(Plant) soul-mates. We both enjoy experimenting with what we grow. That's how we learn - trial and error. I have over 200 "baby", 1 1/2 yr old orchids. I have 12-15 plants in trays, all properly labeled and pictured. In one tray the plants will be in 2-3" plastic pots, in another tray they'll be in 2-3" basket-pots, in another tray they'll be in 2-3" clay pots, and in another tray they'll be in 2-3" halved coconut shells. I drill plenty of holes in the coconut shells and clay pots for good drainage/aeration. I want to see what grows the best in what "pot". Thus, I have a dozen or more of these trays. All the plants get the same watering/misting/fertilizing/light/air-movement, so I can rule out these variations being a factor. One day I will know what is the best enviornment for the baby orchid plants to grow in. Fun stuff!
P. S. I discovered orchid plants growing in coconut shells at an orchid farm in Costa Rica. This farm had thousands and thousands of plants, and all the smaller ones had been started in coconut shells and were still growing in them. The larger ones had been moved to pots/baskets. Why use coconut shells there? The owner said his next door neighbor had thousands of coconut trees and when he harvested the coconuts for there pulp/juice, he literally gave the orchid grower the shells for free. I need to find someone in S. Florida that will do that for me! I just need to find the right person and pay for shipment. The orchid grower ONLY grew the orchids for their flowers, and shipped them all over the world. He wouldn't even sell me a single small plant to bring back to the US with me. I thought that was unkind, but hey, he let me tour the whole operation, showed me how they determined the prices on the various flowers, and even let me go into the flower sorting house to see the workers packaging up the orchids. Ken
