Orchiata bark vs. Better-Gro bark
 

Wanted to get everyone's opinion on both kinds of bark. I've used Better-Gro in the past because it's what Lowe's sells, but I recently discovered Orchiata in one of my local fancy-schmancy garden shops.

You'll find Orchiata to be:

1) More uniform - meaning better airflow
2) Graded in several sizes, making it easier to tailor the bark to the needs of the plant.
3) Far longer-lasting.
4) More difficult to wet. Don't soak it, but trickle hot water over it, wait 15-30 minutes and repeat. When it cools it's ready to use.
5) More expensive, but I think it's worth it.

Orchiata. Hands down. What Ray says. ^^^

Yep, what Ray says and what WaterWitchin says. :)

I'm a fan of Orchiata. It's very clean, uniform in size of the chunks (comes in five different sizes, I think), and lasts a very long time without breaking down. It dries somewhat quickly after watering, so you may have to water a little more often than with some other types of media. If you're someone who has a tendency to forget to water, that could be a concern.

It is expensive. I don't have any local shops that carry it, so I've had to purchase it online, but even there, prices can vary widely.

Orchiata is way better. Especially their extremely fine bark sizes, which I find are very underrated for not just oncidiums but non-orchid epiphytes like Hoya and Dischidia. The latter two genuses develop incredible root systems when grown in fine bark.

That being said, if you just wanna repot a supermarket phal, I don't think it matters.

Ahhhhh I have some hoya cuttings and this is good to know. I was just going to use a succulent mix but I think i will try Orchiata instead. I was going to use a self-watering pot with my Hoya but if i use a bark medium should i just water normally?

Offering a different opinion here.
I have used both Orchiata and BetterGro.

I think Orchiata may be Ok for some plants. If I ever purchased more, I might try it with monopodials and other that only show slow horizontal growth. However, for most of my orchids (many Cattleya alliance plants) I use the BetterGro bark with good results. Adult Cattleyas always seem to outgrow the pot (2 to 3 years) before the bark breaks down. So, for me, I find the BetterGro product fits my needs better and is more economical.

It depends a lot on the species. Hoyas from cool and wet areas such as Bella and Retusa want to be constantly moist. I water them like oncidiums, constantly moist but never sitting in water. You can also grow them in sphagnum. I'm not sure if a self watering pot would work in bark, but if it does, yes they would love it.

Hoya Carnosa and related liked to dry out more, I do grow these but haven't had the chance to grow them in an epiphyte mix. They grow very slowly for me and I think it's the lack of light.


This is a really good point actually... I've always just liked the uniformity. I may be wrong, but I'm not sure if BetterGro has bark that is as small as Orchiata?

Hi plantzzzzz

I do grade the BetterGro bark that I buy, using some simple home-made seives and one that I purchased ages ago. I have seives that have 1-inch, 0.5 inch, and 0.25 inch openings, what I consider coarse, medium and fine bark are retained on those seives, respectively. It takes just a couple minutes to grade a bag of bark into sizes. I bag the sizes separately, ready to use. So, I'm creating the uniformity that I also like.

I love the small size orchiata for pahiopedilums. I generally use hydroton on the bottom and orchiata on the top, in a (get this) semi-hydroponic pot.

I used to use pecan shells though-- so I am crazy enough to try anything.