suitable pleione potting mixes

[robsorchids]

i decided to try the following mix this year for various hybrids, i wonder if its acceptable -

25% chopped spag moss
25% spag peat moss
25% perlite

as I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find orchid bark i decided to try this.

for all the little bulbils that litter the pans i decided to try 50% perlite and 50% spag peat moss for them. i also decided to use a sturdy seed tray to accommodate them all, seeing as they are only small and the root systems of pleione are shallow i cant see why this shouldn't work?

my only concern is my potting mix holding to much water, but on the plus side being finer it should allow for better rootage of the bubils which i find don't like being in the courser bark mixes.

thanks
rob

[Maggi Young]

What's the final 25% going to be, Rob?

[derekb]

Rob are you potting already?

Derek

[Paul Cumbleton]

Rob I would guess that this mix would work just fine, but as with any experiment you won't know for sure until you try it. I have found that pleiones will grow in a variety of mixes as long as it is vry well aerated and drains freely. It is just a question of geting the watering right for that mix. I still experiment myself - I would like to find an alternative to the moss as it takes just too long to chop it all up!! Something that could be used straight out of the bag would be great. Let us know how you get on - and I will also share what I learn with my own experiments this year.

Paul

[Peter Maguire]

Rob,

Just discovered this topic in an idle moment at work so you may have already finished repotting....

I mix that I've evolved over the past few years has equal parts chopped moss, perlite, composted bark, chipped bark (as small you you can get, chipped Scots pine bark works well), 2-4mm grit and leafmould. The grit and chipped bark open up the compost to prevent waterlogging, and the leafmould deals with the feeding. Most of my pseudobulbs have bulked up nicely and increased in size since I started using this mix and growing in full sunlight - something I learned from one of the nurserymen at the Harrogate show a few years back.

Mind you, I don't grow any of the difficult, winter flowering, species - at least not any more 

Peter

[Joakim B]

Rob
Composted bark is available in Sweden in 50 liter sacks together with other sacks like composted turf and composted cow manure for 10€ for 4-6 sacks at garden centers and similar places.
Maybe this is not the type Peter is referring to? I hope he will correct me if I am wrong.

Kind regards
Joakim

[David Nicholson]

Rob, I've seen composted bark in many garden centres

[David Pilling]

B&Q peat free compost appears to be composted bark.

I had my first go at growing pleiones in 2008 and I used 50% of the above with 50% perlite.

[Peter Maguire]

Hi Rob,

I assume the leaf mould gives some nitrogen - I've never had it analysed 

As for the composted bark, I have used Cambark in the past (the fine grade). It normally has to be ordered by the palet load, and our group organised a load a few years ago. When my supplies ran out this year I obtained some Melcourt composted potting bark which is even finer and has worked well for me; it came highly recommended by Ian Christie. I think if you do an internet search then suppliers will be listed - when I last looked, a firm in West Cumbria (I think) was wlling to supply Cambark with a minimum quantity of 2 bags (50 litere sacks), but if you can get together with someother local growers, the carriage costs were the same for larger quantities.

Direct sunlight: I have not had the courage to do as I was told to do - " put them on the patio and water twice per day" - as our patio faces south. They are, however on the south side of the greenhouse, where they recieve direct sunlight for about an hour or two around midday in the summer. Outside of this time the sunlight is filtered by other plants, mostly clematis scrambling over a fence.

Hope this helps.

Peter

[David Nicholson]

Rob, a bit costly but available here

http://www.kaysdiscountgarden.co.uk/cgi-bin/site-editor.pl/14/-ecommerce?eid=556273;action=item;item=CAM001

[Peter Maguire]

Rob,

I wouldn't be keeping the plants in the glasshouse. Mine only live there during the winter to protect them from frost. Keeping them in the glasshouse during the summer would most likely cook them (but then, what to serve them with, mashed potatoes, boiled, chips? ....so many choices)

If you haven't seen bark in local garden centres it may be because of a change in what they stock. A centre local to me was selling composted bark cheaply this spring as they were running their stocks down - people were asking for a composted waste product, who's name escapes me for them moment but had been heavily promoted, and they said that they would probably not be restocking composted bark in the near future. 

Peter