COCONUTS-Not just for pies and cookies© Linda Fortner
Mar 1, 2001
Thank you for stopping by the Orchid Garden this month. No, we are not going to be making pies or cookies this month, but we are going to learn about a product that your orchids will love as much as you love the pies and cookies. If you live where coconut trees grow, you may have the perfect medium for your orchids growing right in your back yard free for the picking.
For many years, orchid growers have relied on tree bark and different types of sphagnum moss as the orchid potting mix of choice. However, as the environment becomes more and more protected, bark and moss is becoming less available as well as very expensive. Just last spring (2000), one major supplier of Sequoia orchid bark announced they would no longer produce orchid bark. Even with the inherent problems encountered with bark, such as decomposing quickly, it was still a favorite media. Sphagnum moss has also become very expensive and the quality has been degrading every year. Some suppliers are using more and more filler, which bring undesirable weed seeds along for the ride. These problems prompted growers all over the world to look for alternative products to use as orchid media. Sponge rock, rock wool, vermiculite, shredded tires, and others have been tried. Unfortunately, each of these alternative products have problems of their own. Growers soon found they really did not have much to choose from in the way of products that provided the necessary properties needed for orchid media. The media needs to hold moisture but not be soggy wet, allow the orchid roots to "breathe" by providing plenty of air space, and not decompose in a short period of time. They were also looking for something that was environmentally friendly and would not rob our world of precious trees and bogs. Now that is a lot to ask for. After years of trying about everything that would fit in a pot, someone stumbled onto the idea of using coconuts. Coconuts will float for months in the ocean and the
seed would germinate inside the shell. When it finally washed ashore, the little plant would send out roots into the ground and start to grow. What was realized, was the coconut is filled with perfect growing media. In the past few years a new product has hit the orchid world. This product is produced from coconuts can be made into peat (coir,)chips in different sizes, and fiber. The fiber is excellent for lining baskets or used in mounting orchids. The chips can hold up to five times their weight in water but the amazing thing is they can also hold the same amount of air before and after watering. The fiber also holds water like the chips. The outer layer of the chips dries, but the inner layers stays moist, but not soggy wet. The product is also very durable. It takes about 5 years before you see this product start to break down. Charcoal or ISOLITE (a porous ceramic media) can be added to help hold the plants in the pots since the chips and fiber are very lightweight.
Go To Page:
1
2
3
The copyright of the article COCONUTS-Not just for pies and cookies in Orchid Gardening is owned by . Permission to republish COCONUTS-Not just for pies and cookies in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
