Orchid roots

[Mike O'C]

Guys, not sure if this is the right forum to post this query but if not I apologise.
My preference for growing orchids is in pine bark in a clay pot. Lately I have topped it off with a layer of sphagnum moss. Other growers here prefer a cultiwool (rockwool)/polystyrene mix in plastic pots. Whenever I buy a plant at out local society I always repot out of that mixture. I have noticed that in the cultiwool mix and in my bark/sphagnum mix the plants produce very few roots and in my collection the roots do not penetrate the bark but stay in the sphagnum. The question is do orchid plants produce roots proportional to the water content of the medium. Some of my plants with few roots actually topple over as they are not anchored down.

[Royal]

My opinion is the more roots the better. If you're not growing good roots, maybe there is a better medium out there for you. If they like the sphagnum and are growing good roots, just not into the bark, than forget the bark and go with all sphagnum.

Have you thought of mixing some bark pieces into the sphagnum? That might give the plant more to anchor to and more of what it like to grow it's roots into. Just a thought.

[Mike O'C]

Originally Posted by RoyalOrchids

My opinion is the more roots the better. If you're not growing good roots, maybe there is a better medium out there for you. If they like the sphagnum and are growing good roots, just not into the bark, than forget the bark and go with all sphagnum.

Have you thought of mixing some bark pieces into the sphagnum? That might give the plant more to anchor to and more of what it like to grow it's roots into. Just a thought.

Thanks Royal. Am thinking seriously of going back to straight bark and perhaps putting a few strands/ribbons of sphagnum in the bark.

[jkofferdahl]

I use a mixture of orchid bark and Aliflor (I don't think that's the correct spelling). It drains very well for me, and is porous enough to tolerate my slightly heavy hand with watering. I get great root growth, with them often poking their way out the bottom of the pots

[Mike O'C]

Originally Posted by jkofferdahl

I use a mixture of orchid bark and Aliflor (I don't think that's the correct spelling). It drains very well for me, and is porous enough to tolerate my slightly heavy hand with watering. I get great root growth, with them often poking their way out the bottom of the pots

I do not know what Aliflor is. Your bark, is it much bigger than thumbnail size and do you grow in clay pots or in plastic pots? When I used plain bark about 3cm in diameter and clay pots the roots penetrated into the pot and wound themselves around inside the pots. Now using bark the size of a little finger nail topped with sphagnum the plants do not develope an extensive root system and the roots tend to stay in the sphagnum.