Sphagnum moss
I know that sphag is not right for everyone and that under some circumstances is downright bad - I've seen this myself with mass produced Phals in tightly packed sphag, nothing but rotted roots!
That said, the type of sphag that I have always seen in these pots is the dead brown stuff.
What I have found so far with the sphag moss that I bought last year (and just recently purchased again to do some repotting) is that this sphag is nice and green and continues to grow - though not overly so. This live moss also doesn't seem to decompose either - or at least not yet!
For example, I have Anacheilium cochleatum (syn. Protheschea or Encyclia cochleata, among others names) potted in a clay pot filled only with this sphag. Now, I know that traditional theory would not recommend sphag for a plant such as this that doesn't want to stay wet, but for me, it has worked a treat. I don't have anywhere near the root growth on any of my other plants in this group. It has been potted like this for nearly two years now, and there is no decay or any signs of anything 'going bad'.... (The only trouble is that the roots have attached to the inside of the clay pot, so the pot will have to be sacrificed when the plant outgrows it.)
Since the moss is alive and growing too, does that mean there is less reason to repot frequently? I assume that the moss is slightly acidic, but I've also assumed that unless it is dying and decomposing, it won't get *more* acidic. I don't know if that is a correct assumption?
Does anyone else use live sphag - I rarely see it get mentioned. When people here talk about 'moss' I'm assuming they mean the brown, dead kind that I've taken new Phals out of as soon as I bring them home... Is that right?
Thanks in advance for any ideas, opinions, experience, etc.!!!
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