reptile coco bark is not safe for plants, as it is usually treated with a fungicide. I would buy from a nursery supply or hydroponics store. It is usually used for cymb & other orchids & epiphytes. I could see a usefullness in hoyas, but have never used it.

Really? I'd actually heard differently, that reptile bedding was the stuff to choose because it is free of excess salts and anything else, because reptiles are extremely sensitive to chemicals. In fact, you cannot use pesticides in their enclosures, and have to be careful about what kinds of fertilizers you use. What I was told was that you have to be careful about purchasing coco bark/fiber from just anywhere because they're usually full of salts from processing, and that to be on the safe side, look for stuff designated as being safe for reptiles.

I've been using coco fiber sold by a terrarium/reptile supply company for some Phalaenopsis orchids, and in my terrarium for maidenhair fern and selaginellas. Everything's doing well.

Is coir and coco fiber the same thing? I'd heard one negative thing about coir, that it may have contributed to micronutrient toxicity in African violets.

My opinion? Experiment with it, on plants that you can replace easily, and if you get good results, move on from there. I personally am interested in Al's mix at the moment, so that's my experiment du jour.

50/50...lol..
I googled coco bark earlier today, found a site where ppl discussed mixing Coco bark and other mediums for orchids. The moderator, whomever responded, advised to rinse Coco bark before use, mainly to remove salts.
You'd think Reptile bark would be safe for reptiles, therefore it should be non-harmful for plants.

Quinnfyre, is Coir and Coconut husks the same medium?

Oh well, it's okay. I was going to use this bark for Calatheas, but don't want to take a risk. Thanks guys..Toni

Mentha, Please give us more information on your reptile/cocobark/fungicide warning. Thanks.

I found Coco Bark at HD..bought two bags..What a ripoff! 1.5 quart bags, 3.97 each, total, 7.94 plus tax..the bags 'might' fill up 2 orchid pots..sheesh.
There has to be a store/nursery with better prices. What do people do who use bark on all plants? Or those who have huge orchid collections? Toni

I bought a brick from a terrarium supply store. You reconstitute the brick with water. The brick is about the size of an actual brick, but I reconstituted it in a large stockpot, as it was all I had that was large enough. It expanded ridiculously. I filled a jumbo sized ziploc bag to almost overflowing after squeezing out the water to the best of my ability. These bags are 2 gal, I believe? The brick was $4.50. I ordered it online, but that's because I don't drive (no car). You might be able to locate it at a similar sort of location (reptile supply or the like).

It reminded me of those little dinosaur eggs that you get for children... stick it water and it expands into a dinosaur... I thought the coco fiber was going to take over my kitchen. It was a bit of a chore, but kinda fun too.

Quinnfyre, lol. It grew and grew, took over your house.
There's an online nursery that sells something similar or maybe the same thing you bought. After the water is in, does the bark harden?
There's an issue whether or not bark sold for reptiles is safe for plants. Our local PetsMart has it, so if I knew it wouldn't kill my orchids, I'd but it tomorrow..Plus no shipping cost. Toni

Harden? As in, become brick-like again? No, it stays nice and fluffy. One of my Phalaenopsis hybrids came in a coco chip/fiber mix and has always done fantastic, while the ones I'd gotten in bark or sphagnum moss did poorly. (Sphagnum moss and I don't get along, for some reason.) It was because of that Phal that I bought coco fiber, to repot my other Phals into. Once I did, they've taken off. I've also been using it as a substrate in my orchid terrariums, for selaginellas and maidenhair fern to grow in. I made a small terrarium with fittonia and selaginella, and that looks good too. Everything I've planted in it that likes to be moist has done well. I wouldn't say there's any magic quality in it, specifically, but it works well with how I do things, apparently.

I might add that I generally have not used it solely, but as part of a mix. I mix it with tree fern fiber, a Phal bark mix which includes charcoal and perlite, and maybe some extra fir bark I have laying around. Also, I did a smattering of reading about it, and it seems that the dark brown stuff is more likely to be free of salts, where the light tan stuff is likely to be salty, as it gets processed with ocean water.

The stuff that I got is called CoCo Bedding (finer stuff), and Dendro Bedding (a bit coarser stuff), if you want to look it up. Hope this helps.