Sphagnum moss - Orchid Board

shakkai · #1 03-11-2008, 11:00 AM

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.!!!

snow · #2 03-11-2008, 02:54 PM

everspring orchids here in winnipeg grow their motherplant phals only in live spag, and they are quite the speciments. so i am assuming that live spag is ok
just look at the branches in a rainforrest they are full of orchids and ploaded with moss

Ray · #3 03-11-2008, 04:45 PM

Live sphagnum is pretty much the perfect medium, as it keeps itself fluffy and airy.

The problem is that if you want to fertilize the plant on a routine basis, it will kill the moss.

shakkai · #4 03-11-2008, 06:15 PM

Thanks for the extra info, Snow, as now I don't feel quite so alone in growing this way!

Ray, Would I be right in assuming that the damage done to the moss from fertilisers is greater if you use higher concentrations? If so, using smaller 'doses' more frequently - like with MSU - would be less damaging, right?

Thanks!

Becca · #5 03-11-2008, 06:31 PM

Wouldn't you also have to worry about insects with live moss?

Ross · #6 03-11-2008, 06:35 PM

And you don't have to worry about insects with dead moss or bark or S/H materials?

I believe I read somewhere that live moss (that continues to grow) naturally resists many types of insects. Not sure if that's true, though.

Becca · #7 03-11-2008, 06:36 PM

ok ok ok...lol...I see your point Ross!

shakkai · #8 03-11-2008, 06:57 PM

I have heard that live moss produces a natural fungicide or anti-bacterial. Possibly whatever it is producing isn't very attractive to insects/pests? Just a guess.

I've not had any problems with pests yet...

Buds! · #9 03-11-2008, 08:13 PM

I have used some live sphag moss on my phals, but for me it doesn't really matter if the sphag is 'alive' or 'dead'.
The key to sphag moss growing is the 'packing'. As strange as it sounds, lightly packed sphag will retain more moisture.
I have killed many of my phal seedling in lightly packed sphag, the tighly packed ones are thriving and doing really good.
Having said that 90% of my phals are in s/h because I have a tendancy to overwater.
That is my

!

shakkai · #10 03-12-2008, 03:21 AM

Buds, Thanks for adding your experience. My thought with the live sphag vs. 'dead' was really about the frequency of repotting. Since with a lot of orchids, the need to repot is driven more by the medium breaking down and decomposing rather than the plant needing a new pot, I was thinking that live sphag, because it stays 'fresh' (or at least it seems to -see my questions above about pH) there is less of a need to repot yearly. A big bonus for those orchids that really resent being disturbed. (I'm thinking some of my Coelogynes.)