Tips? For Rpotting W/sphagnum?

[~K8~]

Personally I am sold on Sphagnum for my Phals.

I've started my clear glass repotting project. 5 down.... lots to go. I can see clearly now (ahem, sorry, I crack myself up more than I do anyone else) the Sphag is packed too tightly. After 4 days I can see its holding too much moisture, still too wet. There are places where I had to push it down with bamboo to get it in between the roots.

How do fill in nicely with out it getting too compressed?

Thanks, Kate

[mehitabel]

You may already know this, but it's the only hint I have

First wet it, then squeeze it dry, then fluff it up. It is now what sphag should be -- moist and fluffy. Using a light hand, put it in around the roots, a few threads at a time. Don't pack it tight -- it's just lying around the area of the roots, creating humidity for them. In the center of the plant, put a couple of styrofoam peanuts or something else that doesn't hold too much water.

Does your glass pot have holes? If not, use extreme care watering, just add enough water to barely moisten the sphag.

Secret is, you want the sphag moist, not wet.

[kmarch]

I was going to recommend 3 points regarding the use of sphag: 1) loose, 2) loose, and 3) loose, but I like mehitabel's characterization of it much better. Fluffy doesn't sound nearly as unseemly as loose.

[fred]

just to mention with the term loose I agree with that but the sphag has to be able to support the plant as well
if the sphag is to loose the plant will lean over or fall over

I get the long strands and wrap each root in circular motion until I end up with a ball looking type
I make the ball slightly larger than the pot its going into then with both hands round the ball put a little bit of pressure on the ball so it fits nicely into the pot

sphagnum moss is a great medium to use for some chids

it really takes time to learn how to use sphagnum moss

I have never used the skewer method when I use sphag but with practice one can tell by the weight of the pot if water is needed and again with practice one can tell just with looking at the sphag if water is needed

[digitalgate]

Or you can have a stick and tie the plant to a suport.(here is when u really get creative with tie , kont)

[FLBob]

When I repot my Phals using Sphag the first thing I do is to make sure that I'm potting to the root mass. If my available pot is larger than my root mass then I need to fill the pot with something non-absorbent. More packing peanuts, or more of the non-cork wine corks than I would normally use for drainage.

My moss is in a bucket of water, where I add some KLN, I grab a handful of moss and squeeze out the excess water.

I Lay the moss on my bench and straighten out the individual strands. Good long fiber moss should be at least 5 inches long.
With the Phal laying on it's side I will lay moss length ways (what will be up and down or vertical when in the pot) in to what is the middle of the root mass.

Then I will pick up the plant and place it into the pot. I've already tested the plant /pot for fit.

Some of the moss is likely to fall as I move the plant from the bench to the pot. Looking into the pot and roots I will look to see if there are gaps in the moss. If I think more is needed I take a strand of moss at a time, using a thin but stiff wire, and push the strand into the roots.

Then around the edges I lay the strands so they will be horizontal. I will pack the perimeter of the pot densely enough so the plant is secure.

On the top I place the short moss and bits to cover.

My thinking is the the vertical strands in the center will shed water to the bottom drainage area, while the horizontal strands around the outside will hold the water better. I use clay pots so the clay drys the perimeter moss quicker.

By sizing property, the plants rate of transpiration should pull the excess moisture out of the moss in a day or two. If things are too wet after a couple of days, try adding air flow or light.

I don't let the moss dry. My moss is always moist. So the skewer method does not work for me. I do use the finger method. I stick my finger into the moss, but to examine roots not to tell if things are moist or dry.

[~K8~]

Mehitabel, You were right. Last night I dug out the moss and I obviously didnt ring it out enough. When I repotted it didnt get nearly as packed. And yes we have drainage- we've drilled it ourselves. So far so good.

Fred and FLBob, What a great idea to wrap the roots. I didnt know I could buy such long S.M. Does it have a special name?

One thing I really like about the clear glass is I can really tell the moisture level in the medium. I cant wait to have all my orchids converted.

[Undergrounder]

1) If it comes in the bag already damp, try and sterilise it before you use it. Either pressure cook it for 15 mins or steam/boil it for half an hour.

2) As already mentioned, wet it and then squeez ALL the water you can out, so that it feels damp without dripping.

3) Stuff it all down there, don't overpack it but no need to do it loosely necessarily either.

4) Water it lightly, such that it always feels cool and damp without ever feeling dripping wet.

5) Watch plants thrive!

[Irene]

Now I get it! The whole thing about using good moss.

When I started out, I bought the cheap moss because I didn't know better, and, it was cheap.

Tonight I bought the more expensive moss, just to see. Wow! It's a totally different moss! It's light and fluffy, not heavy and swampy. And even though it was more expensive, I used a lot less of it because, well, it's fluffy.

This moss just seems so clean and healthy in comparison. I think it must be much better for the plants and easier to control moisture than the soggy cheap stuff.

Fellow newbies, it is my opinion that it is worth it to get the better moss. Really.


(thought this would go ok with the 'how to repot with sphagnum' theme)

[Irene]

Comparison for those like me who didn't know. I grabbed a random handful from each bag, wet it, squeezed it out, fluffed it:

side by side


cheap moss


not as cheap moss (but really not that expensive either)


There you have it!

[mehitabel]

Thanks for the great post, Irene. Really shows the difference! Thank you.

[kmarch]

Fantastic and extremely helpful post Irene. Thanks!

[Undergrounder]

ugghh yuck i can't believe the stuff on the left is available for sale... that's horrible.

There's an excellent overview of using sphagnum moss here:

Robert Bedard Horticulture : Growing Phalaenopsis in New Zealand Sphagnum

[Brooke]

Thanks Undergrounder, it was interesting rereading Bob's sphag recommendations.

For people afraid of sphag, try adding an inert ingredient with it to help with compaction from normal watering. I love tree fern "sticks" but many use charcoal, perlite, diatomite to keep the sphag open and free draining and allowing air/oxygen exchange with the roots.

Brooke

[jerrymeola]

When you have to do hundreds of Phals in a day it becomes a routine.

put some sphag in the middle of the roots so they do not break as you squeeze the roots. Put some sphag in your hand and lay the Phal on top. Add some more to all sides until it is a little bigger than your pot. This takes about 15 seconds when you get the feel of it.

Then lightly push the whole package into the pot. I can do about 100 an hour like this.

I do not wring the moisture out of the sphag except from what comes out naturally in putting it in the pot. The sphag will dry during the week to any level I want and a few wet days will not hurt. Leaving it wet allows it to stay looser and it is faster to use.

Long fiber sphagnum is a natural fungicide but the beneficial results only last about 9 months. Annual repoting gives tremendous results.

[Schlyne]

I also mix mine a little bit dry and wet when I'm filling in the pot to make sure I'm not getting spots that are going to be to soggy and then I lightly water the entire plant when I'm done. (I pot everything that has spagh in air cone style slotted pots from repotme though).

If you can get Chilean spagh moss, that's the high quality stuff, from what I recall. That is the stuff that I was getting from N.E.R.D (New England Reptile Distributors) as part of a ball python humid hide package. The stuff sold at lowe's so far under the name AOS orchid moss seems to be about the same or slightly lesser quality to that so far. (I haven't gotten very far into my new 'brick' yet though).

[Irene]

Now you see why I was moving my plants to S/H! Everything was dirty and soggy. I'm thinking of moving my phals back to moss, good moss, to see if it goes better.

[plucker]

I have used moss for a while now with great success. However I live in the tropics which might make a fair difference to my opinion.

I use other media like styrofoam in the bottom of the pot to help air circulation.

I use spag for the top inch of the pot around the root ball of the orchid and pack it in loosely. I soak it in 1/2 strength fertilizer straight out of the packet and squeeze it dry before putting it in a tupperware container ready for use.

I break the spag up to slow it growing as it will grow out of the pot and clog the pot up for me i no time if I dont. It also stays wetter longer in that fashion which I dont like personally.

When I water, if it does not freely drain out the bottom of the pot and pools on top, then it is time to consider repotting as the air circulation has also stopped.

The biggest advantage I have found with spag is that it doesn't give the plant set backs like other media can. It also drains well when packed right and I get zero root rot. All the roots in my phals and cats are green and healthy when I grow in spag whereas other medias, I find I have to cut a fair bit of rotting roots out.

[katrina]

Originally Posted by Schlyne

If you can get Chilean spagh moss, that's the high quality stuff, from what I recall. That is the stuff that I was getting from N.E.R.D (New England Reptile Distributors) as part of a ball python humid hide package. The stuff sold at lowe's so far under the name AOS orchid moss seems to be about the same or slightly lesser quality to that so far. (I haven't gotten very far into my new 'brick' yet though).

Actually...the New Zealand sphag is the best. There is more than one grade of NZ...but they are all better than Chilean. If it doesn't say NZ...as in some of the box stores 'bricks'....expect a lesser grade of moss.