Spanish Moss Question

[Sea_Sun88]

I have a Phal, and it is in serious need of repoting. My question is that could Spanish Moss harm it?

[fred]

With the use of Spanish moss i would chop the moss and mix with an orchid mix.

I have never used spanish moss myself i hope other members will have more information on the use for you

http://www.beautifulorchids.com/orch...s/spanish.html

[kmarch]

Spanish moss is in the bromeliad family and isn't a potting mix for orchids.

[fred]

kevin can you explane in more detail as to why spanish moss is not used with orchids.

as you can see with the link i provided that S moss is sold for use with orchids

thanks kevin

[snowballsarebad]

Several years ago, I bought an orchid, and planted it in spanish moss. It died. Granted, it was my first orchid...but...I think the spanish moss killed it.

[kmarch]

Fred, take a look at the link again. The Spanish moss is being sold as a mulch, to spread over the surface for decorative purposes. It's not being sold as a potting medium. One thing to be careful of is that Spanish moss used for floral arrangements is often treated to preserve it. I'm always wary of such treated materials. I've never known a grower, neither hobbiest nor professional that used it as a potting mix. What does it do? It won't hold water, and there are other mix components that do; it could possibly be used to open up the mix, but it would eventually rot and we have other things (tree fern fiber) that do that better and don't break down as fast. Every purpose that it might serve, that I can think of, we have someting else that does it better. And pricey......sphagnum and other mix components are cheaper too.

[fred]

thanks for that kevin that explanes things very good

I have heard of spanish moss but as i have said i have never used that.

give me sphag any day as we know I love the stuff



I just thought this link might be worth alook

http://www.beautifulorchids.com/orch...chid_moss.html

[kmarch]

Fred, All the Florida folks, and members from some of the other southern US states will know Spanish Moss well. In some places, the trees are thick with the stuff. I've heard (although not seen myself) that it can even damage trees by growing so heavy that it breaks the branches.

[Sea_Sun88]

Hummm, I think I might just need to buy orchid mix because my Phal seriously needed to be repoted. I just use spanish moss as a temporary fix. Since I have some that a friend gave to me. It grows like crazy. and it absorbs water so that is why I thought it might work. Also why are the leaves like that?

[sandra]

Fred, I think I love the sphag also. I repotted all of my oncidiums (2 large, 6 small) in the sphag and it's just so much easier knowing when to give them more water with it. Also, I love watching them soak up the water. It's like magic seeing the moisture rise! My plants are doing 100% better in them as well!!!!!!

Originally Posted by fred

thanks for that kevin that explanes things very good

I have heard of spanish moss but as i have said i have never used that.

give me sphag any day as we know I love the stuff



I just thought this link might be worth alook

http://www.beautifulorchids.com/orch...chid_moss.html

[fred]

Originally Posted by sandra

Fred, I think I love the sphag also. I repotted all of my oncidiums (2 large, 6 small) in the sphag and it's just so much easier knowing when to give them more water with it. Also, I love watching them soak up the water. It's like magic seeing the moisture rise! My plants are doing 100% better in them as well!!!!!!

Sandy that is what I like to hear.

to hear how much better you find Sphag and to hear how much better your Orchids are doing makes me happy.
I have to agree with sphag on mounted orchids.
Once you know how the sphag works with water it is good stuff to use.

A good news post

Well Done Sandy

[kmarch]

Originally Posted by Sea_Sun88

Also why are the leaves like that?

To me the leaves look dehydrated. There are 2 things that can cause a plant to be dehydrated. The first is simple, not enough water. The second is unhealthy roots. If the roots are too severly damaged or if they are rotten, the plant will not be able to take up any water and the plant will become dehydrated.

Are the roots healthy? If yes, then get the Phal in a proper mix (see the Phal culture sheet on the AOS website or on this forum) where it won't dry out. If the roots are black, grey or mushy, they are rotted. Cut them off and repot in a proper mix. If, after oyu cut all the rotted roots off, the plant has no roots left, see the thread on this forum regarding the "sphag and bag" treatment for rootless orchids.

If you have questions let us know.

Good luck!

[Sea_Sun88]

Originally Posted by kmarch

To me the leaves look dehydrated. There are 2 things that can cause a plant to be dehydrated. The first is simple, not enough water. The second is unhealthy roots. If the roots are too severly damaged or if they are rotten, the plant will not be able to take up any water and the plant will become dehydrated.

Are the roots healthy? If yes, then get the Phal in a proper mix (see the Phal culture sheet on the AOS website or on this forum) where it won't dry out. If the roots are black, grey or mushy, they are rotted. Cut them off and repot in a proper mix. If, after oyu cut all the rotted roots off, the plant has no roots left, see the thread on this forum regarding the "sphag and bag" treatment for rootless orchids.

If you have questions let us know.

Good luck!

The Phal has unhealthy roots. I mounted it for a while but it was hard to water everyday. It was is sphag, I put it in spanish moss hoping it might work but from the replies I think its not a good Idea.

It does however have new roots that look healthy.

Can I mist the leaves also?

Thanks Kmarch

[prisana]

Sea Sun88--I think Cynthia mentioned a while ago that phals do absorb "some" water through the leaves, so give it a light mist a couple times a day, but make sure the water doesn't sit in the crown..that will lead to rot if it doesn't dry out quick enough.

Spanish moss that we collected here came wigh fleas , don't know what kind of fleas, but I think they were fleas or mites !! It's also probably stealing the moisture from your phal that's why it's growing so vigorously.

[kmarch]

The reason people mist Phal leaves is because Phals like some humidity. If you can, give it humidity, 50-60%. That's preferable to misting.

[Sea_Sun88]

Originally Posted by prisana

Sea Sun88--I think Cynthia mentioned a while ago that phals do absorb "some" water through the leaves, so give it a light mist a couple times a day, but make sure the water doesn't sit in the crown..that will lead to rot if it doesn't dry out quick enough.

Spanish moss that we collected here came wigh fleas , don't know what kind of fleas, but I think they were fleas or mites !! It's also probably stealing the moisture from your phal that's why it's growing so vigorously.

Oh my. LOL I never knew that. Thanks for the info. I will definetely take the spanish moss and hang it on my tree that is growing on my front yard. I will try something else.



Chelsea