Kiwi Orchid Bark has been used exclusively at Sunset Valley Orchids for the last 5 years. Over that period, we have grown and finished in KOB over 100,000 plants.

I have experienced no problems with KOB and that is one of the main reasons I use it. KOB holds up extremely well and exhibits little to no appreciable decay, even after 3-4 years of use.

The year to year consistency of Kiwi Orchid Bark has been exceptional.
I am convinced that it is the best Orchid Bark on the market.

Fred has commented more on this website under the heading "Products" "Kiwi Orchid Bark". 

This is what Nola and Grahame Hill said:

"We commenced operating an Export Cut Flower business some 23 years ago in Bell Block and moved to Urenui and had our bark requirements supplied locally but when Hans and Anita purchased the business some 18 years ago we found the service, supply and quality greatly improved.

Using mainly grade 3 bark, we were impressed with the length of time we were able to leave the Bark in the pots/bags before we found it necessary to renew the Bark making it very cost effective.

Still using the Bark but in lesser requirements today, due to retirement, we find the quality and consistency has remained the same.

Now we are using other grades for what we class as hobby varieties, we find the quality remains across all the grades and with the introduction of the grade 3FB we feel this product will be a worthy replacement for the growing of Disa orchids as Sphagnum as a growing media becomes difficult to obtain and very expensive.

From our experience with the use of bark supplied by Bark Products Taranaki Ltd , we have no hesitation in recommending all the products they produce"

Belinda Holmes,
Orchid Grower,
New Plymouth.

I have been growing orchids for nearly 40 years having started in my late teens. Over this time I have grown many genera and also used a wide variety of growing media. More than 25 years ago I began growing Pleione orchids. However this was not at all successful for most of those years. I spent hours making my own mix using a veriety of media from potting mix to sphagnum moss with little success. 

Upon moving to Taranaki 14 years ago I discovered Bark Products Taranaki as a source for all grades of excellent bark which suited my collection perfectly.

My Pleione growing abilities became very successful, recently, when I started to use  3FB produced by BPT. The growth and flowering of the bulbs planted in 3FB is extremely satisfying. Unlike other growing media there is no limit to the application of fertilizer and the products stays fresh for a good couple of years.

I have found it important to never let the 3FB dry out and it seems that there is no limit to the amount of water you can apply to these potted plants.

Anita and Hans continue to work hard to supply quality products. I have no hesitation in recommending all of the various grades of bark, specially 3FB, that they supply. 

Leroy Orchids are proud to have been involved with the Auckland Orchid Club's "Gold Award" and "Supreme Horticultural Award" winning display at the Ellerslie International Flower Show 2007. Many of the orchids in this display were grown and exhibited by Leroy Orchids and we believe Kiwi Orchid Bark contributed significantly in attaining this supreme award for horticultural excellence.

All our plants are grown in bark purchased from Bark Products Taranaki as we have found this bark source to be of excellent quality, reliable and is an important part of our winning formula for growing plants which frequently win top prizes and awards at orchid shows throughout New Zealand.

Bark Products Taranaki are a wonderful firm to deal with and their product range allows ample choice for growing all types of orchids in NZ. We believe that their bark had a significant input in achieving the highest possible horticultural award at the Ellerslie International Flower Show 2007.

We would recommend the use of Bark Products Taranaki's supplies to all orchid growers to assist them to produce orchid plants of show winning quality.

Lee and Roy Neale
Leroy Orchids

The following Testimonial is from George Fuller, who passed away on Friday the 18th of June 2015.

We had the honour to work with George so many times. He was a big believer in our product and always gave us support and made us believe in our products. George will be sorely missed.

His Testimonial;

Since retirement in 1990 I have gone from being professionally involved with orchids to now being a hobby (amateur) grower and breeder of orchids. My collection of about 1,500 plants is comprised of approcimately 500 disa's, 500 masdevallias, 200 pleiones, 70 cymbidiums, 50 odontoglossums and a diversity of other genera. All are suited to cool to intermediate growing conditions and are watered and liquid fed by manual over-the-foliage application. The quality of my plants and the standard of their cultivation are regarded by my peers as being of above average status.

Shortly after BPT was founded in 2000 I detected they were able to supply freshly crushed (raw) bark in three graded particle sizes of consistently high quality so I began obtaining all my orchid bark requirements from that source as did many other orchid growers throughout N.Z.

In the winter of 2005 I was entrusted by BPT with running a pilot trial of a new product comprised of a fine form of freshly crushed bark, now called 3FB. 
I have been very impressed with 3FB now released onto the market and stand by the suitability of this product for a wide range of orchids.

I use all of Bark Products Taranaki's substrates straight from the bag without any form of pre-treatment or blending with other materials because my research has proven that they present no risk of damaging plant tissue. In general use of these products with most genera there does not seem to be justification for mixing with other media providing watering and feeding routines are adapted to the particular requirements of each type of plant being cultivated.

My experience has also revealed that all of them can be relied upon to perform reliably for at least three years by about which time repotting is more likely to be required because of congestion of the plant than deterioration of the substrate. Some growers even reuse the substrate several seasons.

On personal level I am most impressed with the dedication and ingenuity exhibited by Hans and Anita in the running of their business and have always found them to be very courteous and thorough. In my experience their business acumen is based on integrity.

The conclusions that I have reached are based around my sixty years of involvement with orchids during which time I have held positions of responsibility and have been the recipient of numerous awards and commendations of both national and international consequence.

The late George Fuller, MBE.,NDH.,Kew Cert., FRIH.

For many years now I have used both potting mix and bark from Bark Products Taranaki. I have no hesitation in recommending these products. The different grades of bark have always proved more than satisfactory on commercial landscaping projects that I have been involved with.

Our property is a Garden of National Significance and I make a feature of large container plants and hanging baskets. Bark Products Taranaki provides the growing medium for these and I have stunning results. We use the potting mix in the nursery with a wide range of plants and have always had excellent results.

Dealing with Hans, Anita and their staff has always been a pleasure.

Jenny Oakley, Bachelor Horticulture

We were the very first customer of the forerunner to Bark Products Taranaki over twenty years ago when we went into 100% production in containers using granulated bark.

We have stayed loyal through the years because we are perfectly happy with both the quality of the product and the outstanding service. We have never had a bad batch. The mix is consistent and weedfree. It is a pleasure to deal with Hans and Anita who are always efficient and obliging. We are happy to recommend Bark Products Taranaki and to endorse their product.

Mark and Abbie Jury
Mark Jury Nursery