Sphagnum Moss. Any difference ?

[RJSquirrel]

and dont beg to differ here it comes with the site the differing does ..

[Ray]

Pacific Wide / Besgrow, the folks that bring us Orchiata bark and the sphagnum I have been referring to, do an excellent job of making sure the moss is very clean. Theirs is actually cultivated, and they keep the bogs very clean.

If you get sticks in moss, it means that it was either collected wild or they do a poor job of cultivating it, allowing weeds to grow in it.

[orchidsarefun]

interesting article - and a reference to harvesting moss by helicopter. That I would like to see !

http://www.moutere.com/stories/storyReader$31

[voyager]

Originally Posted by orchidsarefun

interesting article - and a reference to harvesting moss by helicopter. That I would like to see !

http://www.moutere.com/stories/storyReader$31

The reference to using helos is for transporting from the bogs to the drying and processing areas, not actually harvesting with them.
What I find interesting is that they say the Chilean moss is graded like and as good as the NZ moss.

... where the same controls for cleanliness and quality of sphagnum moss product as used in New Zealand are employed.

If true, then what I'm buying locally is truly the "hot dog" grade of moss and would be similar to a grade also available from NZ.
Maybe I'm giving Chilean moss a bad undeserved rap.
But then, I've yet to see a high grade moss from Chile.

[Ray]

I used to use and sell a great deal of Chilean moss, but once I got hold of this NZ stuff, I discontinued it.

Apples and oranges....

[orchidsarefun]

guess it was this comment I misunderstood

"Chile does not employ helicopters to extract sphagnum moss from swamps, instead using more traditional methods such as bullocks and carts"

I have used both and at the moment I am trending towards NZ because it does seem fluffier and longer-stranded. Also longer lasting when compared to Better-Gro. but I haven't actually done a side-by-side controlled experiment/comparison.