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Orchid mixes

just curious as to everyone elses soil mixes as their are probably a lot of different recipes. I personally like to buy the pre-made orchid mixes and then modify them a bit. I usually add a bit of lava rock for good drainage, I add perlite, a bit of peat moss, some wood chips, and large grade orchid bark. Of coarse the recipes vary depending on the species of orchid I am potting up. I have found the lava rock to be especially beneficial in keeping the soil mix well drained.
 
i just plant them in the bark/ceramic rock/charcoal mix.
 
I mostly use a 50/50 mix of coconut husk chips (CHC) and sponge rock.  I bought a bag of nice fine bark this spring with the intention of using it instead of some of the CHC.  But I still haven't opened that bag.

Don't forget that orchids are almost always happier with packing peanuts at the bottom of the pot.  I put a little bit of coco fiber above the peanuts to keep the mix from slumping down, where it reduces air flow and can wick up water.
 
I use premade orchid bark mix in wooden baskets or (rarely) in containers with many drainage holes.
 
orchid bark mix/coconut fiber/charcoal
Probably somewhere around 50% orchid bark mix and 25%coconut fiber and 25% charcoal.

I pot in plastic pots that have good bottom drainage and I recess those pots into other decorative pots or wall pockets.  I usually rest the inner plastic pot on packing peanuts but I've used pebbles and such also.

I repot in fresh mix every time an orchid blooms. I use this mix for every tropical orchid I have that I grow inside.
 
For about six months I've been using a mixture of mostly lava rock for drainage and a bit of long fibered sphagnum moss to retain moisture, and it seems to be working well so far.
 
I use the mix I can get from Lowes, or LFS moss. I have just started using some treefern fiber in a few. I dun ohow thats doing yet. I repot things to check roots when I get the plant. I have heard people saying you need to repot LFS every year, but I haven't changed it yet on anything. I have fluffed it up because it compacted, but it wasn;t an accual repot. I guess you could say I'm still experimenting on what mix I like. I like mouting too. and so far my fav mount is a slab of treefern.
 
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