rePotme Phalaenopsis Monterey Dark Imperial Orchid Potting Mix - (Mini Bag)

I won't get any other orchid potting mix, this stuff is amazing. I've repotted 3 orchids at my office and they have had amazing growth since then. I let the mix soak in water mixed with Organic Plant Magic and those orchids grew so much - and so quickly! My orchids aren't in the most ideal climate in an office - but I soak them overnight one a week to make the mix is completely saturated and alliws for a nice humidity in the pot.

Great service and a great product.

Expensive, yes. I feel this mix is a bit over priced and that is why I took off one star. But having said that, I did buy more as my phalaenopsis orchids seem to be quite happy with it. I started out with their "small/junior" bag and ended up buying the "regular" size bag as I needed more. The "small/junior" sized bag (16oz?), let me repot one six (6") inch and one five (5") inch orchid. So as you can see, that small bag won't be repotting a lot of orchids. So that is why I feel like it is a bit over priced. But I do still feel it will be worth the money. Pro's - 1. Provides good aeration for my phalaenopsis roots that they really need. 2. High quality of bark, lava pebbles (?), good quality of spagnum moss, will see that mix lasts longer and won't break down as fast as cheap brands will. This also means that I will not need to repot my orchids as much. 3. Pieces of bark and "lava pebbles" are not too small as to quickly compact around orchids roots which can then hold too much water that can lead to root rot. But you will have to water more, keep that in mind with this mix. 4. This is an American made product! Con's - 1. Expensive to be sure! 2. As said above. This mix provides great aeration for phalaenopsis roots, but it does not hold or "store" much water. This can be great for roots, but more frequent watering may be needed. 3. Depending on the the bag you get (as in how the mix is put together at factory), you may want or need to add some extra moss to your pots. I had plenty in mine, but some have said they did not get enough. 4. Bark pieces are bigger and that can make your repotting of your orchids a bit more challenging. I found that I needed to work the pieces into and around my phalaenopsis orchids roots a bit more than with a mix that has much smaller pieces. I also used plant stakes to hold orchid in a more upright position that I wanted. Once my orchids get more new roots, this should not be a further problem at all. I had really neglected my orchids, and as a result of this, they did not have many good roots left. So as you can see, there are good things and some not so good things with this product. At this point, I feel like this is worth my money. If I find out later it really isn't, I will updated my review.

This orchid mix is the easiest to use when filling in the space between roots. The variety of shapes and sizes combine to create a supportive foundation that allows plenty of aeration and not too much water retention. In the product description there was no mention of ingredients, which I wish were listed. To me that is more important than claiming to be "hand mixed" which seems unlikely.

I bought the mini bag (1.5 quart) of the Imperial Dark blend. The bag had EXACTLY enough to repot my two phalaenopsis orchids... One in a 6 inch pot and the other in a 3 inch pot. I immediately noticed that this blend is far superior to the orchid potting mix I had bought previously from a big box store. Instead of lots of dust and crumbly chunks of bark, this blend was very "clean", as clean as a potting mix can be anyway. This has sizeable chunks of bark that is not crumbly, pieces of white sponge rock, some threads of sphagnum moss, and these brown balls, which I am guessing are the "hydroton". I don't know what hydroton is, but it looks pretty cool! Now I have to Google hydroton and find out what it is and it's benefits. Anyway, I can tell that this mix is going to let a lot more oxygen get to the roots of my phals, because it is chunky and lightweight. And did I mention that this mix even smells good? Good as in earthy. A pleasant scent. It also does not need to be soaked before usage. Just repot, water, and put your orchid in its happy spot in your home. I am very pleased with my purchase, and definitely plan on using rePotme mixes when it comes time to repot my orchids again!