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The most important aspect for an orchid to thrive, it’s their root system. A potting media that will work for an orchid has to be firm enough for the roots to establish in it and be able to hold the plant inside of it’s pot, but at the same time, it has to provide enough aeration. The media has to provide this two benefits for the roots to grow, establish and absorb nutrients and water that the orchid needs.
There are several types of potting media for your orchids. The basics of which you should get depend on your genus, your weather conditions and the one that suits you best. Some media require more attention from you than others, in order for you to provide the optimal conditions for your orchids. For example, if you live in a hot and dry zone and you are using only bark as a medium, your waterings should be more abundant and frequent; if you were using sphagnum moss you could space the waterings for more days.
The type of pot you use also has a role in the combination of factors. Water will evaporate faster from clay pots (because they’re porous) than from plastic pots. So, continuing with the example above, if you pot in bark in clay pots in a hot and dry weather, the media will dry up much faster.
What you should always have in mind, is that epiphytic and lithophytic orchids grow with their roots free, not buried in soil. Even the semi-terrestrial orchids grow between the leaves and peat of the forests’ ground, they never grow their roots into the soil; they receive this name because they grow near the roots of the trees and shrubs, close to the ground not on the higher parts of the trees like the epiphytes do. We need to try and imitate these conditions as much as we can.
Orchids are not parasites, they don’t steel anything from their hosts, they just use them for support. Orchids obtain their nutrients from the air and the rainwater that collects organic material and other nutrients in it’s journey down until it reaches the roots of the orchids. It doesn’t matter which type of media you choose, it won’t provide the necessary nutrition t your plant, you need to fertilize!!
Three rules when talking about media and roots:
– the roots should never be constrained
– they must have good aeration
– they should have good humidity, but never stay soaked
It’s important to follow these three rules so your plant won’t be stressed and the roots will not rot, preventing rot related diseases and even death of your orchid.
semi-hydoponics is our favorite, it’s the easiest one!!