Hi

I grow mostly andraeanum and the hybrids outdoors but in pots in the shade garden I find only two things will kill them a freeze and too much water lol Most are epiphytic so I use a mix of pine bark or crushed lava rock

I would avoid any type of soil and rely on frequent watering as they need very good drainage Scandens has an incredible range in nature so would expect it to be very hardy Are you growing indooors?? gary

I am growing it outdoors right now. Just planted it. It is a cutting with a ton of air roots on it. I have it in a fast draining mix of 3 parts pine park to 1 part potting soil. Is this bad? It is fast draining. Should I change it to all pine bark or some kind of orchid mix?

Hi

Would think you should be okay. I get a LOT of summer rain so have to allow extra drainge for almost everything. I use the lava rock for most epiphytes because it doesn't rot like most types of bark and allows me to overwater lol Keep an eye on it and if it starts to decline from rot you can always switch over. good luck gary

Garyfla,
Would you elaborate on the " a mix of pine bark OR crushed lava rock" for me please.
Thank you and Happy 4 th of July
Fred

Fred

The pine bark mix is larger chips with larger perlite depending on the size of the plant works for most epiphytes Actually a regular "orchid mix " but much cheaper to make it yourself .

Most of my epiphytes have been swiched to crushed lava rock about 3/4 inch size i usually add styrofoam peanuts to bottom half to reduce the weight . Iget almost continuous rains during the summer and this drains well and of course will not rot It has no nutrient value of course so I follow a "Weakly weekly" schedule.. During the dry season I have to water a lot but in my situation the best tradeoff . You can find the lava rock in most box stores usually in a choice of several sizes 3/4 seems to work best . gary

Thanks Gary!