Sphagnum moss

[Forever-mango]

Wow, didnt know the moss is that important. Now i just want to rip off all my bark and use moss. But it seems to be quite expensive here.

I have read that water orchids planted in moss has to be placed in a dish so the moss can soak up the water from the bottom up. And water from directly above will cause bacteria slim to grow which will block the breathing pores of the moss.

My mum also read in an Taiwanese book that when planted with moss, you must repot the orchid each year. Is this a fact or myth?

[fred]

I water my chids in sphag both ways
I mist the top with a pressure sprayer and I also soak the pots to let them soak up some water ( rain water )
if the moss is packed to tight one might have that problem

with re-potting it all depends on your conditions sphagnum moss does not like direct sun light or very high humidity this will cause the sphagnum moss to rot
one can soon tell if the sphagnum moss has gone off it has a sour smell

I would not suggest taking all of your chids out of bark and put them into sphag
I would suggest to learn how to use sphag first.

[awaxa]

Originally Posted by tansyflower

When I first potted the seedlings, it said to keep the sphag moist but not wet. How do I stop them soaking up too much water??

Hi tansyflower,
In regards to the control of water when using sphag on seedlings:
After soaking and cleaning, one must squeeze as much water out of it as possible.
Seperate the sphag to make it light and not tight.
Wrap the seedlings in the sphag LOOSLY.
The trick here is loosly
When the sphag is loose, regardless how much water you apply, most will drain out.
If the moss is packed too close, it will tend to hold more of the water.
Holding more water may not be a bad thing either, but for seedlings it is surely bad.
If however you are located in a very windy and dry environment, you should not have too much problems with the wetter sphag.
For me, sphag is best used for plants that do not require drying out before watering, but it must also be able to drain properly especially for the seedlings.

[awaxa]

Originally Posted by Hummer344

All of this is very interesting and I am tempted to try spag in a plant or two & I am one person that is against spag. NOW, I will tell everyone that for the causual home buyer that receives an orchid as a gift, or buys one because they are SOOOO beautiful, if they are planted in spag, more than likely the plant will die because of over watering. When I do my class on orchids, to beginners, I have them bring their problem orchids in & those is sphag have the most problems. Sphag to the beginner is a killer, sphag to the hobbiest, like most of us here, is a matter of what works for you.

I tend to agree with you.
As hobbiests we will surely notice trouble early and will tend to make changes earlier than the beginner.
We will more than likely have a growing area for several other types of orchids and may relocate plants accordinly.
The chances that a plant in sphag with the hobbiest to die will be reduced but not eliminated totally.

[awaxa]

Originally Posted by LadyV

Many orchids sold here in the UK have their roots tightly wrapped in Sphagnum moss and nothing else. I always remove the Sphagnum and repot using my own orchid compost mixes with just a little added Sphagnum. My husband is a carnivorous plant enthusiast and always uses Sphagnum when potting up his plants, therefore we always have a good quantity of home-grown and dried Sphagnum. He has asked me to remind those of you who are unable to locate Sphagnum, live or dried, that there is a shredded, dried Sphagnum moss from New Zealnd that is sold in compressed blocks called Supersphag. To revive, just add rain water and each block will expand greatly.The compressed, dried blocks are easy to store too. For more information, see: Supersphag

I hope that helps,
V.

Seedlings do not require drying out before watering, hence many growers use the sphag to keep the seedlings roots moist while growing.
Depending on the type of orchid, for instance, cattleyas, require proper drainage and drying out before watering out when they are approaching mature stage in order to grow and bloom properly. One will then have to pot the plants accordingly.

[plucker]

I find with repotting Cats that a little spag on the top section around the roots helps the plant establish quicker to the new media. I also use volcanic rock lower and styrophome. The plants do dry and drain freely.
Like it has been mentioned, the spag must be packed lightly so it airs and dries out. I find I do have to keep an eye on it as it grows and can need thining at times.
Phals enjoy the biscuit in the middle of the pot with spag, and seem to handle the spag packed a little tighter.

All my spag is soaked in a weak fertilizer mix which also helps things grow along.

[aviator.nic]

Wow, all this information has tempted me to try sphag to get a cym psbulb going. I live in NORTHERN BC, Canda and we have acres and acres of Sphag. It all grows in fairly acidic conditions (bogs) and prefers cool temperatures. We have at least 3 different species and they all tolerate -40 (Celcius) in the winter and up to 30 (C) in the summer. It is buried by snow 6+ months of the year, but still seems to grow like crazy as long as it has moisture. It can tolerate being underwater for a few weeks, but definitely prefers being moist-wet...not underwater. I'm definitely going to bring some home and give it a try! thanks!

[~K8~]

I use sphagnum moss as a thin top layer. I do not allow the sphagnum to touch leaves- I push it away, I learned the hard way leaves dont like soggy sphagnum touching them. I refer to this layer for watering needs. If the sphagnum is dry I water, if the sphagnum is moist I dont. So far so so good. In 12 of 13 (Phalaenopsis, Cattleya, Paphiopedilum, Oncidium, Cymbidium, 1 unknown) I have new growth, roots, shoots, blooms. I dont know if this is the right thing to do but it seems to be working for me.

Just wanted to add I dont think my Oncidium (I hope to correctly identify it soon) probably wouldnt survive without sphagnum, its so very dainty with the tiniest aerial roots.

[Bolero]

I have fantastic root systems on my Pleuro's as a result of using Sphagnum Moss, I recommend it for those above everything else. I have two bulbo's with a mixture of moss and bark and that also works well.

[PhalPal]

I've learned that just about every medium has it's rightful application given the correct environment. I have used them every one of them in various concoctions and like them all for different reasons.

[benetay]

Just a thought, does it affect or degrades the Sphag moss when it's covered with algae from too much light?

Cheers!

[fred]

I have to question if it is Alger or is the sphag growing ?
as regards to too much light one has to try to picture where sphagnum moss is grown
it loves filtered light I have seen it growing on rocks that get covered with snow in winter ( I have even been stupid enough to try and get fresh sphag in winter.. yep you guessed it frozen solid )
here we go I just found these sites DPIW - Sphagnum Moss - Sustainable Use and Management
What Is Sphagnum Moss?
Parks & Wildlife Service - Sphagnum Moss
Sphagnum and Water
http://www.fpa.tas.gov.au/fileadmin/...6_Sphagnum.pdf

I hope this post helps

[benetay]

I'm pretty certain it's algae since this time of the year the sun really heat things up and cause a lot of algae on my mounts and pots.

Thanks for the link!!! Wonderful.

Cheers!

[koshki]

This is very interesting. I just bought some NZ sphag today, and I think I'll pop some in water to see what happens. I bought it at Brooke's recommendation for her masdies, even though I'm still leary about it. Thanks all for this...very informative!

[-K-]

Because of this thread I went out today and pick some up to help tend to an ailing phal, it was a rescue and is on the mend. Having read this I decided it's worth a try to help speed the recovery of the plant, so thank you for posting this; I will post future updates with any progess.
Tkx!

[OrchidJeff]

I am not at home right now, so I can't tell you the exact type of material I am using in repotting my larger orchids, but I am using a combination of the fir chips and a a moss, I put a thin layer of moss on the bottom of the new plastic pot, then the chips, again most, chips again then a thin layer of moss on top, So! anything better I can do...I'll post pics of that also when I can

[OrchidJeff]

I am transplanting the Orchids I have that are not in bloom from I think there 2.5 to 3 inch pots into 4 inch pots.

[Julez]

Thanks everyone for contributing to this discussion. Some very interesting and varied points. Great pictures!

Sorry OrchidJeff, I dont have any answers for you, so I will leave that to the Wiseones

[fred]

I just took a few photos of what sphagnum moss looks like
notice the length and the fluffiness
if one has a close look it has not even been cleaned yet
Tasmanian Sphagnum Moss

[AprilsOrchids]

Originally Posted by fred

what I have done is I went outside and found one of my chids growing in sphag that needed water
you might not be able to see the difference between the two attachments but the first is sphag then needs water and the same one that has been watered I can see its moist

can you see the difference ?

the watered sphag (on the right, right?) looks darker, fuller and maybe a little greener, I think.

very, very interesting.

thx, fred,
April

[AprilsOrchids]

Originally Posted by PhalPal

I've learned that just about every medium has it's rightful application given the correct environment. I have used them every one of them in various concoctions and like them all for different reasons.

this is what i am learning from reading around in the posts on this board.

i don't have any hands-on experience to rely on yet; but it feels good to be filing all this stuff away in my 64k for when i am going to start re-potting and mixing my own medium for different ochids i just acquired X my watering style, which tends to the side of less.

of course, i will be re-reading and asking questions when those times come.

thx everyone,
April