The Perfect Bark for Orchids (Tips to Choose the Right One)

[@Yan-lt6eh]

watching from Singapore. i like your detail explanation. your information is important to me as i m a new orchid grower..

[@Orchideria]

Hi Yan, Thank you! :)

[@saltlifegull4091]

Thanks Amanda - after hurricane tons of old pine trees down. You say most any okay, but your opinion, just in case.

[@BK-jp4ys]

Nice informational video. Thanks ❤

[@thepeacemaker3584]

Great info for my next repotting..was needing this info. Great video again!!

[@Orchideria]

Thank you! :)

[@purpledragonstudios5174]

are you able to harvest your own bark? like from trees you have in your yard? if so, how do you do that?

[@Orchideria]

Hi Purple Dragon Studios, I have never done that, so I can't tell you if it should work or not. In theory, it should, but I'm not sure if the bark they sell is treated with chemicals or not. I'll look into your question to see if I can find more information on this. Thanks for watching my video. I appreciate it.

[@የእናትጓዳ-አ1ረ]

Very good tip thank you so much.

[@Orchideria]

Thanks for watching

[@elbeem20001]

Thanks for the info on orchid bark ... I just used some recently, and to get rid of the "dust", I sifted it instead. HELLOOO!! (I used the discarded dust on my other plants.) Last weekend, a friend "friended" me three of her orchids. (I was not impressed with her potting mix.) I looked at the bag of M.G. Orchid bark, made a layer of sifted orchid bark, coal and pebbles (in that order). Your comments on my "new order" please. *fingers crossed here ...

[@Orchideria]

Hi Lyn, Since you have high humidity, the materials you're using are perfect. From what I understood, they are in layers. There probably isn't anything wrong with that, but I'd mix them around so the roots can be in contact with all 3 at any time. I guess it's personal preference. :)

[@elbeem20001]

@@Orchideria cool!

[@tallybeaverman9462]

A little update on hydroponic net pots for orchids. I used both types, one is solid plastic from the top to the middle, and the ventilation holes are in the bottom half (l am throwing all of those away). The other has ventilation holes (net) from top to bottom. These dry out quickly and evenly in about 3 days. The others hold moister much longer than I like, and have had problem with my coco coir media. However I used Coco Coir in the bottom of the bad pots, with lava rock 3/4 of the way down and a Mule Ear orchid with no roots sprouted 5 new growths and roots are growing everywhere in the half & half pot WITH hormones, but I have to water it more often. My lazy side likes low maintenance and high yield, where everything dries out at the same time, so I can water everything at the same time.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Tally, Thank you so much for adding this comment. I think that the "solid-top" net plastic didn't work because of your high humidity, so I'm glad you could change that out to the full net baskets. And boy do I hear you about wanting to water everything at the same time... LOL Wouldn't it be great?

[@davidjupiter4307]

This is helpful for me thank❤🙏

[@Orchideria]

Thank you for commenting. :)

[@piamassaro6601]

Thank you so much for this video. I have had several orchids that were in moss when I got them and I repotted with bark. Shortly after they took a turn for the worse. Is there anything I can do to help them transition? Or something I might be doing wrong?

[@Orchideria]

Hi Pia, It's hard to know what to use S potting media because every orchid is different, along with every person's environment. I suggest you watch the video of which potting media to use to better understand your growing conditions. If they are just in bark then they probably need some sphagnum moss too, but that's just my opinion without seeing them. Since they were jsut repotted, they will take some time to adapt, but you can also adapt how you water (how much and how often) to compensate for that.

[@piamassaro6601]

@@Orchideria thank you very much

[@Jaenara_GP]

Hey Amanda, I wonder if it’s okay to use ( Crushed Cork Bark ) to substitute ( Pine/Fir Bark Chips ) as orchid media? Here in my country Malaysia, all nursery and plantation doesn’t import good quality orchid bark such as orchiata bark that have been in my top list to have. To purchase it at Amazon or eBay for it’s shipping fees cost 3-4X times of product price. So do you think crushed cork bark can work similar as orchita in term of ( Long Lasting, Prefered pH & Microbial Retention )

[@Orchideria]

Hi Jimmy, Malaysia! Wow! Such a beautiful country. I plan to go some day once Covid is better and travel restrictions lift. I've seen so many videos about KL and Penang. Awesome country!! Cork bark is excellent! You might want to mix it with some rock or other material like Charcoal because the cork by itself will float. If you don't soak your orchids, that's perfect.

[@Jaenara_GP]

@@Orchideria That’s fantastic, I can try with few different orchids types to see how it goes. What I hope is when all nations have received certain high percentage of vaccinated populations, we all can start to travel again and continue normal life. I will be the first welcoming you when you come here 😄. My country are famously known with its foods. Hope you could have taste few major ones soonest. Thanks for the info, stay safe and well there.

[@elbeem20001]

Part 2 ... Also I had to do a little "root control" on the "friended" orchids: a cattleya with one leaf, another I am not familiar with (NoID), but it seems to have bud blast, and just a stalk of some sort - not sure if it is a cattleya or a dendrobium. So, I'm standing back with bated breath. The sun is just beginning to roll in on my orchids, so I will soon need to shift the planter to the shadier part of my porch - just about 3 feet to the right. But they will still get sunlight. Some of the leaves on my dendrobium still has a purplish hue - what gives?

[@Orchideria]

The purple Dendrobium leaves should not be because of sun, since most Dens are higher light orchids. Very few Dens are mieium light. You can try to put it in the shade and see if the purple goes away, but I dont think that it's light related. It might be a nutrient deficiency, where the chlorophyll breaks down and the green color goes away, leaving a purple tinge. By upgrading the fertilization (on that plant only) for a few months should remove that. The last possibility, is that if the spots are growing, then it may be a bacteria or fungal infection. In that case, I'd treat it with a fungicide or just cut the leaf off.

[@elbeem20001]

@@Orchideria The whole dendrobium, including the keikis (about 5 of them) ALL have purple leaves! However, the stalk is a bright green - just the leaves have a purple hue. There are no spots.

[@aida087]

Just found your channel, your orchids are GORGEOUS and LOVE all of your tips!! I've been using MG Orchid bark mix but ready to trying a new type, may I ask what is your top brand of Orchid bark mix for Phalaenopsis Orchids? Thank you in advance!😊🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@Orchideria]

Hi Aida, Thank you. I appreciate it. 🙏 I am still testing out several brands of orchid bark, but they mostly all do well. I've had some fungus and mold in the cheaper brands, which is really sad because it's the most widely available. But if you boil it or bake it before using, then it turns out ok. But that's a lot of work. I'll make a video layer on about the brands and what I thought of each one. 😊

[@josephrapp7211]

excellent!!!

[@Orchideria]

Hi Joseph, Thank you!

[@serenarobinson6669]

Dear Amanda, Thank you , that’s all I can say as this stupid IPad is NOT going to co operate with how I like your ideas about potting orchids Amanda. Unfortunately so far the pine bark here in Australia is full of weed killing chemicals and pieces of wood which I don’t like , all the best Amanda, LOVE watching your videos, Serena 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰👍

[@Orchideria]

Hi Serena, Thank you for the comment! :)

[@cliffcox7643]

What do you think about soil sifting the bark before washing it? I do this and it gets rid of dust, then rinse it.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Cliff Cox, Excellent question. In theory, that is what should be done. I know it, but I never seem to do it in real life. It's kind of like those rules that you know you should do, but never really follow. Since my orchids haven't complained too much, I just keep on doing what I'm doing. If I have an orchid that likes humidity, I will soak the bark first. This gets rid of the fine dust, too. If you can, sift the bark. That's an excellent habit to start now. :)

[@catlady8324]

Orchids are tortoise food?

[@alicenataliamariailarda9046]

You are actually the first one i hear say that theyre are 3 different grades to bark and i watch these videos for a year now, why is nobody speaking about it and also never hoard of soaking, or boiling ect the bark before use. I did use it right away but now what? What should i do? Take the orchid out again, wash/boil it, let it dry and then repot but where do i keep in the meantime my orchids ??? Now im confused 😞 i did buy a new bag and orchid and repotted it since it had rooted roots but now after 3 weeks i see again rooted roots, vould that because i didnt wash the bark? Im dimished by that now 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

[@Orchideria]

Hi Alice, If you already used the bark, then don't report the orchid . It will be ok without the initial soak. When you water for the first time after repotting, just water it a bit longer, so the bark and roots get their share. If you have repotted a while ago, don't worry about it, the bark has already absorbed the water it needs. This is just a tip for growing orchids but it doesn't mean your orchid will die if you don't follow it. For future repots, your orchid will thank you though if the bark has been soaked beforehand.

[@alicenataliamariailarda9046]

@Orchideria oh, I didn't see your comment so excuse that I'm only answering now, I also saw that I had a few mistakes on the upper comment but because of autocorrect, since I speak 4 languages it does that quite often. Okey, I will do that from now on but only soaking it? When do you boil it and how is the process of it? The bark that I bought has written on it to never let it dry out because it has microorganisms for the orchid in it, won't that be destroyed if I boil it? Also, I now have used for the second time on my sick orchid what I said above nitrogen peroxide, is that why my roots are continuing to die? Thank you so much, I really appreciate your help, you have no idea how much ☺️ God bless you and lots of love from Austria ❤️

[@renatecormick7399]

Amanda, I’m new to your channel and still getting used to your pronunciation of of things. I heard to say Tolumnia as “Tolmunia”. Which is correct because I just bought a few of them and would like to write the labels correctly.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Renate, Hahaha... As for my pronunciation, I wouldn't really count on that. I've lived too many years overseas where I didn't speak any English at all in my home. Now that I'm back in the USA, I have a weird accent. Add that on top of being nervous on camera, (I'm new at KZbin but not at growing orchids), I have slight dyslexia, and a whole bunch of other items into the mix. The end result is... well... I say a lot of stupid things. My pronunciation of Cattleya is the worst. In one video I managed to say Water was one hydrogen and 2 oxygen. I never caught it , even in editing. So please ignore the mistakes. LOL As for tolumnia orchids, I'm writing an article about them tomorrow, so I can add a pronunciation button to that article. that would probably be the best way to answer your question.

[@renatecormick7399]

@@Orchideria thanks for your reply. I’m looking forward to seeing more about Tolumnia. I just unpacked an order of four little cuties and want to learn as much as I can to get them on the path to successful flowering. I’m much happier with the look of this batch, they seem to have been grown under tougher conditions (plants look very strong) compared to the previous lot from a different location which looked like they were not long out of a flask, and I did complain to the nursery about the minuscule size of a couple (which have already died, didn’t survive postage). Anyway a few things I’ve read about Tolumnia orchid indicate that’s they should be a great addition to my SMALL collection.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Renate, I know the feeling! When I first bought tolumnia online, I had no idea they were that small! I was so upset wondering how long these tiny orchids would take to flower (my guess was 3-4 years) until I started reading about them and saw how wrong I was. I'm still working on the final touches of the written article about growing tolumnia. It should be done today. I'll link it here when it's published.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Renate, I just posted the Tolumnia article online. You can read it here: orchideria.com/tolumnia-orchids/ I hope that helps! :)

[@renatecormick7399]

@@Orchideria thanks, reading it right now.

[@tallybeaverman9462]

It's funny how people pronounce the word Cattleya these days. 60yrs ago it was pronounced Cattle - y - a, the Y having a strong "E" sound with a weak sounding "A" . Also growing up in South Florida, I have seen many wild orchids growing to trees & limbs. They're found mostly on oak and cypress trees. Sometimes on other hardwoods but never on pine trees. I did nail Orchids to a pine tree in our yard back then but none did very well on pine. Maybe oak trees and other hardwoods offer more shade and moist bark, maybe pine bark has a different PH. Noticed lately they sell pine bark for Orchid Bark, wouldn't touch it with a 10ft pole. I am sure orchids will grow on it, simply from it's will to live, but probably not it's favorite flavor. Also the thick sticky pine sap is totally different from the thin not so sticky hardwood sap, that difference maybe why they prefer hardwood and cypress over pine. Nature has a way of telling us what it wants if we listen. They never grow on pine trees in the wild, but they won't tell us why.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Tally, I laughed at your comment (not because of you, but me) because it's probably not the pronunciation that has changed, but the way I say it. Being in Brazil for so long, I adapted the Portuguese pronunciation "Catleia" into the English one. Before I catch it, I have said it all funny. About the pine, the pH is the main factor. I'm not sure the moisture would interfere as much as to change the way orchids would adapt to it. Also, I hadn't thought about the sap being an issue, but you have a great point there. I look into that. Thanks for the comment! :)

[@tallybeaverman9462]

@@Orchideria yes, it's not just you, but a lot of people say Cattleyas the same way as you do. It must be the in way to say it these days. They have changed the names of a lot of thing these days. Thought I tut might be to mess with old people these day. The even changed the name of "soup bones" of all things, had trouble finding them at the store the other day.