Unknown potting medium

[mandyjo]

I bought an ivy and it was planted in this stuff (peat moss???) and since I could not find coir anywhere, I mixed a little of this "stuff" with perlite and charcoal. I got a small, clear container from a deli and put some packing peanuts on the bottom and set the orchid ontop and poured this mixture over it. Questions:

1) Should the container be large enough so the roots go straight down?

2) Does this mixture sound okay, at least for now? (I attached a picture)

3) Should I have a stake or something to hold up the stem?

I think I might be almost done bugging you guys with a million questions....but I am not guaranteeing anything!

Pictures by cassidyandmandy - Photobucket

[Filb]

I'd say the container you put it in is too large. If you're going to repurpose a container, match the diameter of it so that it is close to the size of the rootball.
Also make sure you cut some holes in the container both on the bottom and sides if possible.

As far as the media is concerned, it looks a little too fine. I think you'd do better with something a little coarser, but maybe that is just me.

Did you trim the roots at all before repotting?

By the way, that isn't an ivy, it is a Phalaenopsis orchid. Here is a link to a culture sheet: AOS | Phalaenopsis

[mandyjo]

Yes, there were some brown mushy roots so I cut those off and put cinnamon on it. The diameter is so little...would it be better to put it into a plastic cup for awhile?

[Filb]

It is better to under pot than over.
I would just invest in an orchid pot, they're pretty inexpensive.

http://m.lowes.com/mt/www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=33208-303-672174&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3032602&catalogId=10051& cmRelshp=sim&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

www.repotme.com
That website is also great to find potting medium too. Personally I like coarse fir bark for Phalaenopsis orchids.

[Olive Cook]

Yes, that pot is WAY too big, and what I see in this pic:
There appears to be yellowing, down near the medium, that in my experience would be mushy(rotted)... No good. It looks to me like it's been allowed to be too wet for too long. IS it mushy at all?

[mayres]

Heres what you can do to utilize the same pot - IF the roots are significantly smaller than the pot dimensions - fill a majority of the surrounding pot with styrofoam peanuts. Many phal growers like bark/coarse material for phals - if you can learn when to water with the finer medias I believe you will actually have superior results. The problem is that newbie growers tend to water too soon with coir and other fine/denser media. We used to have a phal hybridizer in my area that actually used a peat based media with super success. That doesn't mean that everyone would have equal success - for his conditions he just learned how to work with it. You need to experiment at some point and find what works for you. As noted though - you certainly don't want large empty spaces of media with no roots where it can stay damp for too long and encourage disease. If you can replace some of that media with peanuts you might find that it works fine......

[mandyjo]

"By the way, that isn't an ivy, it is a Phalaenopsis orchid. Here is a link to a culture sheet: [url=http://www.aos.org/AM/Template.cfm

I was saying that I purchased an ivy and I was using the potting medium that my ivy came in to add to the perlite/charcoal mix to plant my phal in for lack of anything else.

[Brooke]

What happened to your Miracle Gro potting mix?

Brooke

[mandyjo]

I kept hearing how awful it was....but this morning I followed your advice and used it with the perlite and charcoal and filled up the extra space with packing peanuts. Thank you so much!

[kmarch]

I see in your original post that you're not asking a question about orchids but rather about ivy. For that reason I've moved your post out of the "Newbie Questions" section, which pertains to newbie questions about orchids, and into the "Other Plants" section which pertains to everything non-orchid.

[Olive Cook]

Kevin, she was talking about using the medium from the ivy she bought, for her Phal... not a question about the ivy itself

[Filb]

Originally Posted by mandyjo

I kept hearing how awful it was....but this morning I followed your advice and used it with the perlite and charcoal and filled up the extra space with packing peanuts. Thank you so much!

Sorry, misunderstood!