Sphagnum Moss can cause serious illness????

[Lindanc]

OK I was reading about repoting and I came across this:
"When handling Sphagnum Moss wear gloves, becasue it can carry a fungus that can cause serious illness in humans".

Am I being dumb to be a little concerned about this - I just pulled mountains of this stuff out of three orchids, in my kitchen, no gloves, and I do have a cut on my hand.

Has anybody ever heard of this or gotten this?

[Jerry Delaney]

No one is ever dumb to be concerned about their health. You will find out to perhaps be even more concerned when you get to become involved with the wonderful medical program called "Medicare"! There are many different types of moss that are referred to as "sphagnum". Without going into a great deal of explaining, most orchids are potted using what is termed "New Zealand" sphagnum. This even adds more confusion since much, if not most of the so called "New Zealand" sphagnum comes from Chile. Most likely, the moss you read about concerns material harvested from the peat beds in the northern USA and Canada (often referred to as "Canadian sphagnum). Indeed, there have been cases of severe fungal infections in humans handling this material. When using this material, (and sometimes people do use this type of sphagnum in some potting mixes), one should not only wear gloves, but should also wear a dust mask or respirator. They have never isolated this fungus from New Zealand sphagnum. I do not know about the so called New Zealand sphagnum that comes from Chile. By the way, I ALWAYS wear plastic gloves when repotting orchids but it is to protect the orchids, not me. Repotting orchids with your bare hands is one of the easiest ways to wind up transmitting virus from one orchid to another. I use the frugal (cheap is bad but frugal is good) painters gloves that I get at a local Dollar store. They are $1.00/100 gloves and I change them between each plant.

[GreggC]

that had problems from handling orchids, and I strongly believe that this was the cause. Also, my wife also always wears gloves while handling orchids, because she had a fungal infection, too. I took both of them some time to get rid of it, especially the gentleman who was a club member.

[Lindanc]

I guess what is done is done and I will wear gloves from now on. Since I have mostly Cattleyas this was the first time I had encountered them in moss. I read some on the internet about this and it is mostly a skin infection that can be hard to get rid of but some people (rarely) can get very sick and even die - usually folks with a compromised immunity


I was also concerned with doing this in my kitchen. I usually repot on a potting bench in the garage but I had had some work done on the house and the workers made a mess out of my potting bench and I just didn't take the time to clean it up. Guess I won't do that again either! I don't like to pot up plants in the kitchen anyway just due to the fact of possible chemicals used.

Viruses on orchids??! Well, if one of these has a virus they all do! What do the viruses do? Is repotting the only way you can transmit it? Since my collection is small I have always repotted one plant at a time so this is the first time I have done this too. Should I isolate these new orchids and if so for how long?

Would a bleach solution be good for sterilization of my cutting tools?

[Ray]

Whoa, Jerry!

If the sphagnum is New Zealand sphag, it's from New Zealand. If it's Chilean, it from there. The quality is determined by the species, and the same ones don't grow in both places. If you've been getting "New Zealand" moss that originates in Chile, you've been getting ripped-off!

The fungals disease is called sporotrichosis. Look at this: Disease Listing, Sporotrichosis, General Information | CDC Bacterial, Mycotic Diseases

I have had a mild case, and it was simply bumps on the skin near a scratch, because I didn't wash my hands thoroughly enough after hacking up large bales. It's more of an issue if you inhale the spores, which a hobby grower is unlikely to do.

As to viruses, there are all kinds that do all kinds of stuff to the plants. Orchid Viruses Article - August 2004 - River Valley Orchidworks Newsletter

Repotting, per se, does not spread virus. Cutting or breaking plant tissues provides the opportunity for them to be spread (that's why you should sterilize cutting tools between plants), as does splashing water from an infected plant to another during watering, or dunking them in the same bucket - a real "no-no". An insect biting one plant, then another, can also spread them - a good reason to keep your collection critter-free.

[Lindanc]

Thanks for the links Ray!

I don't think I inhaled spores the moss was very wet, how about ingesting?? I did this in the kitchen, although the kitchen was cleaned with Lysol VERY well afterwards.

I printed the virus article. From this I'm thinking I can place my new arrivals with my collection - but mabe several feet away. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I have dunked orchids in the same water but have seen no bad effects from this and all of mine are over a year old (most 3-4 years) and have bloomed so I think that mistake has not been detrimental. Guess I will stop doing that too.

I think my collection will stay on the small size until I learn more! That will be hard to do.

[Neverend]

Oh shat, I use my bare hands all of time... lucky nothing happened to me, and it's alright now since I've switched to using LECA.

[cb977]

I've always went with the assumption that when dealing with anything that was once alive, such as moss, care should be taken. If you have or get a cut or scrape from a plant (and who among us hasn't done that?) then it should be cleaned well and for good measure an antibiotic ointment be applied.

It's always a good idea to wear gloves, for the protection of the 'chids and ourselves.

As for cleaning tools, I have been told by many folks I trust that the most efficient way to sterilize is by fire, like a small kitchen butane tank. I know this...yet I haven't done it I use a bleach mixture.
We once had the head gardener (not actual title but I can't think of it, sorry) from the National Conservatory in Washington D.C. as a speaker and she told us that she uses a different knife for each plant she works on...and then discards them! I find that to be overkill but what a great way to spend OUR money!

[Lagoon]

I've used a few times before using gloves. Even when I got stabbed my some pine sticks, pretty sharp stuff. I just cleaned up real well and nothing came from it.

I agree use gloves when working with moss, it only a few secs to put them on

Sue, we're you thinking master gardener?

[cb977]

Sue, we're you thinking master gardener?

Something like that