How to perform secondary treatment of orchid potting medium
The potting media I use for growing orchids are very varied. I have used hard media, semi-hard media, and soft media, and the results differ little. The main thing is still the difference in management for different media. Different media require different growing methods. Personally, I still prefer soft media a bit more, so I will not go into detail here about specific cultivation methods! There is also no so-called miracle medium; as long as...
What kind of potting medium needs secondary treatment? When the old pseudobulbs develop hollow roots very quickly after you plant them, this situation generally means the potting medium needs to be treated again. That is because the organic matter in the medium has not fully decomposed. Medium that has not decomposed well has very poor water absorption and water retention, and during the decomposition process it produces heat that the original orchid roots cannot tolerate, so the roots become hollow very quickly. Some people may ask why the newly grown orchid roots are fine. That is because by the time the new orchid roots also appear, a long time has passed, and the potting medium is also undergoing decomposition. This kind of medium needs secondary treatment. Below is an introduction to how to treat potting medium that has not decomposed well.
First, look at the size of the lumps in the potting medium and try to break them into pieces about the size of a small fingernail. If the bark in some manufacturers' potting medium is too large and is not broken smaller in advance, it is easy for overly large gaps to form in the medium during planting, so it does not make firm contact. After handling the size of the lumps, the next step is to boil the potting medium in water. Boiling in water allows the medium to fully absorb water and can also kill insect eggs. Then scoop out the boiled medium, put it in a sealed plastic bag, seal it, and store it for 1 to 6 months (depending on how decomposed your medium is), after which it can be used again. If you have no other potting medium, you can also let it sit for two days and use it immediately, and it will still be much better than untreated medium!
In short, you must learn to judge whether the potting medium has fully decomposed, because fully decomposed medium has good water absorption and water retention, and only then can it give orchids a good environment. Do not be lazy, otherwise the losses will be great! Fellow orchid growers, have you ever encountered such a situation?