Silly question about sphagnum - Orchid Board

Narnia · #1 08-01-2009, 01:04 AM

I have two young nbs Masdevalias planted in sphagnum moss and they are new and the only orchids i have planted in this medium. Frankly, they've been stressing me out. I'm pretty sure I've repotted them 4 times in the last week. I kept feeling like the moss was too wet and compact. Finally, and I hope to leave them alone now, I have them in a 50/50 moss and pearlite mix which I hand wrung out very firmly before lightly planting them in it. Here's my question:

Now that the mixture is actually kind of drying out, how do I water it without it becoming a soaking wet compacted mass? I don't want to have to take it out every week to "wring it out" and fluff it back up. I'm sure this isn't how other people do it.

What is your method?

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #2 08-01-2009, 05:13 AM

50/50 sphag and perlite is how I grow my Disas (the sphag is the SuperSphag brand, the roots don't get tangled up in it), so I don't see why it doesn't/shouldn't work for you and your Masdevallia. My Masdevalia solomonii is in SuperSphag and small bark, and this drains very well. I've been thinking about switching from bark to perlite with my Masdevallia so the media doesn't break down as quickly.

As for making sure your media doesn't compact. If you've got a plastic pot, just squeeze it. Or you can use the blunt end of a toothpick and loosen it up that way. An advantage of SuperSphag is that it's easy to prevent the media from compacting because it's loose sphagnum "leaves" without the rhizomes.

King_of_orchid_growing:) · #3 08-01-2009, 05:16 AM

BTW this is not a silly question. This is a very valid concern for a grower. Ignorance of how wet the media stays and whether it will compact will cause many headaches and heartaches later down the line.

Ross · #4 08-01-2009, 10:26 AM

Mine are mostly in fine commercial Paph mix. There are a few in pure sphagnum and they do just as well for me. The only trick will be to keep roots moist, but not soggy - hard to do with sphagnum IMO.

Ray · #5 08-01-2009, 10:58 AM

Water from the bottom!

Sphagnum has great capillarity. Set the pot in a shallow tray and let it wick up the liquid. You don't even need to wait for it all to get saturated - leave it for a few minutes, and the absorbed moisture will be spread throughout the mass in a few hours.

Narnia · #6 08-01-2009, 02:26 PM

Ray, thank you! This is what I was looking for. I tried to water a little from the top and my nice airy fluffy mass started to sink. Maybe if I just fill my humidity tray a little higher than usual on days I want to water, that will solve the problem.

Weebl · #7 08-01-2009, 03:21 PM

If watering using the method Ray suggested, make sure to flush the pots once a month or so to keep mineral buildup to a minimum. I also think you'll be surprised at how compact and wet sphagnum can get with roots still doing just fine.

I have a Masd. coccinea in a Coconut husk perlite 50/50 mix and it's watered every day without being given a chance to dry out even a little bit. The ones treated this way in my collection are doing the best, putting out more and stronger growths than the others.

What I am trying to suggest is don't be afraid to try something new, consistency is appreciated and you might be surprised!