Your preferred growing medium

[orchidbaby]

What is your most fav of all to grow your plants? Does anyone use coconut husk fiber and how do u like it/mix it with what else?
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[Desdinova]

I have some at home. Can't use it where I live, else I would be watering three times a day. I use sphagnum moss, which I mix with styrofoam packing peanuts to make it lighter and less water retentive.

[catasetum-ian]

u used to use coconut husk chip or fiber, good media but tend to cause algae and sometimes fungal problem in my area. so i cut down to minimal use of it. i mixed it with charcoal media for my coelogyne, they love it. used it for the bulbophyllu, pure coconut fiber, they love it as well,
but back to reality, i still prefer charcoal media for my catasetums, or fern roots or both for the phalenopsis

[pavel]

Depends a great deal on what orchids one has and the conditions under which one grows.

I use large grade chc mixed with Hydroton and large grade charcoal (or other rather inert material) for most of my orchids -- but a majority of mine are of the Cattleya Alliance. My pleuros, on the other hand, are grown in pure sphagnum.

[Chris1140]

I like good ol' bark mix with perlite and charcoal. I also use straight sphag on occasion. I have a couple of plants in coconut mix but find it problematic in that the coconut husk retains moisture a lot longer than the other ingredients in the mix.

[k_andreev]

The main mix for my collection is hydroponic clay because all are in s/h ,except the Phals that mount to the wood bark.

[catttan]

Charcoal for most of my orchids

[stateless]

I use a hydro, tree fern, charcoal mix with some coconut in it, but will switch to a lighter mix with no coconut as I repot, retains too much moisture for my growing conditions. Pavel is correct this all depends on what you grow and where you are located. Lots of people use sphagnum, but outside in Florida it turns to a black disgusting slimey mess in no time.

[raybark]

I agree with Pavel's opening comment, as there is no "one size fits all" in that regard (and that applies to pretty much all aspects of orchid growing).

My approach is to analyze the conditions and adjust as needed and/or desired. Fortunately, being that I grow in a greenhouse, my conditions are pretty well fixed, so - depending upon the needs of the plant and how well my microclimates match them - I grow in S/H, in Orchiata bark, sphagnum, coconut husk fiber, EcoWeb cubes, LECA in traditional culture, on cork bark- and EcoWeb slabs, in wooden backets of no medium whatsoever, and now on AquaMat mounts.

By experimenting and adjusting, I can get to the point where everything is happy with my watering regimen, in which everything gets watered at the same time, really simplifying the care.

[Brutal_Dreamer]

Like Ray, I grow in a variety of mixes based on the type of orchid plant. I would never have time to water on different schedules so in our greenhouse - everything- gets watered every time.

cheers,
BD