Bargain Bin Phals in Sphag

[Fabolusus]

As I was walking by a local plant shop, I noticed a row of phals with no flower spikes. As I can't resist a good deal, I went in and talked the sales lady down to $16 for 2! They are both in excellent condition, both have well established root systems with almost no rot. I did my normal procedures- I wiped off the water spots on the leaves with lemon juice diluted in water, I cut off the rotten roots with a sterilized exacto blade and packed cinnamon into the cuts and put both plants on an isolated shelf under 2- 95 watt compact flouros, where they will stay for 30 days. When I water them, I plan on giving them a dose of superthrive and start them on the MSU fertilizer. My only problem is that they are both planted in sphag, in terra cotta pots. All of my orchids are either in S/H, or in a bark mix. These phals have obviously been thriving in the sphag, so I don't think I should transplant them into anything else. So, my question is- Does the skewer method work with sphag? Also, I leech all of my orchids once a month to try and purge any salt buid-ups. How often should I do this for orchids planted in sphag? Thanks in advance...

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I understand that sphag can build up fertilizer salts faster than other mixes. Maybe you might want to fertilize at half the usual schedule.

The terra cotta will help the sphag to dry quicker, but I only use sphag in very small pots, so no real exerience here. I would expect the skewer method to work better with sphag than bark, as the skewer will make very good contact with the sphag.

[mayres]

Unless you want to see how you do in sphag I would transplant them into whatever your other plants are in - you can transplant phals pretty much any time. I know this media has been discussed several times already - there seems to be a love/hate relationship for the most part. The majority of plants I find in it have significant root rot. Good luck with the watering routine. As Cynthia has suggested, the terra cotta pots will help it to dry quicker than if they were in plastic pots.

[Fabolusus]

Maybe I will transplant them...I was reluctant after reading this article:
http://www.robert-bedard.com/orchids/nzs.html
In the last paragraph, it says,"It seems that different types of roots develop in the two media,(bark and moss) and it takes some time to grow a new root system when changing media." Is this true?

[Aniko]

My Phals are in Sphagnum moss (they were my first orchids, and that time when I got them, I knew nothing about other mediums) They have many leaves, healthy, strong root system and bloom. I water always with luck warm running water, and use the skewer method to control moisture, it works very well to me.
I also was tempted to replant in something else, but finally I've resisted...If something is going well no reason for change. Maybe later, when I have more plants I'll try just to experiment .

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Might be true. I always change to my very unusual mix and there does, indeed, seem to be a readjustment period, but can't say which way the plants are changing for me. My mix is 3 parts small perlite to 2 parts Canadian peat. Is this moss like or is this bark like? Can't say. Fact is you can grow in almost anything if you get the watering right. If you are careful with the watering, it may be better to let them go for a while, and let them spend the time adapting to your environment before adding the additional hurtle of adapting to a new mix.

[mayres]

Fabolusus - that was an interesting article and he brought up some good points. I can't quite buy the "different types of roots in different media" concept though. I immediately remove any phals I get in sphag and put into another media and the same roots continue to do the job that mother nature intended - as far as I can determine. We all know that these plants grow on trees in the wild with NO media, so the media we choose is for our benefit and each of us comes to a conclusion as to what type works best for us in our particular environment and our mode of plant care. I would still stick with what works for you unless you want to try a plant or two in alternates to see how you like it and how it compares with what you are currently doing. I used bark exclusively for awhile initially because I was prone to overwatering and this seemed to keep my plants alive. The longer I grow phals the more I find for me that the media that keeps moisture longer is less work and the phals seem to thrive in it - commercial growers tend to use the more dense media in order to reduce the amount of work involved (less watering). Will see long term if mine continue to do well in coir, perlite and a little charcoal ( a fairly dense mix). On another note, one of the senior members at our orchid society last night announced that he would NEVER plant any of his phals in ANY media - they are all mounted. He soaks his plants once per week and mists every day - and has succussfully done this for years. I have realized in locations like southern Florida and other tropical places that this works well, but was surprised to find someone in Oregon doing this - probably in a greenhouse though, which would mimic the conditions that they like. Enough said - good luck with whatever you choose. mike

[Ellen]

The bottom line of all this seems to be that phals will do well in just about any growing medium if the watering is OK. I have phals that are in bark, others in sphag, others mounted. All grow and bloom. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. What you need to watch out for, especially with plants in sphag, is damage from overwatering by the box store, garden store, or other similar outlet. Even if the plants were healthy when shipped by the grower, ignorant employees may pour water on the orchids every day, along with the tomato plants. The resulting root or crown rot may not be obvious at the time of purchase, so it is good to exercise caution when buying from sources that do not actually grow orchids. I know one of our local home improvement stores sells hybrid phals and dens for $20 plus, abuses them terribly, and when they're dying puts them on a sale table at 10% off! Not sure what they're thinking.

[Aniko]

"I can't quite buy the "different types of roots in different media" concept though."
"We all know that these plants grow on trees in the wild with NO media"

What you say Mike, makes sens to me.This is why I think that aerian roots are not very different from the others and can get adapted to the medium if covered.
Ellen, I have 2 phals in recovery now, from the treatment you describe...

[Fabolusus]

Thank you all for the fast responses! Mayres- I think I will take your advise and see how they compare to my other phals. I think I should learn how to grow orchids in a variety of mediums, and not be turned off to something just because it's grown in sphag.

[Aniko]

Why such a bad reputation and disregard for Sphagnum moss ?!...It's a good stuff if handled as needed or bad, if mishandled...

[mayres]

Aniko you are probably correct, but I believe the most common problem with newbies and orchids is overwatering. Bark and other porus media is much more forgiving to the people who don't know what they are doing and just water regardless of whether or not the plant really needs it. Also as has been mentioned by several on the forum, many big box stores and other short term vendors (that are not growers) tend to know nothing about what they are doing while the plants are in their stores, and they overwater significantly and have the poor plants on their way to an early grave before they are even purchased by unsuspecting buyers. Then we get people on the forum asking why their plants are doing so poorly - and they have no idea that the issues that caused their demise occurred BEFORE they were purchased. Many of us (maybe you too?) have walked through a place like Lowes or Home Depot and seen a group of phals potted in sphag sitting in trays of water with droopy leaves at 1/2 price. It is hard to not take pity on them, but to make the effort wothwhile (at least for me) it has to be a lot cheaper than half price, which unfortunately doesn't happen that often in my neck of the woods. mike

[Aniko]

Of course Mike, I agree in every respect.
What I'm trying to say is that not the poor moss is to blame for all that trouble. It's to blame lack of experience, knowledge, or neglect.
Aniko.

[mayres]

Yep. Unfortunately it is not quite as forgiving as some other options.

[jerrymeola]

Just a few quick additional comments.

In Florida almost all commercial growers grow Phals in sphag. Phals like to be moist all the time and not dry out.

S/H is fantastic for Phals, when you re-pot use it since you are already comfortable with the product.

[Fabolusus]

Thank you everyone..