Hi, Jane. I'm glad to get your update on this. I guess AG isn't the panacea I hoped it would be.

I'm an over-waterer in winter, as you know.

I didn't like the AG for phals-- stayed too wet, and only one (Baldan's Kaleidoscope, the Unkillable) thrived. The rest fretted in a game of gaining and then losing roots. Put them all in pure sphag where they do wonderfully.

There's no question that the AG slogan about how you can't overwater in AG is plain not true. And I proved it! :P

Catts and oncids in winter did okay. Any losses were mostly small new plants that came compromised and just didn't get a good start.

A few had outstanding root growth, eg an Iwa Apple Blossom and an Oncid that absolutely filled an 8" pot to the rim with roots. The soft-leave encyclias like cochleata love it too, and fill every inch of the pot rapidly.

But mostly, some catts were too difficult to get the watering right and by January I was repotting them into (shallower) bulb pans. This was despite real effort to hold back on watering. Now I'm finding the bulb pans a little too shallow for the drying out they get outdoors.

So it's not a cure for overwatering of catts and oncids, either.

What I've mostly decided is that my love affair with catts and oncids has to end. This was my third year with them. Enough's enough, even for me.

I was terribly disappointed to find that the encyclias and many to most epcs have not bloomed this year, even tho they are mature. I love them, but they are just too much effort for minimal to no flowers compared to phals. If they won't bloom, what good are they to me? I think summer sun isn't enough to bloom them, they need high light in winter, which I just can't give.

I never thought I would entertain the thought, but it's true-- in my conditions they are just too much work for no return.

So I'm growing more phals now. They are so much easier to bloom, and the new ones are ravishing and long lasting-- some individual flowers last more than two months. The magenta/purples are such a brilliant saturated color that they glow at you from more than 20 feet away. And I love the glossy sheen so many of the new ones have.

Anything that doesn't bloom beautifully and bountifully by the end of summer won't be brought in in the fall.

BTW, I know you don't adore phals, but I met a lady who grew phals in pure diatomite and watered them exactly once a week, no more, no less. She had several dozen in bloom, and gave me one, which turned out to have wonderful long roots wrapped around the largish chunks of diatomite at the bottom of the pot.

Maybe some large chunks of diatomite at the bottom of the pot to hold a little extra water for longer?

Jane, the basic mix i use is 10-15% Diatomite and the rest treated pine bark and Coconut Chunks. There must be a cutoff point where it becomes cheaper to make your own mix rather than to use a prepared mix.
Then there are all sorts of variations to your base mix such as adding pebbles or a bit of spag depending on the Genera.
In another post Howard says Fir bark is best. Sadly Fir Bark is no longer available in Australia so we make do with pine bark.
Can you buy a 40 litre bag of Maidenwell Diatomite in the USA and will it cost a zillion dollars?

I think here that would be about $30.

My plants are potted in such a 'mish-mash' of stuff, I can't even keep track of it anymore. It's whatever mood hits me at repotting time. I usually know fairly soon what is working and what isn't. Arthur, you would be amazed at what some of my plants are in. Before AG came along, I used rock, clay pieces,gravel large chunks of Coconut and bark. If I can keep up with watering indoors, the Catts do the best in a very open, airy mix. But the best has been AG for the Catts.

Mehitabel, light is always the bottom line. Winter without a greenhouse or good lighting is almost always a failure. What is the point if there are no flowers? I know your frustration. I have a bunch of plants heading for auction at our summer OS raffle. My problem is with some of the intergenerics. Some make me want to scream. I keep trying something different and another year goes by without flowers. It doesn't matter if i'm freezing them, baking them, keeping them wet and drying them out - no flowers - lousy looking plants. Some though, have done a complete reverse in AG. Roots all over - still no flowers, but keeping my fingers crossed on those.

I have 4 old Phals left, but have bought two of the newer hybrids. You are right about the colors and length of bloom. I do get so bored with them though. I had two still in flower since Feb. Not new blooms, the same flowers with fading colors. Like silk flowers left in the sun too long. How funny - I cut off the spikes.
My old Phals are planted in straight CHChunks and haven't been repotted in a few years.I use CHC with a little sphag and keep it very loose. I haven't tried any in Aussie. I don't like sphag straight. I do mix it into everything though. Just too uneven in its drying out.

But the catts and dens in AG are amazing. All my spring/summer catts are either blooming or getting ready. I think I might spring for a bag of diaomite and play around with it. I really find that I can't overwater it. Maybe my humidity is so low in winter it dries out very fast. I could water every day and it would be dry. Are you potting too big? My problem is keeping the plants hydrated. If I recall, your humidity is higher and temps cooler.
Well, so much for a miracle potting mix...

Jane

I have a bag of the paph/phrag mix that a buddy of mine loaned me,haven't used it yet. Just don't have the time or patience to do so yet. I have become a terrible UNDERwaterer. I need to get my butt in gear and try it to see what the results are.gb

I mix perlite and diatomite with sphag for phals and they do very well. Mix has good air flow while holding moisture. I'm about to repot some of them and am planning to try to salvage and reuse the diatomite in each pot.

What is in paph/phrag mix? I can bloom Encyclia's like a fool but can't bloom a phrag to save my life, just grows and grows

Clara

ginibug, if your mix is the AG for paphs, it will probably dry out quickly. I honestly don't know how Mehitabel can overwater this stuff. I suspect her humidity must be high. I am a bad under waterer also, and AG is a challange with Catts. I am going to try mixing some sphag into it for anything other than Catts.

Now, *that* made me laugh, Jane. I don't know how I overwater it, either. But I'm a hard case, all right.

Actually, I think maybe the fans 24/7 down there in a not so big room dry the top inch or so out while the bottom stays wet. Anyway, that exonerates me, so it's a good enough excuse.

Clara, I do not own any Phrags, but from convesations with OS members, lots of green leaves and no flowers seem to be a common complaint.

Anyway, this is getting away from the topic. How much Diatomite is there in Aussie Gold mix?

Diatomite is the other possible reason for my overwatering. I have been putting about an inch or so of big-chunk diatomite under the AG. Also, there's a screen to keep the black part of the AG from just flowing out, and this slows the pot drainage down some.

Maybe that's why the bottom of my pots stay too wet. I started doing that to spin out the AG when I had only a little, and then just kept doing it.

I had the best results with catts when the AG was dry enough so the mix fizzed when I watered it. But of course, that's after-the-fact, not useful for decisions.

I'm sure the AG website says how much diatomite, arthur, but I don't know. Visually, it's less than half.

Read Howard's post on "How to Drown Proof 'Chids". It has your answer about why your encyclia's are not blooming and/or how its possible to over water.
You said it yourself:

"dry the top inch or so out while the bottom stays wet"

You had mentioned in another post that you don't have the light to give.

That's exactly the issue I struggle with as an indoor grower; formerly outdoor where things dry more evenly. If you don't have the light to give them, you cannot give them that quanity/frequentcy of water.

We all talk here about water and light a lot. The truth is that Orchids grow in what non-orchid people would consider shade. Watering, vastly different from the typical house plant, almost none by comparison. If there is not enough "light", water is almost like acid. Damages the roots. No medium will prevent this. But it is very preventable. Do not lift the watering can or mist bottle. Easier said than done. Become Jane on just 1 orchid. You will see the difference.

Clara

I tried AG and was not impressed...I keep my plants on the dry side to avoid rot siutations that can arrise overnight in S Fla. It was not the product I'd hoped for and have since repotted into good ol' reliable Aliflor.

I've had good results in Aussie Gold. Mostly for seedlings and small plants. It's mostly a mixture of diatomite, and finely ground coconut fiber. For my mature larger catts, AG doesn't work well, and good old mixture of fir bark and ground peat work well.

Hey folks,
This is an interesting thread. I have wondered about that mix. Never used it and after this probably never will.

I wanted to share with you a new mix I am using. I talked with a guy that grows catts amoung other things and about 7 years ago because of the bark problems here in the US, he started making his own mix out of cypress mulch/perlite/peat or promix. He got excellant results and the stuff is cheap to mix up. You can get it all at lowes. I have started using it for cymbidiums and cattleyas and will try it a year to see how I like it. It drains excellant and it keeps a moisture that cyms and catts like. If my plants grow anything like my friends, I will be more than pleased, hes got unreal root growth.