In this research, substrate for Dendrobium from earthenware clay and perlite was
fabricated. First, earthenware clay and perlite mixtures were prepared by clay milling and
calcinating perlite powders to become expanded perlite. After that earthenware clay and perlite
powders were mixed in the composition of 9 0 :10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50 and 4 0 :6 0 by
weight. Second part, raw materials and water were mixed together and shaped by slip casting in
silicone mode with the dimension of 14 mm. Then the green samples were sintered at different
temperature in the range of 900-1100 oC. Phase formation, water absorption, bulk density and
microstructure were determined by XRD, Archimedes’ s method and SEM, respectively. After
that Dendrobium growth was studied in earthenware clay and expanded perlite compared with
chopped coconut and China moss for 3 months. The results showed that Dendrobium growth
areas revealed the best performance in China moss plant material, earthenware clay and expanded
perlite and chopped coconut plant material, respectively. The suitable composition between
earthenware clay and expanded perlite of 60: 40 exhibited the highest percentage of water
absorption.