sorry i didn't clarify. i'm using the orchid fir bark to for my blueberry bush. i only bought the orchid mix because i couldn't find fir bark anywhere else. It should work fine, but is larger than ideal. All this means is you will need to water a bit more often. If you are OK with that, all is well. When it comes to particle size, it's not just about the length/width, it is also about how the individual particles pack together. Lack of uniformity in shape is desirable and this results in particles that have difficulty compressing together and thus open air spaces result. Jane says: Different size bark or stone leaves large air spaces. Most orchid roots would rot if buried in any type gritty or soil mix. Different sizes do not necessarily leave large air spaces. Different shapes do. If we were to take particles where half were 1/8th inch squares and the rest were 1" squares they would eventually compact to make a solid block. The smaller squares would simply fill in the spaces between any larger squares. If our shapes are squares, circles, triangles and etc. then they have a very hard time fitting together like puzzle pieces and sealing up air passageways. The mean size of the particles is important, but once that size is achieved it's more important to have irregular shapes than shapes capable of fitting together and filling in those air spaces.

Hi mister AL! *-* funnylol not to mention go to school and do homework! SO, some of the bark and leca stones are a little too large. i can just remove some of the big ones....right. so can my adding napa floor dry #8822 screened through a insect screen retain enough water so i an go a few days without watering? i Just dont want to be bothered with the MG potting soil i have two experiments with mg potting soil, bark and perlite.i put a little more potting soil in this one. i didnt screen the perlite. the gardenia vietnamensis seems to be ok and it dries out relatively fast for a plant that is not potbound. ( i hate perlite it floats right to the top.) the other one there is more bark then potting soil. i have a african gardenia in it.it is just now starting to show signs of growth( it was root pruned) i probably shouldnt experiment with these kinds of plants?! lol

Hi everyone, I am sure there are other CHC users who will comment. Beg your pardon for my long-windedness...and I want to get a shot out to cool dude Al :) I don't personally have any concern about toxic residues in CHCs; of course in countries with different or no regulations on chemical use I do sort of wonder, but I somehow don't think that coconuts are a crop ridden with pests and thus end up significant pesticide exposure. Heck are they even a crop? (I thought they just fell into the ocean and were scooped up lol)...If anything they might have a bit of bacterial load if they were floating in nasty contaminated seawater but prolly nothing your plants could transmit to you...no worse than what we prolly already use in our containers and gardens, lol. Plus, I seem to think reptiles are sensitive to stuff like that and thus prolly wouldn't do well if their bedding was a mess of DDT or something else equally yummy :) Any reptile people out there? (lemonsforchams I think...?) I have to be perfectly honest in saying that I do not care for CHCs. I tried chcs because I want something that can take a rainy winter outside and something that I will not have to reaplace in a season or two. I have read of many people on these forums that just love them , but I have had poor luck with them. I have tried chips from different distributors; and I soak/rinse them to death; I've done what I can for a cation/salt exchange; I've tried pure chcs and chcs mixed with peat; I remove most to all of the original rootball soil; the result is the same--too wet. I know, it's weird, they seem like they would aerate well and they just don't. Now, I haven't tried the *recommended* brand from St.Louis, and I haven't done the exact recommended chemical wash (where you get that stuff is still a mystery to me), but I somehow don't think that is the key. I can go for at least a whole month without watering and I live in a dry (and often windy) climate! That's got nothing to do with proper prep, I'd bet. I've tried at least 7-10 plants in it--mostly citrus and amaryllis and they universally do poorly save for one--and that one I have NOT had to water in the last 3 weeks (!) and somehow it is ok, not counting on it to do well in the long term. The plants that are long-termers like the citrus just sort of sit there (no response to fertilizers) and slowly decline over a few months--have lost one, another 2 looking like they're gonna die and so I moved them out recently, a few others that may be circling the drain. I don't care for the coir/ground husk fiber for the same reason--stuff just rots so quickly in it. I am thinking of trying the chcs on plants that don't care if they sit in a moist wet environment--maybe guava or calla lilies. Not sure yet. As a result I am experimenting with a mostly inorganic/largely inorganic medium. (Al's been right all along :) However, I am going to try a mixture of Turface and CHC's--I actually need something that has better water retention and so these may do the trick. I bought a little Meyer lemon that is gonna be my guinea pig, poor thing. It seems that everyone has their favorite mix and I think it has a lot to do with exactly what your goals are and also I am beginning to feel that climate will play a role in it too--not just moisture regulation but also speed of decomposition of your soils and thus lack of aeration/too much water retention and subsequent rot...and then another addition to the compost pile :( Just my experiences. Am not prepared for any sort of backlash from chc lovers :) Oh yeah be sure to soak and rinse at least a few times--they're supposedly loaded with sea salt and that needs to come off. And when it comes to pricing--not too bad at a local garden center where I can get it "over-the-counter" for--I believe--1 cubic foot or so for maybe 14 bucks. I also bought from a direct importer in southern CA for about 18 bucks for a huge bale (I travel to L.A. quite often)--I think 3 cubic feet, compressed, but it sure seems like more than that once hydrated and deompressed; I think it is 20 lbs dry? Can't recall for sure. And I think this place has reasonable shipping prices, can't really remember now, email me if you want their contact info; they're an orchid supply importer. HTH. Shuttin up before someone lobs a coconut at my head.

The second bark sounds better to me, too. Most importantly, your bark needs to be appropriately sized. 1/8 - 3/8 inch pieces. I use "Orchid Bark" (which is Fir bark) and I screen out the larger pieces. Josh Here is a link that might be useful: Orchid Bark (fine)