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Gene Howard asked about Silca in Cell Walls. Bob Dressler in
"Physiology and Classification of the Orchid Family" discusses the inclusion of
silica bodies in orchid cells sheathing vascular bundles as a presumed
reinforcement of orchid
tissue
[pp 23,25]. However I was surprised to learn from the municipal water
processors that Miami tap water is loaded with dissolved silica, making it
questionable what advantage it is to add additional silica as silicate to our
orchids. When I clean pots with bleach, a source of Calcium, many of the pots
are covered with an acid insoluble white material which cannot be Calcium
Carbonate.and is presumably Calcium Silicate. Why would I want
to deface my pots by adding more silica to my orchids? I suspect, as
long as no valid experimental evidence to the contrary is available, that
the hardening effect on orchids of silicate supplements is just another
horticultural myth. Bert
Pressman
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