# Orchiata - Survey after a couple years



## Darin (Jan 18, 2011)

All,

Have been reading lots of threads from the past on Orchiata. Most of them are from a year or more ago. I am wondering what everyones growing experience has been with this stuff now that things have been in it a while. What size are you using for Paphs in 2.5 inch pots? 3 inch pots? 4+inch pots? Considering taking the plunge (CRAZY Shipping costs) and ordering a bag to try some of my plants in (still not happy with the CHC mix I am using (even after changing some parameters). Figured I'd try to learn from y'all's experience before I tried it myself. 

Thanks!!!


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## Eric Muehlbauer (Jan 18, 2011)

I love the stuff. I use the smallest grade...still mix in lots of spongerock, lava rock to keep it aerated...still repot after a year just to be safe, but the stuff is very good. Way better than CHC, and better than the other bark I used to used that would break down super fast.


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## SlipperKing (Jan 18, 2011)

I agree with Eric except for the size. Mine is "5" and "5A"(think). It's bragged to last up to five years in the pot. I'm testing out that claim. It's suppose to stay hard even after you have got it conditioned. That seems to be true after a year of use. The other stuff Eric refered to was BAD. Water logged after 6 months and rotting.
I water the Orchiata ever two days or so in the summer and every third day in the winter. I consider that to be extreme abuse to the mix and its doing fine.
Myself and three friends went in on a pallet of 40 bags of different sizes. That saved on the overall cost per bag but it still was a bit more per weight wise then the Rexius bark. The longevity and quality out weighted the cost for me. I think I've bought enough bags to last my life time of slipper growing


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## Lanmark (Jan 18, 2011)

This is all good information to know!  I was wondering about this stuff myself.


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## Pete (Jan 19, 2011)

Rexius is crap. Orchiata is amazing.


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## Shiva (Jan 19, 2011)

Where can you buy this stuff and does anyone know if it's available in Canada?


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## Darin (Jan 19, 2011)

CalWest and First Rays have it in the US. Not sure about a Canadian distributor.

Thanks all for the comments. That is exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. I guess I'll take the splurge and buy a bag to try out. It cant be any worse than the CHC I have been using .


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## Ray (Jan 19, 2011)

Not only is the stuff materially better, they do an excellent jobs of uniform screening, too.

Those folks at Pacific Wide (the exporter in NZ) make life better (or more difficult, depending upon your viewpoint) by offering 4 grades (two "mediums"), rather than the typical fine, medium, and coarse:

#9 Classic - that's the seedling grade, 6-9 mm
#5 Power - the finer of the two medium grades, 9-12 mm
#5A Power+ - the coarser one, 12-18 mm
#7 Super - Coarse, 18-25 mm

I tend to be a "coarse potter" because I am a heavy waterer, but to me, Orchiata is a generally "drier" bark than others. I am experimenting now with a blend of it and a water-holding material similar to diatomite. Any thoughts on that?


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## Lanmark (Jan 19, 2011)

Ray said:


> I tend to be a "coarse potter" because I am a heavy waterer, but to me, Orchiata is a generally "drier" bark than others. I am experimenting now with a blend of it and a water-holding material similar to diatomite. Any thoughts on that?



What product similar to diatomite are you using -- something like Higromite?

I tend toward heavy watering too. I think your idea of blending Orchiata with a diatomite-like product is intriguing. Diatomite holds water for a seeming eternity, though, so I'd worry that wet pieces of diatomite resting against the pieces of Orchiata would exponentially speed up the decomposition of the Orchiata.

I think I'm going to experiment using a blend of coarse LECA and super-course Orchiata for some of my larger-rooted plants (vandaceous, cattleya etc). I had thought of adding 1 inch pieces of cork into the mix, but they're really expensive compared to Orchiata. Since Orchiata doesn't hold as much water as fir bark, I'm thinking the addition of cork chunks might end up being redundant anyway.


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## kentuckiense (Jan 19, 2011)

Echoing what everyone else has said.

I grow with 5 Power, along with charcoal and granite chips mixed in. I've been growing everything in this mix for the last year, and I've been pretty pleased. I haven't noticed any breakdown, but as Ray said, this stuff does stay on the drier side, so I find myself watering more often.


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## Brian Monk (Jan 19, 2011)

I use a mix with the 5A, with #3 perlite, the small leca, and dolomite added to the mix. I grow all of the Cymbidiums, INtergeneric Oncidiinae/Odonts, and Paphs in it. I use the #9 with # 3 perlite, small leca, dolomite, and coir for seedlings of the same plants.


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## suss16 (Jan 19, 2011)

OK - I have and use all four sizes. I started at a 70/30 orchiata to comparable size perlite mix. I am now to down 85/15. This is the mix I use for Phals. For the most part I have been using straight orchiata for my Paphs. Both Phals and Paphs are doing great... and yes, I do water more often. But to me that is good, I get to fertilize more often : )


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## Ray (Jan 20, 2011)

Lanmark said:


> What product similar to diatomite are you using -- something like Higromite?


Yep, that's the stuff.


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## Lanmark (Jan 20, 2011)

Ray said:


> Yep, that's the stuff.



Sweet! Please let us know how it works in conjunction with the Orchiata. :wink: I've had both good and bad experiences with the Higromite, but if I'm going to be totally honest, I don't think any of the blame can be assigned to the product. I tend to have a heavy hand when watering.


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## SlipperFan (Jan 20, 2011)

How is this product different from Diatomite, other than land of origin?


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## Lanmark (Jan 20, 2011)

SlipperFan said:


> How is this product different from Diatomite, other than land of origin?



Higromite is a mix of volcanic ash and fossilized diatom-rich earth (pozzolana) which has been kiln-fired into a product similar to chunky calcined clay. The diatomaceous content causes it to have a high silica content. It holds a lot of water -- I'd say more than LECA holds.

Diatomite is also a heated product but is composed of something like 85% diatomaceous earth and I don't think there's much (if any) volcanic ash involved. It probably holds even more water than Higromite and also has more silica in it as well.

That's the extent of what I know.


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## SlipperFan (Jan 21, 2011)

That's more than I knew! Thanks, Mark. 

Maybe, since Diatomite is almost impossible to get here in the USA, Higromite will be a good substitute.


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## Ray (Jan 22, 2011)

I am trying it in s/h as well as a bark additive. So far, both seem to be good.

However, like diatomite, I would anticipate higromite to be good at absorbing and bad at releasing, so will build up minerals faster than most LECAs.


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## Howzat (Jan 23, 2011)

You people are lucky. I live in Australia, a stone throw away from New Zealand, but the producer said, Australian custom and Quarantine's requirement is too harsh. I met Clive Washington the owner of Orchiata every year in Taiwan (TIOS). He reckons that to be able to export to Australia, he he has to practically boil the bark again once arrived here. He always has a sales booth at TIOS. I have seen the bark there and I think that is the best bark I've ever seen, quite hard and clean in all grades. Our local bark here is rather too soft and have lots of dirt in both Oz Bark (approx $1000/44bags) and Debco (even worse as it has so much fine). Still have to use Oz bark but I mix with a liberal addition of ground lime stone. It prevent it from becoming acidic and give a life of up to 3 years. How much is a pallet of Orchiata in the USA/Canada???


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## SlipperKing (Jan 23, 2011)

A pallet plus shipping to my driveway was 800+


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## paphreek (Jan 23, 2011)

SlipperKing said:


> A pallet plus shipping to my driveway was 800+



How many bags on a pallet?


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## SlipperKing (Jan 23, 2011)

paphreek said:


> How many bags on a pallet?



40 plus a bale of sphag. 

Here is where we got it from:
[email protected] Scott C. Seaton
VP/General Manager
Greenhouse Specialists, Inc.


Hope this helps all that is looking


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## Darin (Jan 23, 2011)

Just potted up a bunch of seedlings (Paph Wossner Ministar - tiny babies as the seal on one of my flasks failed and started growing funk) and a couple complex test plants from two sample (5L) bags I got from Ray. I can say that this feels like the nicest bark I have ever used. I fully expect be be ordering a couple big bags from Ray in the spring to replace the nasty batch of CHC I got last year.


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