# Preparing new medium for repotting



## Paph_LdyMacBeth (Jan 12, 2010)

I`m thinking ahead to repotting in a few months. I have fresh supplies of fir bark, charcoal, & perlite and I want to know what I should do to these prior to use. (for my paphs & phrags)
I`ve read that some people simply wash or rinse their new medium & some boil it. So what would you recommendation be for preparing these mediums for repotting


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## etex (Jan 12, 2010)

I soak it overnight. Don't think it needs to be boiled!


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## parvi_17 (Jan 12, 2010)

I boil my bark for about 10-15 minutes, then rinse with cold water and mix with the other materials. Works great, and you don't have to wait overnight! Also, it separates the rotten bark from the good stuff as the good stuff rises to the top and the crap sinks to the bottom. You don't want the crap!


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## slippertalker (Jan 12, 2010)

I soak mine for several days, let the wood segregate to the bottom then fish out the bark. The soaked bark is then mixed with perlite, charcoal, oyster shell and bone meal. Plants enjoy a mix that is already moist......


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## NYEric (Jan 12, 2010)

Boil! I hardly cook to eat much less cook medium!


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## Leo Schordje (Jan 12, 2010)

While your ingredients are still dry, I heartily recommend putting them on a piece of window screen. Shake the screen, anything that goes through the screen should be discarded. Then put the sifted media in a container, and now you pre-moisten the mix. Sifting out and discarding the fines will improve the air voids in the potting mix. You will be surprised how much you end up discarding, even 'premium' pre-mixed media will be heavy in excess fines.


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## Paph_LdyMacBeth (Jan 12, 2010)

Leo, when you say pre-moisten I assume you mean add sufficient water that the medium is no longer dry, but not letting it soak? 
Also, when making up medium because I am repotting a minimal number of plants should I discard any (wet) unused medium & make up only small amounts? Or is there any way to save?


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Jan 12, 2010)

I let bark soak for a few days if I have time, but as little as 15 minutes if I don't. I also add a tspn of Physan to help the water "stick"..also disinfect a bit. After I drain it I add loads of spongerock, lava rock, and some charcoal. I don't worry about getting out all the fines, but I try to get rid of at least some of it. CHC I soak for days, with at least 3 changes...epsom salts and Ca nitrate in the second soaking.


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## Paph_LdyMacBeth (Jan 12, 2010)

Adding Physan is a great idea. Thanks for the tip!


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## Rick (Jan 12, 2010)

slippertalker said:


> I soak mine for several days, let the wood segregate to the bottom then fish out the bark. The soaked bark is then mixed with perlite, charcoal, oyster shell and bone meal. Plants enjoy a mix that is already moist......




I don't soak for more than an hour, but all the rest is the same for my bark mixes.


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## Yoyo_Jo (Jan 12, 2010)

I freeze any of my bark mix that I don't use - a tip from the guys at Paramount.


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## Leo Schordje (Jan 13, 2010)

Paph_LdyMacBeth said:


> Leo, when you say pre-moisten I assume you mean add sufficient water that the medium is no longer dry, but not letting it soak?
> Also, when making up medium because I am repotting a minimal number of plants should I discard any (wet) unused medium & make up only small amounts? Or is there any way to save?



I have tried all kinds of things, over time I actually repot with dry potting mix. This occasionally causes problems, with not getting adequate wetting once the pot is put back into the collection, but I do this instead of using the potting mix pre-moistened. 

I used to follow much of Eric M's routine, I would let a smaller amount of bark soak in a deep bucket, often for a week or so. The bark would float, the wood would sink, I would scoop off the wet bark and discard the rest. I would then sift the remaining dry ingredients, then combine the wet bark with the sifted perlite, pumice, charcol, sphagnum, an what ever else I used. I would repot with this wet mix. I would store extra wet mix for weeks with no problems with fungi getting started. This really is a good technique, a very nice long lasting potting mix results, because all the wood is gone. (wood rots quickly) All this work became too much as my collection grew in size. 

Now I use a simple mix, 4 parts fir bark, and one part charcol. I add oyster shell for the Paphs that need it. I sift the dry mix to remove fines. I repot with the dry mix, and will often soak the newly repotted orchids in a pan of water for a few hours to get the media wet. That is it. A simplified system, maybe not as ideal as some, but do-able.


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## JeanLux (Jan 13, 2010)

Leo Schordje said:


> ...... I repot with the dry mix, and will often *soak the newly repotted orchids in a pan of water for a few hours to get the media wet*. That is it. A simplified system, maybe not as ideal as some, but do-able.



this is what I do Leo !!! Jean


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## karenk (Apr 16, 2010)

*root rot*



Leo Schordje said:


> I have tried all kinds of things, over time I actually repot with dry potting mix. This occasionally causes problems, with not getting adequate wetting once the pot is put back into the collection, but I do this instead of using the potting mix pre-moistened.
> 
> I used to follow much of Eric M's routine, I would let a smaller amount of bark soak in a deep bucket, often for a week or so. The bark would float, the wood would sink, I would scoop off the wet bark and discard the rest. I would then sift the remaining dry ingredients, then combine the wet bark with the sifted perlite, pumice, charcol, sphagnum, an what ever else I used. I would repot with this wet mix. I would store extra wet mix for weeks with no problems with fungi getting started. This really is a good technique, a very nice long lasting potting mix results, because all the wood is gone. (wood rots quickly) All this work became too much as my collection grew in size.
> 
> Now I use a simple mix, 4 parts fir bark, and one part charcol. I add oyster shell for the Paphs that need it. I sift the dry mix to remove fines. I repot with the dry mix, and will often soak the newly repotted orchids in a pan of water for a few hours to get the media wet. That is it. A simplified system, maybe not as ideal as some, but do-able.



LEO
Thanks for all the information. Sounds like you know what you are doing. So today when I went to repot my Paph Collosum, the plant dropped a section with brown at the end of the plant stem where roots should have been. I assume this is root rot caused from overwatering? Am I correct? Is there any way to save that section of the plant? The other section had roots that look okay so I rinsed them in a Physan mix and repotted with a bark mix. Any siggestions?


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## SlipperFan (Apr 16, 2010)

We used to soak the bark for a couple days, but now we just add some dish soap to the soak water to help break down the surface tension on the bark so it will absorb water better, then make sure it is well wetted (10 minutes or so), then drain it and mix it with charcoal, sponge rock and whatever else we want to use for different kinds of orchids. 

There is no reason why you can't keep what you've mixed. The only caveat is to not keep it in an airtight container. Let it dry before you put it away so it doesn't mold. Then re-wet it when you want to use it again.


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## Scott Ware (Apr 16, 2010)

I think we have almost as many techniques as we have orchid growers, and I believe there is merit to almost all of them.

I try to do the sorting thing with the bark, especially to remove the non-bark components (some batches of bark are cleaner than others). Since I use peat in my mix, I also sort out all the sticks, twigs, fern stems, etc. from the peat. I like to mix the components all together while they are mostly dry, but then I will wet down the mixture and put something over the top if it (the plastic bark bag I just emptied, usually) overnight to let the mix absorb the water. Then just fluff up the mix the next day and it is very manageable and far less likely to lace your hands with splinters (gloves help a LITTLE) during repotting than a totally dry mix.


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