The thought of creating a terrarium crossed my mind, so I was wondering what ground medium would be best and if ground cover moss, or living spanish moss is OK to use next to orchids?
Thanks.
Orchids will be fine next to spanish moss (tillandsia usneoides, right?) if thats what youre asking (Sometimes people even choose to grow vandas with spanish moss around their roots). Orchids are friends with pretty much any kind of moss as far as I know.
However, the spanish moss might get pretty large.
As for the ground medium, try live sphagnum. It looks really nice and some orchids can grow in it.
A little hanging Spanish moss is fine, but it is not a good planting medium, if that’s what you were thinking.
Personally, I think the best thing is to leave the plants in individual pots, surrounded by your medium of choice. (I used fine Orchiata bark.). That way, if you need to provide some pruning or extra care, you can easily pull it, then rake over the hole it left behind. It makes rearranging things much easier, too.
If you’re looking to mount the orchids in the terrarium and want a good ground cover, I’m finding Selaginella kraussiana to be vigorous and attractive. You can pair it with the Spanish moss hanging off your mounts with the orchids.