Quote:
Originally Posted by MattWoelfsen
I grow many different orchids in NZ Sphagnum Moss from Bestgro. That moss is very important for the health of my orchids. It is much more expensive than other sphagnum moss but it actually lasts a long time. It is also cleaner with very view dead twigs, dust, etc. in the bag.
Ironically I like moss as it allows me to water less. Critical to using this media is also the use of fans to circulate air and relative humidity. For pots that are 3" and larger, I also use inverted net pots inside the root ball so that air can penetrate the core of the pot.
Moss is tightly packed in around the plant because it positions the plant inside the pot. Plastic pots that are clear or slightly opaque, or net pots with open lattice is also what I use to pot. I have tried terra cotta pots but in my environment, terra cotta does not work as well.
You should determine for yourself what is the best potting media. All the advise you've been given in this thread is appropriate for that individual. Too many people denigrate sphagnum moss as "plant killers" but in reality, it is the owner's lack of experience that causes plant death.
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I too use NZ moss, and as soon as you use it, you can appreciate how much better quality it is that a lot of mosses that are availlable.
A couple of points.
1. Yes, ramming moss around the pots keeps the plant firmly in place. What I prefer is to pot in pure bark. Coarse for the fat roots, fine for the thin roots. If the plant is wobbly, I place three rocks on the bark to hold it upright. Then after a month or two, I remove the rocks and see it is is still wobbly. Basically, once the roots have taken over the job of support, the rocks are removed.
2. Agree 100% with the comments about terracotta pots. Plus they are heavy and accumulate salts.
3. As said, every grower on here, myself included, will give you the best advice they can, but it will necessarily be based on their growing conditions and experiences. My suggestion would be, if you go with moss, then buy a cheap NOID phal and pot it in coarse bark, so that you can compare the regimens and see what is best for you. Experimenting is the way we find out new things. Blindly copying, while it can work, does not tend to expose us to the learning process.
4. Moss IS a killer. I always joke about the Mossites and their degenerate cult, so far removed from the pure religion of the Barkistas.
The fact is, I would never recommend moss to a beginner, for a very good reason. While it is not the moss that kills, but inexperience, keeping phals in moss requires real skill, and good knowledge. I take my hat off to the people who do well with their phals in pure moss. I simply wouldn't want that much grief. Why would you recommend that method to a beginner, when if they overpot or over water, they will crash and burn?
We should be showing them the easy way to grow phals, and the easiest way is in pure coarse bark. You can't overpot. I know, I've tried. I have had phals in pots that are 14 inches in diameter. You can't over water either, because it isn't the amount of water that kills them, it is the lack of air in the pot because that compressed moss has teeny weeny airspaces, which fill with water, and if they are kept wet for too long, the roots will suffocate and die. Coarse bark has such HUGE airspaces that the water can't fill them, let alone sit in them.
Finally, if you are starting out with orchids, and you haven't got the time to water them three times a week, then why not buy cacti instead?
I use the time spent watering to inspect the plants, see who is putting out new roots, who has a problem, and who is about to present me with a new spike or growth. In short, it's the difference between a chore, and appreciating them. It doesn't take that much time, surely? I use a spray because I find that that wets the medium more thoroughly. I appreciate that that can be messy in the house, but it needn't be When you pot the plants up, cut a shroud out of thin clear plastic that tucks inside the pot, and catches the spray that is likely to bounce off, deflected off the medium. It pays not to over pressurise the spray as if you do there will be more splash.
Use a plant saucer, but instead of placing the orchid pot in that directly where its roots would sit in water, place another, smaller saucer in the larger one, but upside down. The orchid pot sits on that and you water the orchid, wetting the whole surface, until water starts to flow into the saucer. That water can sit there where it will evaporate. Done carefully you should never have to empty the saucer.
Now that's a lot simpler than schlepping orchids to and from the sink.
This isn't intended to start a holy war between Mossites and Barkistas. It's meant to start a discussion about what is told to beginners in the field. We want them to enjoy their first orchids, not have the sort of miserable experience that leads them to give up on the hobby.
If they then decide they don't have the time to lavish that much attention on their plants, then by all means suggest a moss based technique. Just don't try teaching them to run before they can walk.
Plus of course, they might find that walking has its own rewards.
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