Orchid Bark | Orchid Bark for Plants 100% Pure New Zealand Pinus Radiata | Power 3/8” to 1/2" Organic Potting Orchid Bark for Aeration and Longevity

Good

Really like these Orchid bark chips perfect additive for my substrate , Expensive but so far so good

This is the stuff you want if you're potting up small orchids. It's 3/8th to 1/2 inch. In the photo, the pot size is 3" for reference. The bark is small enough to be able to work around the roots in a little pot. Pieces are irregular in shape, creating air pockets for the roots to grow into. Orchiata lasts a long time on the self as long as it's dry. I rinse it and then soak it overnight before I use it. From this seller, I got a full bag, factory sealed, no leaks or rips in the packaging. It was over-wrapped with plastic for extra protection. The bark inside was fresh looking and smelling, not broken down. My old bag was a different design from a couple years ago, so I know this was fresher stock that what I had been using.

I opened this box with Orchiata Orchid Bark in my carpeted living room. Huge mistake! If you order this do not order anything else that might get shipped in the same box with it. My other item was covered in dusty dirt but luckily it was something that could be washed off. The bag says to rinse before using. At first I emptied the whole bag into a large bowl and filled it with water thinking that would work. The bark floated of course. I left it for a couple of hours hoping it would soak up some of the water and then could rinse it off. Three hours later it was still floating but I was able to push it down some and start rinsing. After at least 4 rinses and water changes I gave up as the water was just as dirty as when I started. I got out the strainer and used the kitchen sprayer doing small batches at a time. This worked getting most of dust and dirt washed off. I put it all back in the large bowl with some fresh water and let it soak overnight to use for planting with the next day. I was able to pot up 3 small orchids (4.8" pots) and have enough left to plant at least 2 more of that size. While I was not happy with all the mess in the box and all the rinsing and washing it took to get this usable it worked very well for planting up some small orchids. The orchids have been in the new pots with this Orchiata Orchid Bark for about 2 weeks now and are doing very well. I would use this bark again if it wasn't for all the mess it made and time it took to rinse and clean it. I will try another brand next time. Giving 3 stars though as my orchids are doing well with it.

The quality is not stable. I bought it twice. The first one is great, bark looks red brown and fresh. A few months later, the second one looks a bit black and dark, and even slight moldy. The contrast is very obvious.