quick question and an orchid one too :)

[cocanut]

hey just wanted to know if there way any orchid growers on here from canada? better yet in ontario?? Just wanted to see how many canadians we have here not that it matters, but was wondering my self..

On an orchid note; is it better to have phal's in bark or in Spag Moss?? i have all in bark type mix, but was wondering what one is better.

Thanks in advance

[shalene]

I'm not from Canada but I like bark for Phals better. It just depends on your watering habits though.

[Piper]

I'm from Mass. and I'm a sphag lover. But I don't think the medium is nearly as important as your ability to read your orchid's needs potted in whatever it's in. For me, sphag is an easier read.

Julie

[bench72]

i'm in the bark camp! I've realised that I am a heavy waterer so having my orchids in bark means that they also dry out faster... evens out my heavy handedness with the watering can...

btw, have u ever thought about joining ur local orchid society? It looks like they have a fairly neat website too...

http://los.lon.imag.net/

that's a good way to get to know local growing habits... and what is good to grow in your area... and you can get meet people and get them to join the forum

[cocanut]

yeah i have, and thats where i bought a few of them.. tho i wish it had more people.. but they do have a meeting on the 19th that i'm going to go to..

[cocanut]

oh for sure, i want as many people from my location to join this forum, not only because of my person desire to know people around my location, but becasue this is a wicked forum

[cocanut]

well i used to use only bark, and i watered once a week, but it seemed to try out soooooooo fast.. and well i dont wana over water... so i swited to bark/ sphag min... 50/50 mix so that it can retain more water

[Hoa Tony Nguyen]

That is not too bad of an experiment. Actually, I grow a lot of my catts that way! Some of my phals are grown like that too. Most of my phals are in spag, so I don't have to water them often. Some potted in bark, those I tend to water twice a week. Some are potted with a mix of barks and spag (more spag on the top and more barks at the bottom of the pot); I water them twice a week but they don't die on me if I water only once a week.
Cheers. Hoa.

[WIS-Thailand]

The few phals I had in Hawaii were all in bark -- tried sphag once, but it seemed the plants were more susceptible to rot than if they were in bark.

[sunset]

I mainly use s/h culture or barks for phals.

For people that are very fine in watering and ph substrate control, it seems that blond peat or sphagnum give excellent results.