Bark Sizes/Grades

[Ray]

Gotta question for y'all:

According to their website, Orchiata has 7 different grades of bark:

"Aged":

3-6 mm (7/64"-1/4")
6-9 mm (1/4"-3/8")
9-12 mm (3/82"-1/2")
12-18 mm (1/2"-3/4") and
18-25 mm (3/4"-1")​

"Conditioned*":

9-12 mm and
12-25 mm​

(* Based upon their website, it appears that all are conditioned to remove the cambium and tannins, so I assume those last two simply aren't aged as long.)

I have no idea if they will make all of them available, but are they all really necessary? I don't recall seeing that many grades with other barks, or any medium for that matter.

The 3-6 mm (averaging just over 1/8") stuff is really tiny, for example. It seems to me that the 6-9 mm stuff (a bit over 1/4" avg) would be what most would consider "fine" grade.

 

[Jim Toomey]

I buy mostly seedling sized bark for my newly deflasked paphs- bag is labeled/sold as up to 1/4" in size.

Next size media would be for 3" to 4" pot.

Last size media I get is for 5" to 6" pots for the larger Roths/Multiflorals.

I would imagine two or three choices would fill the majority of needs.

I hope this helps,
Jim T

 

[cnycharles]

I just bought some orchiata bark from Kim's Orchid Supplies, and she said they sold her two different sizes. I bought some of the smaller size which fits the 3/8"-1/2" category. It's larger than I would have liked since I was looking for standard 'seedling grade'. Picture below shows a handful that represents usual sizes found in the bag.

ruler above measures in inches

I think the observations above are pretty good, something average of the roughly 1/4" size would be right for seedlings. I think something to consider is that others who have reported using this bark say it is supposed to hold onto a little more moisture, so slightly more air space may be helpful (or slightly larger size than 'normal'). But only time will tell!

 

[Bob in Albany N.Y.]

A couple of thoughts. First, you might ask the vendor themselves as to what they normally sell for the (seedling mix - small bark), as well as the medium. Mostly I only use 2 sizes. Another thought is that you might want to shot Scott Ware a P.M. I understand he has just bought a couple of trial bags. I believe he bought what we call small and medium size bark.

 

[Jim Toomey]

With the reported extra moisture holding ability, I would experiment with the addition of more perlite and more charcoal, both about the same size as the bark.
Jim

 

[Ray]

Well, it looks like they don't import all grades. They did not bring any of the super-fine stuff to the east coast, nor that "conditioned" stuff.

The three middle grades are on the way to me as I type this (I did not order any of the super coarse stuff), so should be available by about the middle of next week.

 

[Ernie]

Cool deal.

For those in the Lake City area, Clint at Orchid Odyssey has Orchiata bark, but he is moving into a new place and might be busy, so call first.

-Ernie

 

[Ray]

Most of my Orchiata order finally showed up, so is now available in the following grades:

#5 "Power" 9-12 mm (3/8"-1/2")
#5A "Power +" 12-18 mm (1/2"-3/4") and
#7 "Super" 18-25 mm (3/4"-1")

The #9 "Classic" 6-9 mm (1/4"-3/8") was inadvertently left off of the shipment, but should arrive shortly.

I have photos with a US Quarter as a size reference.

 

[Pete]

I would highly reccommend using the 5 or 5A with a coarse perlite at 2:1 ratio. the #7 is good for stuff that likes to be drier, like Cattleya and the #9 is ideal for new young seedlings..

 

[Ray]

Thanks, Pete.

I'm pretty heavy handed with the watering, so tend to go coarser with my mixes anyway, but not everyone is like that!

 

[Pete]

same here