is used extensively in the raising of tropical fish from Africa. I used to pay $6 for a 50 pound bag. It has probably gone up in price but not enough to justify their pricing. Diatomite is also mined in the United States so why import from Australia.

A least one Orchid society in Florida has had problems with the business practices of the company. They were given a table at an Orchid show (at a reduce rate since they did not sell orchids) on the condition that they not re-pot orchids, since the society was re-potting as a fund raiser. After agreeing not to pot orchids, they spent the entire weekend potting orchids and hurting the Orchid Society.

I think the high price is nothing more than marketing and it clearly works, since the high price makes people think there must be something special about it. If you want to try it buy the ingredients separate and mix your own.

Mixing your own is the cheapest way for any mix. I can buy bark, pumice (which I like better than perlite but works the same) and charcoal premixed or buy the ingredients separate and mix it myself. Even buying the mix or ingredients from the same wholesaler, it is only 1/10 the price to mix it myself.

[arleneg]

Although I bought some AG several months ago, I find myself buying mix ingredients separately and mixing it myself. Cheaper...and I can experiment on which ingredients my orchids prefer.

[Sharyn]

Jerry Thanks for posting this information on Diatomite. I added a very small amount of this stuff awhile back and found my media absolutely would not dry out. It may be good for those living in hot, dry areas, but it didn't work out for me. I plan to use the rest of of my suppy in my container garden plants.

[tiffel]

When I asked an orchid grower I trust about Aussie Gold, she was very dubious because of the water retention potenial of the mix.