Mixing bark with some Sphagnum Moss?

[orchidjunky]

Has anyone used Bark medium and sphagnum together to help the bark retain water? I'm talking about a primarily bark dominant mix with strands of sphagnum inter mixed.. The other day I visited a nursery that did this... I always thought that you either pick one or the other but not both?

[zxyqu]

Nope, you can do both without a problem. Especially helpful if you have trouble keeping the plant wet. I'd add that it is better to chop the miss up into pieces rather than strands. Not tiny pieces, but pieces about 1-2" long so it's easier to mix well with bark.

[The Mutant]

Yup. I use bark, sphagnum, and perlite in my mix. This because they dry out too quickly otherwise. It seems as if my Phals love this mix.

[silken]

I do it all the time with both medium and fine bark and mix in various amounts of sphagnum depending on the needs of the plant.

[sweetjblue]

I do this as well. One plant in particular, a Angraecum leonis (my avatar) which started to decline after blooming has responded very well. The addition of moss has allowed me to keep it more evenly moist and it has started new leaves and roots.

Judi

[Lana]

I do it, too. Most of my plants are in large bark, sphag and charcoal. It's very dry here, so I need the moss to help retain moisture in the mix.

[ElenaMarie]

Originally Posted by The Mutant

Yup. I use bark, sphagnum, and perlite in my mix. This because they dry out too quickly otherwise. It seems as if my Phals love this mix.

What proportions are you using? I'm getting ready to repot some phals and would like to try this.

Thanks in advance!

[camille1585]

Me too, I use a mix of both. The proportions you use also depend on your conditions. If your plants tend to dry out quickly then you need more sphag.

[The Mutant]

Originally Posted by ElenaMarie

What proportions are you using? I'm getting ready to repot some phals and would like to try this.

Thanks in advance!

Camille answered the question really well. It all depends your conditions and watering habits. I've a tendency to probably let my phals dry out too much before I dip them, but I'm too afraid to put them completely into sphagnum. One thing I've noticed though, is that it's better to try and get most of the sphagnum in the upper parts of the pot as well as the sides, and have more bark in the middle and bottom - this to even out the moisture a bit.

I think I might use 3-4 parts of bark and 1-2 parts of sphagnum (depending on the size of the pot) and 1 part perlite. In my biggest pots I only have medium sized bark. When I re-pot these guys I might add some perlite to the bark. I also want to try adding some charcoal to my bark/sphag/perlite mix later on, to see what happens. It's fun to play with substrate!

[lightseeker01]

I will try this on my next round of repotting. Switching my smaller potted orchids from moss to pure bark seemed to stress them out, as my indoor winter environment is dry. Thanks for the tips!