Growing Cattleyas in pure sphagnum

[ArronOB]

Hi. I’ve typically grown my cattleya and Oncidium alliance plants in bark, in mesh pots - my aim being to maximise airflow around the roots.

Today I repotted some tiny cattleya hybrid plants which have been growing in pure sphagnum moss, which is fairly tightly compacted into plain plastic pots. Their root growth is amazing! It’s got me wondering. It’s even more amazing because they have been growing indoors over winter in a west facing window (nb. Southern hemisphere) so conditions are harsh. They alternate between being adequately hydrated to bone dry on a cycle of about 3 days. It still hasn’t stopped them.

So I’m wondering, what has been peoples experiences growing these two alliances in pure sphagnum?

Cheers
Arron

Ps. I know there’s lots about this subject on the web, but I ask here because I want the opinion of people I trust.