mold in quick drying moss?

[OrchidNut555]

I've made sure that the moss i use dries out every few days as to not overwater my orchids and to avoid fungus. today i spotted little green specs of which i'm 99% sure are mold on both sphagnum moss and a dead root. I use moss because soaking with bark would be hell for watering. not to mention summer would be...impossinle to keep up with wqtering

The pots have *lots* of ventilation holes, have very fluffy spagnum moss, with bark, perlite and air pockets. i only water enough enough to make the moss moist, it's never soggy. And yet i got specs....

I don't have any good photos myself (i tried
it's not visible on the photo due to a crappy camera), but they look like the specs in the photos in this reddit post: Reddit - Dive into anything

This is 100% what i have as well. someone said it's algae but this doesn't look like algae to me

any tips are welcome...I've been trying to grow orchids on and off for a few years now, with bad results every time due to bad watering. now i finally have the watering down so it dries at a good pace, so i'm a bit at a loss of words here...i'm very passionate about it, but it never seems to work out. it's really getting to me now...i'd just like to be able to grow orchids for once.

[Dimples]

I’d assume it’s algae too, but even if it’s a fungi/mold, most don’t actively attack living tissue (too much of a hassle). I get the occasional spot of something growing in my pots and so long as the plant is healthy it eventually goes away without any intervention. The fungi pop up when conditions are right, eat & grow, then conditions change (including running out of food/material) and they die off or go dormant. If you grow plants you will see this from time to time and 9 times out of 10 it’s nothing to worry about. Watch it and check back if things change.

[dbarron]

Well, I know you'd heard this before (surely), but moss is probably not the best media for most orchids. Yes, you can grow almost anything in almost any media, but some are much simpler than others.
Details? What are you trying to grow ? Where are you ?

[OrchidNut555]

Originally Posted by Dimples

I’d assume it’s algae too, but even if it’s a fungi/mold, most don’t actively attack living tissue (too much of a hassle). I get the occasional spot of something growing in my pots and so long as the plant is healthy it eventually goes away without any intervention. The fungi pop up when conditions are right, eat & grow, then conditions change (including running out of food/material) and they die off or go dormant. If you grow plants you will see this from time to time and 9 times out of 10 it’s nothing to worry about. Watch it and check back if things change.

this is quite relieving to hear...just to be prepared as i don't want to end up failing at orchids *again*, what should my courde of action be? it just got repotted into this media, just for context.

[Roberta]

There aren't really any "bad media"... there are "inappropriate media" depending on the type of orchid and your conditions. So work backwards from the root environment that you want to achieve. Moist all the time? Sphagnum can be very good. To make it more airy, you can use a plastic basket instead of a pot, to get air circulation - then it will dry faster. . Need to mostly dry out? Sphagnum can work but you will have to observe carefully, you want to get "almost dry" but not dry-dry which then can be really hard to rewet. Truly needs to dry out? Moss not so good for that last reason. Once it becomes crispy-dry, it needs a good soak to re-wet. So... it can be great for Pleurothallids, Maxillarias, Oncidiums, Paphs. With careful attention to "almost dry" conditions. can be good for Phals. I would not use it for Catts or most Vandas (though certainly can work in the "caution" scenario with Neofinetia falcata)

[OrchidNut555]

Originally Posted by dbarron

Well, I know you'd heard this before (surely), but moss is probably not the best media for most orchids. Yes, you can grow almost anything in almost any media, but some are much simpler than others.
Details? What are you trying to grow ? Where are you ?

i've actually heard the opposite...i can't keep up with watering otherwise

---------- Post added at 02:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:41 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Roberta

There aren't really any "bad media"... there are "inappropriate media" depending on the type of orchid and your conditions. So work backwards from the root environment that you want to achieve. Moist all the time? Sphagnum can be very good. To make it more airy, you can use a plastic basket instead of a pot, to get air circulation - then it will dry faster. . Need to mostly dry out? Sphagnum can work but you will have to observe carefully, you want to get "almost dry" but not dry-dry which then can be really hard to rewet. Truly needs to dry out? Moss not so good for that last reason. Once it becomes crispy-dry, it needs a good soak to re-wet. So... it can be great for Pleurothallids, Maxillarias, Oncidiums, Paphs. With careful attention to "almost dry" conditions. can be good for Phals. I would not use it for Catts or most Vandas (though certainly can work in the "caution" scenario with Neofinetia falcata)

the plant itself is doing fine (except for the restrepia). i wasn't asking per say if my media was bad or not, since the plant is ok, i was more so wondering how to avoid mold in moss. it's a cattleya seedling that came in compacted moss that was doing very well in it. naturally so, as it's still a seedling.

[Roberta]

If you adjust the medium for each type of orchid, you can then water everything on the same schedule, and get the different results that the different types need. As your collection grows, you can't possibly give individual attention to each plant, you'll just make yourself crazy...

Example in my yard... there's an area that gets nearly full sun, in summer that's all day. The light is good for Cymbidiums that need to stay moist, and also for Laelia anceps that needs to dry out fast. So I hang the L. anceps over the Cyms. The Cyms are potted in plastic pots, in small bark. The L. anceps are either mounted or in baskets with little or no medium. In summer, both get watered every day (automatic overhead sprinklers) The Cyms stay damp, the L. anceps are dry in 2-3 hours. Both are happy, and I don't have to make any special accommodations. (I do every 2 or 3 days in winter) I think about it when I repot every 2-3 years, as opposed to thinking about it every day, who needs watering and who doesn't???

[OrchidNut555]

Originally Posted by Roberta

If you adjust the medium for each type of orchid, you can then water everything on the same schedule, and get the different results that the different types need. As your collection grows, you can't possibly give individual attention to each plant, you'll just make yourself crazy...

Example in my yard... there's an area that gets nearly full sun, in summer that's all day. The light is good for Cymbidiums that need to stay moist, and also for Laelia anceps that needs to dry out fast. So I hang the L. anceps over the Cyms. The Cyms are potted in plastic pots, in small bark. The L. anceps are either mounted or in baskets with little or no medium. In summer, both get watered every day (automatic overhead sprinklers) The Cyms stay damp, the L. anceps are dry in 2-3 hours. Both are happy, and I don't have to make any special accommodations. (I do every 2 or 3 days in winter) I think about it when I repot every 2-3 years, as opposed to thinking about it every day, who needs watering and who doesn't???

Very understandable. But i still don't know how to ensure no momd in my moss.

I have a masdevallia loving its moss setup. it's been in there for 2 years. roots like nuts and grows like crazy. no mold or anything. yet the moss on top of a heat mat that dries up in 3 days is getting mold. is there a general way to avoid this or take care of this?

[Roberta]

I have never had mold in moss, I do get algae. Algae is no problem at all, does no harm to the plants.

---------- Post added at 05:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:56 PM ----------

If you're getting mold (not algae) try putting a small fan in the area - better air circulation should take care of it. Then, whatever you're getting is probably harmless.

[OrchidNut555]

Originally Posted by Roberta

I have never had mold in moss, I do get algae. Algae is no problem at all, does no harm to the plants.

i have to sayvi was pretty surprised myself. I've had algae before and i agree it's fully harmless. My masdevallia has some algae and it doesn't mind. it'd always been a bright, lush green with algae though. these dots have more of a bread mold colour. it surprised me, as it's fluffy, airy, ventilated and dries up rapidly....