Orchid mix..with bugs??

[Orchidnewbie2]

Hello everyone. I am new at growing orchids. My boss left me hers and now I went crazy and bought some of my own. Being a newbie I watched videos and found this great forum. I went to home depot and purchased the Better Gro Orchid mix. I let it soak for a bit and then I potted my orchid. I was looking at my plant to day and in horror I saw little tiny white bugs crawling in and about the mulch. I freaked and thought my bosses plant had mealy bugs. Imagine my surprise when I look at the medium that I had in a bucket had the same little white bugs. The bugs are tiny almost looks like lice. Is this normal for this bark product? should I have sanitized it with Mealy bug spray? The tiny bugs did look like baby mealy bugs.

I now transferred all my orchids to moss.
any advice? do you guys sanitize your Medium before using it? Thank you in advance for your advice.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

They don't sound like mealies. They sound like springtails.

Mealies are tricky to get a photo of, but you can still do it with a magnifying glass and a standard camera lens.

Springtails are pretty much impossible to get a proper photo of without special camera equipment to enlarge the image of the subject being taken a picture of.

Mealies do a great deal of damage if left unchecked.

Springtails mind their own business eating fungus, algae, and detritus.

---------- Post added at 11:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:50 PM ----------

Mealies have this powdered white sugar coating with some cottony fluff around them.

Springtails look like microscopic grains of rice.

[RosieC]

Sounds like springtails to me as well.

They don't harm your orchids, but often we advise people that they are a sign the medium needs replacing... but yours is new.

However the first medium I ever bought for repotting orchids was already rotting in the bag. How does it seem, does it smell? (Mine smelt, and I should have taken that as a warning) Is it very broken down?

[Orchidnewbie2]

ewww Springtails...thank you all for the response. I just purchased the mix from HomeDepot. I have one bag which I am going to return. I went out last night and bought orchid moss. I am waiting for my shipment of orchid plastic pots to come in to plant them but I hope I dont kill my orchids by replanting them yet again...... its hard being a newbie!

[kindrag23]

Originally Posted by Orchidnewbie2

ewww Springtails...thank you all for the response. I just purchased the mix from HomeDepot. I have one bag which I am going to return. I went out last night and bought orchid moss. I am waiting for my shipment of orchid plastic pots to come in to plant them but I hope I dont kill my orchids by replanting them yet again...... its hard being a newbie!

Please don't feel bad about that.....we have had such high winds here lately it has pulled my small greenhouse up and away..scattering them all over the place breaking the pots and knocking them out of the pots completely. So far they are still kicking and thriving anyways.

[Cym Ladye]

I personally would never use moss on my orchids, especially moss you purchase at Home Depot! For those more advanced growers who have had success using moss, it is usually New Zealand spagnum, which is not available at the box stores. Just because you got one bag of one type of orchid mix, does not mean that all bags of all orchid mixes are bad! There are many different types of orchid mixes on the market. I would go to a nursery or a hydroponic store and find a bark or a coco chip product. If you only have a few orchids, you can also buy mixes on line, but this is far more expensive.

It would be helpful if you gave us the types of orchids you have and in what part of the US you live. "All orchids are not treated equally" and environment plays a big part in what you plant them in.

[Orchidnewbie2]

Originally Posted by Cym Ladye

I personally would never use moss on my orchids, especially moss you purchase at Home Depot! For those more advanced growers who have had success using moss, it is usually New Zealand spagnum, which is not available at the box stores. Just because you got one bag of one type of orchid mix, does not mean that all bags of all orchid mixes are bad! There are many different types of orchid mixes on the market. I would go to a nursery or a hydroponic store and find a bark or a coco chip product. If you only have a few orchids, you can also buy mixes on line, but this is far more expensive.

It would be helpful if you gave us the types of orchids you have and in what part of the US you live. "All orchids are not treated equally" and environment plays a big part in what you plant them in.

I used moss as my emergency medium because I have hydroton Leca clay medium due to arrive on Saturday. I did not know what else to do.... I will also be receiving my pots on Saturday as well. I will then transfer them to the hydroton and hopefully they will survive their newbie mom and her crazy antics.

---------- Post added at 12:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:26 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Orchidnewbie2

I used moss as my emergency medium because I have hydroton Leca clay medium due to arrive on Saturday. I did not know what else to do.... I will also be receiving my pots on Saturday as well. I will then transfer them to the hydroton and hopefully they will survive their newbie mom and her crazy antics.

Forgot to mention:
I live in Chicago, IL. USA. I believe my orchids are Phals. They are store bought from home depot. I brought them home...took them out of the packed moss and placed them in bark mix. Then the bugs started coming out and then the newbie problems began.

[WhiteRabbit]

Re: moss from HD - the one near me sells Better Grow branded sphag and it is pretty decent

[kindrag23]

Originally Posted by WhiteRabbit

Re: moss from HD - the one near me sells Better Grow branded sphag and it is pretty decent

I use that too when I can get it, works pretty well.

[Cym Ladye]

Are you growing S/H?