Jimmy Walker says "Diatomite!"

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TADD

Rootless Wonder
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Hey guys,
I am toying with the idea of getting a big bag of medium diatomite. I was hoping on doing s/h with it, but I need advice. I have read that it is not very good used that way. I wanted to experiment with it on a few wet phrags... Good the bad and the ugly(wait I am already here....) please! You guys rock!
Tadd :evil:
 
Tadd,

I have seen plain diatomite used with phrags. However, with paphs; it usually has to be mixed with coconut fiber or bark. I have been using it with most of my paphs with the coconut fiber and or bark with great success.
 
I placed a few Phrags in S/H with straight diatomite this Spring. So far, they are doing fine. I changed them from PrimeAgra to diatomite because I wanted to see how they would do in that media. Those particular Phrags were doing fine in PrimeAgra, also. The Phrags and Paphs that I had in PrimeAgra S/H that were not doing well, I changed into a mix of diatomite, CHC, and a little charcoal and sponge rock. These are all doing quite well with new growth and new roots. So far, I'm liking diatomite very much.
 
I've had excellent luck with straight diatomite and phrags...

Jury is still out on whether small or medium is better, I suspect it depends on the size of the SH pot.
 
I keep my Phrags in waterfilled saucers. Will diatomite absorb the water as my present bark medium does now??
 
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