Synthetic Sphag???

[AnonYMouse]

I just saw synthetic sphagnum listed on ebay. Looks like the stuff microfiber mops/dusters are made with. It's pricy, comparable to the really nice very long fiber sphag.

I don't know if I have any use for it (and I don't want to have to learn a new media) but a new option is out there.

Anyone used the stuff yet? Are you going to? Other thoughts?

[Subrosa]

If it's durable enough to stand being cleaned and sanitized a couple times it might be worth the extra money.

[naoki]

Synthic is developed by Mikael Karlbom (who has marketed epiweb and hygrolon). You can see his flickr site where you can see orchids growing in synthic:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lika_sweden

There are several scientific paper which used similar materials (not the same).

Chang, G. H. et al. 2006. Application of artificial textile fiber as growing medium for Phalaenopsis cultivation. Taiwan Yuan Yi (Journal of Taiwan Society of Horticultural Science) 52(1): 71-80.

Unfortunately, it's not in English, so I don't completely understand it, but they used strips of polyamide + polyethylene terephthalate. They get similar plant growth as sphagnum moss, so they think that it is a good substitute. pH and CEC is different from sphagnum moss, so fertilization scheme might need to be adjusted.

Similar material was use in the following study, too.
Yen, W.Y., Y. C. A. Chang, Y.T. Wang 2011. The acidification of sphagnum moss substrate during Phalaenopsis cultivation. HortScience 46(7): 1022-1026.

The pH of media could go down after you grow orchids in the same media for a while. Some people thought that this is the breakdown process of organic media. But synthetic moss also showed this acidification process. Basically, the roots excrete chemicals, and this causes the acidification of media (both organic and inorganic).

I contacted one of the authors of the 1st paper to get the source of the artificial moss last year. He said that it is just a waste material from the Taiwan Textile industry, but they don't know the current source of the material they used. I was going to experiment with scrap textiles (like fleece) to find one with good water retention and drying property, but I haven't gotten around to it.

It is great that Mikael developed something similar (and probably better)!

[Orchid Whisperer]

Just looked up this product (called synthic), there is a demo video about it on Youtube.

For my plants & growing habits, this material looks like it holds too much water. But if someone on OB tries it out with orchids, I would certainly like to hear what they find out! I experiment with other types of growing media - who knows? This might be perfect for certain plants.

[AnonYMouse]

I'll have to go look at the material but there is a yarn that looks similar if you want to try.

I didn't know this was Mikael's. I remember seeing his cagey post a while back and I wish he would discuss it at length.

Since it's "non degradable", it might be worth the cost. I'd take the plunge if I had a current use for it, alas; I don't.