Screw you moss!

[bballr4567]

That is all.

Glad I checked out one of my phals tonight. Stuff was drying out good but I guess it wasn't fast enough for the tiny guy and small pot. Had a few roots rotten so it went into a bark mix tonight. Gonna tackle the other 2 that are in it tomorrow.

[quiltergal]

Your title pretty much says it all!

[tucker85]

Sometimes it helps to go to a mix. William Cullina in his book 'Understanding Orchids' uses a mix of sphagnum moss, tree fern fiber and sponge rock on small orchids. I've also heard of people having good results with moss mixed with bark and moss mixed with hydroton. It's definately important to use the smallest pot possible. I admit that I've stopped using moss myself. The mix I use for phals now is coconut husk chips, sponge rock and charcoal. I use the smallest clear plastic pot I can fit the roots comfortably in. Good luck.

[tuvoc]

I admit I haven used it to help revive a really sick plant; bad roots, etc. Like the others have mentioned, I use the smallest pot possible, and pack it VERY loosely.

Kim

[silken]

I always use a mix of moss, medium bark and sometimes some large perlite in clear pots with good holes. My Phals love it! It's a good 50% or more moss.

But everyone's growing conditions are unique and we have to figure it out for ourselves to some degree. Good luck with the re-pots bballr4567

[bballr4567]

Yea, my bark mix is around 25-30%. We keep our house around 55% humidity so I think it was just retaining too much moisture for the orchids. Hopefully I caught it soon enough though.

[Leafmite]

I use lava rock and net pots. I grow by windows, do not use fans, have many houseplants, and our house is rather cool in the winter. Nothing dried fast in these conditions. You learn what works by experimenting and observation. As someone said, moss is good for getting things to root, especially if there is good air circulation (I like to use vanda baskets).

[Paul]

Originally Posted by silken

But everyone's growing conditions are unique and we have to figure it out for ourselves to some degree.

Indeed. I, for instance, have 3 phals growing quite happily in 100% sphag.

[bballr4567]

Yea, moss just doesn't work for me. We keep our house too humid so it's just not working. A bark mix should cure the rot issues I was seeing in that one plant.

[Lagoon]

Josh, How was the quality of the moss? Do you fan?

I've tried lots of things but I never got rid of the sphag moss. Over the course of the last month I moved 90% of my orchids back to moss with some addition of bark.
Just can't do with out it!!