Newest Additions a beautiful vanda masao

[ManilaByNight]

Keep in mind that plastic pot tends to collect water more than the terracotta clay pots so you'll have to use the orchid rock I mentioned to you as potting material with shredded osmunda as a top layer - that works for me since in my townhouse garden plastic pots gets to be a bit soggy wet during watering and doesn't dry out easily. Clay pots absorb excess water left over.

I've tried mounting some of my catts on tree fern slab and they are doing excellent as this ensures that the roots dry out easily between waterings just like in nature and I do not have to worry about overwatering.

jojo

thanks for the info, we'll check them out at the tiange on jul19, hehe dont be
embarrassed on the amount you're willing to spend, because i am at the same boat as
you, its just the wife keeps a tight leash on my spending habit hehe.

the catt looks lovely, it is now happily hanging in my grow area, can't wait for it to bloom
i dont have plans of dividing it since i liked how crowded it looked, i do have plans on
repotting it to a plastic pot as it is potted in a clay pot and its just too heavy, but i'll
wait for it to finish blooming before doing that. i have already applied fungicide and
insecticide to the new additions just a preventive measure, i should have applied ferts
to them this morning but it was raining hard so i'll probably do that tomorrow.

next month i'm gonna get another catt from that farm, its just a small farm specializing
in Vandas and Catts. he showed me another farm here that specializes in Waling-Waling
we're gonna check them out when we have the time.

thanks

[delphiguy]

yeah thanks a lot for the tip on the diatomite, it works wonders for me, now i dont see
water collecting at the bottom of my pots. before i use charcoal and gravel, but yours
is much better. now i always see to it that when i do my mix that there is always
diatomite in the mix.

i plan on mounting some catts on slabs maybe much later after all the house works are
done, as i wanted to divide my garden into 2 parts, sun loving and shade loving plants.

[ManilaByNight]

Yes the use of diatomite in the potting mix does very good with orchids specially here in the Philippines where we experience so much rain! It is also a big help for most beginners whose common fault is usually overwatering.

There is just one thing to remember though about using diatomite is that you should periodically do a thorough watering to flush out all the accumulated fertilizer salts. Once a month leaching appears good enough although I do mine on a regular weekly basis.

During the summer, dry months you will need to water more frequently. The nice thing about diatomite is I do not have to worry about overwatering as the rock has a strong capillary action for water and is hydroponic by nature.

I use 100% diatomite for my Catts and do a 50-50 for my Phalaenopsis and Paphs. Basically, I place the rock as a bottom layer and then place whatever organic substance (sphag moss, osmunda, bark, whatever) as a top layer.

yeah thanks a lot for the tip on the diatomite, it works wonders for me, now i dont see
water collecting at the bottom of my pots. before i use charcoal and gravel, but yours
is much better. now i always see to it that when i do my mix that there is always
diatomite in the mix.

i plan on mounting some catts on slabs maybe much later after all the house works are
done, as i wanted to divide my garden into 2 parts, sun loving and shade loving plants.

[delphiguy]

jojo

thanks, this helps me a lot since i have the catt and some chids in the part of my
garden where my vandas are too so naturally i water everyday for the vandas and
sometimes 2x a day, accidentally watering them in the process which is very difficult to
avoid and with this diatomite in the pot i can at least breath easily that the plants will
not have stagnant water in the pot. as for the flushing the pots i do it twice weekly or
the morning after i applied the ferts as i am afraid of having salt buildups. and there are
times also that when i water them i just let the water drain out for a few seconds
before moving to the next pot, reason being is that i can hear the diatomites sucking in
water which i find kinda amusing.

But of course during this time i get a break from watering as nature is taking over
my duties for the time being, which is also kind of a drag since when it rains that means
that we can't do work in our renovation. We are expanding our kitchen and at the same
time building a place for the phals and paphs and low light loving chids a place in the
garden.