How to mix orchid potting medium? A beginner's summary of 3 years of experience

Orchid potting medium has always been a topic of concern for orchid growers. Which potting medium is actually best for growing orchids? In fact, there is no unified conclusion. In the early days of growing orchids, Haoshe Farmer also tried various different potting media, with both successes and failures.

The first time I grew orchids, I didn't consider the importance of soil at all, and at that time I had no concept of orchid potting medium. I just dug some soil from the vegetable garden and planted them directly in pots. Later, when it rained, the whole flower pot was dripping wet, and after a few days without rain, the potting soil would easily crack. Before it even made it through summer, the orchids were gone.

The second time, I went up the mountain to dig soil. This time I was more careful and took soil from a mountain where orchids grew, feeling that since orchids could grow there, the soil should be pretty good. This kind of humus soil from the mountain had a very long-lasting fertilizing effect, so orchids could use less chemical fertilizer. But I overlooked the difference between mountain ground and flower pots. As a result, the orchids grew very well in the early stage, but later the same problems as with the vegetable garden soil appeared. Perhaps the management was still not good enough.

Later I used rotted pine wood shavings from the mountain. This stuff really does grow seedlings well, and you can water it freely or leave it unwatered for a long time. Its structure easily absorbs enough water, and the staggered spaces help drain excess water. The drawback is that its fertilizing effect is neither sufficient nor long-lasting.

Even later, I mixed mountain soil with rotted pine wood shavings. This solved both the water problem and the fertilizer problem, and only then did I truly begin growing orchids with orchid potting medium. Of course, because rotted pine wood is hard to find, I switched to pine bark, and the effect was also quite good. Overall it felt just slightly worse than rotted pine wood, perhaps because the beneficial orchid substances they contain are released at different rates.

In fact, there are many other potting media as well. Orchid growers who are interested can do more experiments themselves, and you will definitely find the potting medium that suits you best.