moss from the PNW

[geogeo21]

do you think it's possible to grow orchids with live pacific northwest moss? i can't get live new zealand sphagnum moss. i did my research and they're related species. i went out into my woods and pulled up some clumps of moss off of trees to use to grow my lady slippers. more like to get more root growth on my lady slippers. i'm experimenting only on one.

[Fairorchids]

Spaghnum is a bog plant. It might cover tree stumps, but it does not grow 'up in trees'.

I have seen live spagnum in Scandinavia, and also here in NJ, so I am guessing that it should also be found in the PNW?

[Gravelsack]

Apparently, Sphagnum oregonense is native to Oregon.
Plants Profile for Sphagnum oregonense (Oregon sphagnum)

There appear to be a few other species in the PNW as well.

[Ray]

The fact that it's related is meaningless. All sphagnum mosses are "related", and while some are excellent media, others are trash. It's good that you are willing to experiment.

Do you want live premium NZ sphagnum? Get some dried stuff, and water it with fairly pure water, give it lots of light, and just wait a few weeks.


Ray Barkalow
firstrays.com

[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by Ray

Do you want live premium NZ sphagnum? Get some dried stuff, and water it with fairly pure water, give it lots of light, and just wait a few weeks.


Ray Barkalow
firstrays.com

This.
I have at least 4 kinds of live moss now, ones that sprung up out of my various mounts.
I think the pack of sphagnum from pet stores comes back to life really easily.
That brick in the reptile section.

[Andre]

I live in the PNW and if it's the moss I'm thinking about (covering old stumps/everything elose) I have tried it. Lots of little critters in it. Lives with a wet cold season and a dry warm season... Who knows though it's worth a shot... Almost indestructible in nature... Watch out for the centipedes and such.


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[Ray]

I used to be very creative in my use of natural, locally-sourced materials, as well. Some of the earliest reference books referred to using stuff like crushed, fallen oak leaf litter in the mixes, for example, and that was easy to come by.

Over the years though, I have found that the use of widely-distributed, commercial products provide a far more consistent set of properties to work with, giving me fewer variables to have to "tune" to get things right for the plants.