commentary on growing in sphag

[janet_a]

found this while looking for something else; good overview of the pros and cons


http://www.robert-bedard.com/orchids/nzs.html

[pikespeak62]

I have no luck growing in moss.
I know to water less, but I think the plants get cold in my house, keep the moss cold and wet, and rot the roots.
Just my personal experience.

[Maba]

I'm also from Colorado. Your cold and wet explanation is as good as anything to explain why I don't have good luck with sphag. I thought it would be ideal with our dry climate, but no matter how carefully I water, I have problems with it. Now, what to do with that "mini bale" I bought.

[pikespeak62]

Glad to know it's not just me!

[mayres]

Add me to the group as well! Every orchid I've tried in sphag has been a nightmare. Bark seems to work fine! You make a good point about the environmental temperature - that might be my problem as well to a point - I tend to stay on the cool side here in Oregon - winter months October through March. Every time I read posts from people who are bragging about the wonders of sphag I wonder - ?????

[pikespeak62]

We need some input from those who like it!

[janet_a]

well i liked it for a while; very dry house in the winter; but now i've repotted into a combination of sphag and bark. i've learned the hard way you *really* have to repot regularly with the stuff or it *does* get concretized and retain too much water.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Maba, hang on to the moss. You will need it for sphag and bag. I personally only use sphag in very small pots, 2" to 3", and for a few months on some who need a special kind of care for a while. Cynthia, Prescott, AZ

[lydia]

I am an "amateur" and have one in sphag and one I just bought in bark (with some extra aphids for free) so dont have a coment about the bark but Ive had great luck with the moss with fert. with just schultz orchid food 19-31-17.

[Laura]

Growing in New Zealand Moss I love the stuff. I get much bigger Phalaenopsis growing in baskets of Nz Moss. I also line my wood slat baskets with NZ Moss, set my Cattleya in and fill around the roots with my bark mix. This makes some nice Cattleyas this way too and when the Cattley need to be repotted I just nock out the bark mix and add in the new mix. If the nz moss needs replace I pull it out and replace with new moss. The Cattleya does not even know it was repotted. The Phalaenopsis that I grow in the wood slat baskets are filled loosely with nz moss. I live in Missouri and winter all my orchids in my house, on south, west and east windows. Summer the orchids outside, in my patio.


hope this helps...

[jerrymeola]

Well for a comment from someone that likes sphag -it is me for certain uses.

I pot all my oncidium alliance in sphag. Nothing else seems to work as well. Most Flordia commercial nurseries grow all their phals in sphag. I would not even consider bark for a phal, altough, I use hydroponic for many of my phals.

I use sphag extensively for mounting orchids. I used a full cubic foot this weekend at the Green Thumb Festival in Sait Petersburg mounting about 100 orchids.

[Luci]

I grow all my phals in NZ moss too. I have tried bark also, but my Phals grow and bloom better when they are in NZ moss.

I use sphag on all my small orchids in pots like masdies and pleuros etc.. I tried bark and a coconut husk mixture but they didn't fair well. I have a very low humidity environment and the moss seems to work better.

[Maddy]

I like sphag or sphag and bark for my four-inch phal pots because it doesn't dry out as quickly. Anything over 4" I prefer sphag and bark.

I started using about a 1/4 sphag, 3/4 bark mix for my small catts because the pseudobulbs on the ones in the 4" pots were starting to shrivel even with regular drenchings. It solved the problem nicely.

[TDogCA]

Hey Folks,

An orchid newb here. Yesterday I received a beautiful Harlequin Phal; a big sucker with 2 spikes! :-) It's planted in Sphagnum Moss and like others in this thread, I've had BAD luck with this medium. My question is... how do I go about watering this plant? It's in a 5" plastic pot.

I understand that it won't need to be watered as often as the others planted in bark, but I'm afraid that if I run it under the sink for a couple of minutes like I do with the others, it will collect too much water. Is it better to pour just a small amount in? Suggestions?

[Aniko]

If the pot has holes at the bottom to permit a good drainage, don't worry! The running water is needed to wash away the excess of salt from fertilizer, preventing deposition which can damage the plant.

For a good control of moisture there is a method:
Skewer use for watering of orchids

GOOD luck
Aniko.

[TDogCA]

Originally Posted by Aniko

If the pot has holes at the bottom to permit a good drainage, don't worry! The running water is needed to wash away the excess of salt from fertilizer, preventing deposition which can damage the plant.

GOOD luck
Aniko.

Great! Thanks Aniko!

[atcrosby]

My two cents is that moss has some applications. As Cynthia mentioned the "sphag and bag" is one but I also use on top of my non-organic medium (e.g. lava rock) to help reduce the amount of watering needed. It seems to work for the Dens but they are forgiving plants.

I have not had any luck with Oncidiums or Phals in the roots stay too wet even with pots that have slits up the side. I thought I had pots that were too big but smaller sizes didn't work either.

Dont' have the greenhouse or sun room yet so the mounting is an idea but the time isn't right yet.

[Aniko]

I don't know what makes the difference...I was tempted to switch from sphagnum moss to bark or something else, wen I read all the complains about it. But it works so well for me.
Aniko.

[Maddy]

Originally Posted by Aniko

I don't know what makes the difference...I was tempted to switch from sphagnum moss to bark or something else, wen I read all the complains about it. But it works so well for me.
Aniko.

Like the old saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. As long as your orchids are happy, that's what counts.

[Aniko]

I agree!!!....But sometimes it happens that you can hardly stop and not try.
Aniko.

TdogCA, get some wooden/bambooo skewers from the grocery store. Trim one down to an inch or so above your medium. Put the skewer into the sphag and leave it there. The next time you go to water, take out the skewer and hold it to your cheek or lip. If it's wet, don't water. If it's nearly dry, water. How wet or dry the skewer is before you water will depend on what type of orchid it is. For phals, it's damp or nearly dry.

[TDogCA]

Originally Posted by orchid126

TdogCA, get some wooden/bambooo skewers from the grocery store. Trim one down to an inch or so above your medium. Put the skewer into the sphag and leave it there. The next time you go to water, take out the skewer and hold it to your cheek or lip. If it's wet, don't water. If it's nearly dry, water. How wet or dry the skewer is before you water will depend on what type of orchid it is. For phals, it's damp or nearly dry.

Hey There,

Thanks for the advice. I found the thread on the bamboo skewers and popped one into the pot. It's amazing just how much less water this medium needs compared to fir bark!