Has anyone found a suitable substitute for Douglas fir bark? I'm not talking about small amounts. I go through 10-12 cf. of the stuff each year. I wonder if my cypress mulch would work. It is nothing like that horrible stuff bagged at the big box stores, made up of who-knows-what. The mulch I get by the cubic yard is high quality with little or no foreign matter in it. I just have always used Douglas fir bark but now I am paying about $20.00 shipping per cf.

I used to find free shipping but it is now impossible to find shipping bargains, at least the sites I have checked. I ordered three, 2 cf. bags in June and the shipping was right at $50.00 My orders for expanded rock, (truly) coarse perlite, horticultural charcoal, and coconut chunks are always at least 6 cf. per order.

Ken, I've had new orchids arrive from Carter & Holmes in a wood chip medium. It says on their supply page that it's "Cypress wood blend" and has small shreds of wood chip and perlite in it. Here's the page with a picture of what it looks like:

http://www.carterandholmes.com...

Seems like the wood is ok, so you could try your cypress mulch, but I'd wash it with the hose, and let it dry in the sun before potting up orchids in it.

I get C & H catalogs 2-3 times a year and I saw that mix (pretty simple, compared to all I put in mine........LOL). That's why I wondered about the cypress mulch I get. My mulch looks almost identical to the picture and I certainly have plenty of expanded rock and sponge rock (that's just coarse perlite, right?). That's a good idea to wash it and then let the sun bake it. I can buy a cubic yard for around $40 and that's equivalent to 27 cf. So instead of spending $10-15 for a cubic foot of Douglas fir bark (plus $10 to ship a cf.), I will be paying approximately $1.50 and no shipping since I haul the mulch from our Co-Op in my truck. That sure sounds better than what I'm paying now.

Thanks, Elaine.

Hi Ken, Sorry to cut in (or hijack) on your thread here.. I have been searching through numerous threads in this forum and couldn't find anyone that provided closed, at least related info I need for my zygo orchid. So simply state my needs: what are the good sources (suppliers, vendors) for good orchid barks, e.g., Rexius, Orchiata (these are the recommendation from my zygo supplier; he use Rexius)? I am basically looking for online suppliers with good price and good shipping cost. (no local vendors I can turn to here) Thanks for help.

Fiat, have you checked Amazon or e-Bay? They both have it. Ken buys in bulk, and the cost would likely be very different.

I used to use repot me.com...they have tons of products and you can make up a custom blend if you want, Fiat

Amazon has some orchiata sold from outside vendor with price and shipping cost not of competition... no rexius found at amazon. I don't know how and want to buy from ebay...

Thanks, Lindsey. I check up repotme.com and found they have Fir bark w/o Rexius name and their orchiata's price (and fir bark) are higher than OrchidSupplyStore.com Just compare prices.

When I stopped at Carter and Holmes a while back I fell in love with a young plant still in a flat and I convinced the owner to let me have one. Since I was traveling and it was bare root, I also bought a mesh container and just enough medium to pot it up. I had asked them about the pot size and the best medium for it and they gave me the shredded cedar. I like the material, it is lightweight, pretty finely shredded and cedar would naturally repel insects. I don't know if it will last as long as fir before it breaks down but I should think it would be fine for your purpose Ken.

Fiat, I was told by a grower that the key to keeping the Zygo happy was enough moisture, they prefer a bit more water than most. I potted mine in the Better Gro stuff you get from any Lowe's or HD and it has been a very happy camper.

Thanks, Alice. Are you talking about Better Gro orchid mix in HD? Will check it out. BTW, do you have chance to post your Zygo pic (in buds, in bloom, or not)? Thank you for sharing.

I lost a lot of photos on the computer but I did find this one of the flower. It is not as pretty as yours but it does bloom often.

That one's gorgeous, Alice!

I think so too. No apology necessary for that beauty, Alice.

Jim

Aw thanks. The flower itself is sort of plain but I love those dark, smoky buds.

Oh, Alice! Your zygo bloom is wonderfully beautiful. I think yours is a different variety? There are no spots on the petals of yours, but another kind of beauty! I checked the BetterGro orchid mix and found the media (fir bark, charcoal, ...) are too fine (small size) for me. I need at least medium size barks for a orchid pot (metal 6x6") with large holes on 4 sides. Also have no idea how long the media would last...

I am not so sure about using cedar. I personally have never seen it used as the base of an orchid mix. Cypress perhaps and certainly Douglas fir bark.

I cannot find my way around this new NGA site. I have been gone for ten days and now returning, I am lost. Where are the various forums? Where is the T-Mails? Where is the Profile?

I should not have stayed gone so long................

Ken, Look at the top, right, and you will see your Profile/mail/ system messages. As to the forums, you need to read the site talk forum and learn how to set up your home page the way you like it. It's all here, but moved around. Tough for us older folks to change, but we're doing it.

Ken, good to see you, we were missing you.
Regarding the changes here, it is late now, I and surely all of us here, gladly walk you through the changes tomorrow and show you how to fix your page that it will look similar to the old with new good stuff thrown in.
Don't sweat it!

Hey Ken, welcome back and yes, this oldster did it (Elaine helped) so I know you can get around here.

BTW, you are correct, I said cedar in an earlier post but I meant cypress - just showing my age again I guess.