I am gradually transferring my orchids to growing them in a medium of grit to which nothing is added. This I obtain cheaply for a local builder’s yard. I use an indicator which when red means I need to water and after watering it turns blue, thus taking all guesswork out of the ‘to water, or not to water’ problem. Having heard from a member of the U.K. Internet Orchid Club that this is what he uses with great success, I with some trepidation, but a couple of ailing orchids into this medium and within weeks saw a big improvement and in a few months, new growths were emerging. Now whenever I buy a new orchid I transfer it to this medium and below you will see pictures of two orchids that previously I had little success in growing i.e. Miltoniopsis and Paphiopedilums. Now those orchids I used to find difficult the Odontoglossums and the two already mentioned, are amongst the easiest for me to manage. My advice is give an ailing orchid a try in this type of medium and see what happens. They do need watering more often but not that often. When I go away for a week or more, I water well before going and then stand the pot in a dish with about an inch of water in the bottom and over the last year my orchids have flourished.

Miltoniopsis grown using this method:


Here is one of my favourite Pahps, thought to be Paphiopedilum moquettianum:




and a photograph showing the grit it is growing in:




This is a recent cutting of an Epidendrum potted up in alpine grit:




I hope you agree that these are looking healthy orchids and will maybe have a try at growing one or two using this method. I use a watering indicator to help me decide when to water but these are not strictly necessary as it is really quite impossible to overwater this medium as water runs straight through.