Perlag

[Neil]

Does any one know of source for Perlag? other than Garden Direct.

[Giles]

Neil,
I've tried all the suppliers I know, and can't find it anywhere else.

[Neil]

Thanks Giles.  Its elusive to find 

[Maren]

Have you tried American sponge rock? I got mine from Peter White http://orchidaccessories.co.uk/catalog/index.php?cPath=32, never used it before but thought I try it for deflasking Dactylorhiza. Well, actually, there was nothing else in the house, so it was pressed into action. To my delight, D. fuchsii and D. elata both are thriving in this stuff. I de-flasked them last summer and they are now three inches high.

Picture tomorrow.

[Neil]

American sponge rock is known as perlite over here, which is what i do use but it is light and rises to the top of the pots.  So I am not that keen on it.

[David Nicholson]

Sorry to hijack this but has Hortag disappeared too?

[Neil]

No, hortag is still available, but I can't find any info on GEM

[David Nicholson]

Thanks for that Neil. At one time most garden centres used to sell it but now it's as rare as rocking horse manure.

[Maren]

Hi Neil,

not sure whether calling American Sponge Rock Perlite is a misnomer. Perlite is dusty and easily crushed, I use it all the time, the horticultural super coarse grade Perlite is a constituent of my pleione compost.

The American Sponge Rock I have looks just like washed beige pebbles and will not crush. Maybe I should use a bigger hammer.

[Neil]

does it look like this Maren

[Maren]

Not really, it looks like this:

a) when clean (with my beautiful Sophronitis coccinea just to give an indication of size )
b) when used (six months in pot with dactylorhiza seedlings);
c) washed. This shows the hard surfaces.

[Slug Killer]

Hi Maren

Looks a bit like pumice but more absorbent.

Are the Dact seedlings in pure 'sponge rock' or is there anything else in the mix? They seem to like it anyway.

David

[Maren]

Hi David,

I'm inclined to agree with you, it does look like pumice. The dactylorhiza seedlings are in pure rock. I kept them under a plastic domelet during the winter. They get a little water and feed from time to time. The spots are just beginning to show on the leaves. I am chuffed, this is my first success.

The seedlings were very strong and healthy in the flask, which I bought from Roellke Orchids. Kirsten Roellke has a terrific production line in growing orchids from seed. I went to see her lab on the way back from the European Orchid Conference in Dresden. Most impressive.

[Neil]

Thanks Maren, maybe worth getting some and giving it a go.