Phalaenopsis - moss vs bark

[Ray]

The question of "which is better" is undefinable and irrelevant without knowing ALL aspects of an individual's culture.

There simply is no "one size fits all" in orchid growing.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Climate has a lot to do with it. I grow outdoors when I can, and sometimes nature waters even when I don't want to. If I grew in moss at that time, Phals and Cattleyas would certainly lose most or all of their roots. If you always grow in a greenhouse, or indoors, you have a bit more control over water. My relative humidity is often 80-90% in summer, but can drop below 40% indoors in winter.

[rbarata]

In my area, during all summer, the HR is always between 15 and 20%. These values are persistent during several months in a row. For example, the lowest value this year was 12% on May, 22.
Even thought, I use bark and all my orchids are fine with a watering regimen of once per week.
I think it all depends on finding your watering sweet spot. It all depends on the species, climate, medium, etc, etc.

[bil]

Originally Posted by Ray

The question of "which is better" is undefinable and irrelevant without knowing ALL aspects of an individual's culture.

There simply is no "one size fits all" in orchid growing.

Ray has it bang to rights.. He just forgot to mention that come the glorious day, the worthless Mossites will be thrown into a pit of warm treacle, and only the faithful Barkistas will enter into the promised land..

As always it is down to environment and watering preferences. I like bark. I like that I don't have to worry about overwatering.

I do grasp that some people want to only water once a week, or less, but my question would be this. How on earth do you manage to keep a week's worth of water in that pot, without drowning/suffocating the roots?

[rbarata]

As always it is down to environment and watering preferences. I like bark. I like that I don't have to worry about overwatering.

Right!
By using bark, I have more control on the watering.

[turock]

Originally Posted by bil

He just forgot to mention that come the glorious day, the worthless Mossites will be thrown into a pit of warm treacle, and only the faithful Barkistas will enter into the promised land..

Hahaha, can't type through the laughter!

But yes, both bark and moss are resources that have merits for different plants, environments and growers. I love to water my plants, so mounts are great for me. Plus, my environment is super humid in the summer.

But, in the dry winter, i throw moss on top of the bark medium to keep my fragile plants more humid. I also use a moss/bark mixture to transition store-bought plants out of the soggy rotting moss they invariably started in, and into a full time bark medium.

Perhaps I'm destined for plant purgatory??


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[lotis146]

I agree that there is not a definitive answer to this question. Maybe I could give someone the best advice on this if we lived in the same area, had similar plants & similar watering habits. Outside of that so many factors matter you can't just nail down one. Of course my response here is repetitive however I will add this:

So many people here, I've noticed, return to that/those plant(s) they got at the big box store that was packed tight in moss, which is understandable as I have had my own experiences with such plants. That said, it seems this makes a lot of people hate moss when really the reason such plants thrive after repots probably has more to do with the fact that they are no longer PACKED TIGHT. I don't think it's accurate to say the plant is thriving because it's out of moss, rather it's not being suffocated by dense moss.

I like moss sometimes...until you don't have proper air circulation when you bring them inside... but that's an issue for bark too AND another thread.

[veda.maas]

Such interesting and hilarious responses. Haha! I live in Johannesburg, South Africa. Winters are tough. Extremely dry. Humidity around 15-20%. This may be why they suffered. But only my Phals. Lotis146, I think you nailed it. Mine was bought from a very reputable grower, so not packed tight and I think that is why it is happy. Sometimes i only water every fourteen days - if the moss is wet, no water. Now that we have temps in the mid 30'sC, it is at least once a week. And since it has been making new buds on the end of the spike as the rest are dying. Such a big, beauty!


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[Ray]

As I'm lucky enough to grow in a greenhouse, I can put some measure of control on the conditions.

As that is more-or-less "fixed", I use various combinations of containers and potting media components to compensate for the needs of the individual plants. That way, my watering and feeding regimen comes close to "one size fits all", which makes life a lot easier on the grower.

[orchidsarefun]

Originally Posted by lotis146

So many people here, I've noticed, return to that/those plant(s) they got at the big box store that was packed tight in moss, which is understandable as I have had my own experiences with such plants. That said, it seems this makes a lot of people hate moss when really the reason such plants thrive after repots probably has more to do with the fact that they are no longer PACKED TIGHT. I don't think it's accurate to say the plant is thriving because it's out of moss, rather it's not being suffocated by dense moss.

I like moss sometimes...until you don't have proper air circulation when you bring them inside... but that's an issue for bark too AND another thread.

Actually in my experience - and I have plenty in that I have deflasked over 100 phals ( and counting ) and grown to first bloom - tightly packed moss IS the best way to grow phals on, all the way to about 4 in pot size. I read an article, and unfortunately I can't find it to reference, that stated that tightly packed moss is better as its proven to wick away water faster than loosely packed moss. I use the stem of a spoon to pack in as much moss as I can. It works. Further, in other research, someone found/proved that its not the media that causes rot in mature phals, its a chemical produced by the roots. This is demonstrable in flasked seedlings that do have to be regularly replated. With moss I have left phals in for around 2 years before I noticed any issue. There is a reason why the majority of breeders/commercial growers use tightly-packed moss, and its not only because its cheaper to transport the plants. These guys have proven experience. Do you think that all the phals in big box stores and elsewhere are grown in bark to blooming and only then repotted into moss to transport to the rest of the world ?
However as I have said, if you tend to overwater - regardless of your cultural conditions - then moss is not the way to go. Phals need to be kept dry to moist and following that golden rule will get you great phals....and roots... in moss. And probably bark too.
I am not lecturing/preaching/arguing and we can agree to disagree !!
Moss...and phal heaven. Photo is of 4 different phal crosses.

seedlings in moss about to be repotted


Roots from a mature phal on repotting. Grown to this stage only in sphagnum moss.