Sphagnum Moss & Moisture Retention

[Eyebabe]

Sphag will not remain overly wet in the center if plants are potted properly and the pot is less than 4 inches in diameter.
I mix my sphag with a good bit of perilite and also place a styrofoam peanut(s) in the bottom core of the phal for the larger (>4 inch) pots.
New Zealand Sphag is my preference and the key is don't overwater it! You cannot soak your plant like you would for bark. You only fill the top 1/2 inch of the pot with water when the sphag is almost dry.
Let it soak in and that is that.

I have used sphag in larger pots for my Phal. gigantea and used an upside-down net pot in the core for that one.

I had problems for years with bark mix and also tried s/h and Aussie Gold mix for my phals. NZSphag/perilite has worked great for me!

I became shy of sphag with phals early on due to rumor and then had a really ironic epiphany:

Background....I am an eye surgeon and we have a saying in surgery: The only way to avoid the risks of having surgery is NOT to have surgery. It's like a "duh" moment.
So one year at a flower show, I want to buy this really cool plant from Fishing's Creek and I asked Steve if it can survive in a different media like s/h anticipating a re-pot. He asked me why would I do that if the plant is thriving as is. I told him because I overwater plants in this media. He said....yeah, you know it: "Then don't overwater it."

I killed a good share of phals at the beginning and blamed sphag too but... Going through bark, then chc, I returned back to sphag and find it the best for phals now.
I find bark and chc are very deceptive about their moistness, where sphag is crusty when dry and easy to check by pot weight or, if it is clay pot, just sticking your little finger deep in a pot to check if it is dry.
I put small piece of a packing p-nut under plants base.
The only rule for me is - pot should be just big enough to fit the roots. Most of my phals are in clay with sphag.
If the size of pot is over 4 inch - I use sphag in a plastic pot with side slits or net pot.
I think everybody finds their way by trying different methods. I am sure you will find yours and it might be different from others ....

[silken]

All of my phals thrive in a mix of sphag and a few bark pieces added just to keep it more open and airy. Most of my phals are ones that I won from raffles at our society meetings. They are the ones a large grocery store is throwing out after they are done blooming or past prime. So often these have root issues and the first thing I do is remove all of the tightly packed moss that they came in and re-pot them in my own mix of moss and bark. Within a month I can see new root tips on the roots and even out the sides of older roots. And I agree, seedlings do better in moss as their pots are tiny and can dry out too fast in just bark. Clouds grows many of their seedlings in moss and they are beautiful healthy plants. The bamboo skewer is an excellent way to judge when it is dry and time to water.

[zxyqu]

Just my two cents here. But in the right hands any media will work. Sphag used to be the devil for me, but recently I've come to really like it. All it took was the addition of some S/H pellets or styrofoam peanuts at the bottom of the plant. This minimizes the amount of media that can absorb water, and will help prevent overstuffing of sphag into the media.
As for your case, constant wet sphag is not a bad thing. I've gotten several compots from Peter myself, and he and others on the big leaf forum suggest a humidity dome for seedlings at this phase. You can find some helpful hints here:
Big Leaf Orchid forum • View topic - De-flasking, humidity solution for compots
While this definitely wigged me out the first time trying it (didn't like the idea of no/little air movement and lots water), it's worked surprisingly well with no indication of contamination or mold/fungus.
All in all, while you may be afraid of sphag, I'd be a bit careful before I switched some seedlings from one media type to another. If the little ones are going downhill quickly, so be it, but switching media types will nearly guarantee the loss of your roots.

[orchidsarefun]

thanks for all the input.
Zxyqu - that's a fascinating read re the plastic container method. I wonder though over the trade-off between natural light ( and a bit of sun/indirect sun ) and the enclosed-in-container seedlings where it may not be as bright.
I think I will have to experiment. I have ordered some other seedlings ( not from Peter ) and I will use these as the test group....they were a lot cheaper.....lol.

[zxyqu]

Well Peter makes some gang-buster crosses, and they've done well for me. I actually grown mine in a Publix cake container, with a few holes, and it gets mostly natural light. Since the container is nearly completely see through, I dont know how much light loss occurs, but I can measure it when I get home. It shouldn't matter though, and seedlings need less light anyway.

[Vanda lover]

I agree that sphag works well for seedlings. I think that as long as the roots get good ventilation there is no problem with sphag. If they are in a clear pot with styrofoam peanuts in the bottom, you can generally tell by looking at the moss whether it's dry or not. I like to put extra holes in the sides to help them dry quicker.

[Angurek]

It's really hard to get watering down with this stuff, and what I don't like about it is that it compacts and suffocates the roots. I may just make the switch to other media in the near future.

[Vanda lover]

That's probably the best thing to do, if you are having problems with it. We are in a very humid climate during the winter and I'm finding that I don't need to water the ones in moss very often. I think it absorbs a certain amount of moisture from the air.