Oregon moss
 

Hi, I am somewhat new at growing orchids in Oregon. I have grown some cymbidiums in Ca., but I fell in love with phals when some were given to me. I started reading threads here and also saved some orchids from Wal Mart on the clearance table. I discovered clear plastic pots and decided to repot all my orchids with fresh bark and new pots, that way I knew they all had good stuff. Now I am dealing with a problem, Oregon moss growing on the inside of the pots. I had some in clear plastic pots and ceramic pots but took them out so I could watch how the roots were doing and allow more air circulation. Now I have moss in the lower part of the inside pots. Should I put them back into decorative pots or cover the plastic pots with some kind of breathable cloth? Right now, I set them in a sunny window to see if that would help. Here in Oregon we treat moss with bleach or iron. I don't think a little iron would hurt the orchids. What are your thoughts?

I don't know how much bleach or iron is used to eradicate this ?

I'm not sure if I am understanding correctly - if you wish to clean the pots when plants are not in them, bleach is definitely fine, even at high concentrations - just rinse well, allow to dry, after.

If you are wanting to kill the moss without removing the plants - idk - a small amount of bleach diluted in water should be fine ... I don't know about iron ...

Hopefully some other members will chime in!

i don't know what "idk" means but I am on a spring, so am thinking I probably need to water with distilled or boiled water. Just thinking out loud. A little iron would sure make the leaves a nice dark green, I think.

idk=I don't know

Spring as in aquifer? All boiling does is kill microbes (unless you have a still set-up).

I use dilute household bleach to kill algae in S/H but it doesn't kill moss. Iron (Fe) is used by plants as a micronutrient (don't know how much off hand) but I suspect enough to kill moss is too much for an orchid.

It probably is algae, didn't think about that. i do have a distiller (H2O kind) and you are probably right, enough iron to kill the moss would probably harm the orchids. i might try a mild bleach solution on my worst plant and see what happens.

I doubt the algae or moss is harmful to your orchid, although you may not like the look of the green in the pot. I have many clear pots where I now have extra greens....but the orchids are thriving, so I'm not all that concerned.

DO NOT use bleach on the plant, that will kill it (unless you are using tiny amounts of bleach; for example, the 8 drops per gallon that is sometimes recommended for emergency water treatment, or less).

Without pictures, it is hard to be sure, but I am guessing you are seeing algae, rather than moss, as has been suggested.

Try re-potting into an unglazed terracotta pot (if you can find it, use one of the terracotta orchid pots with holes in the sides). The ceramic is opaque, and the lack of light should help keep the algae from growing. If algae is growing, the roots are being kept too wet. Reduce watering frequency so that the bark is nearly dry before watering again. Water very thoroughly each time you water, but let it dry in between. Typically, this means water once or twice a week.

Your spring water could be fine for orchids, depending on the type of rock the spring is coming from. If it is a limestone spring, or comes from other "soft" rocks, it could be mineral-laden water, high in dissolved solids. Springs that come from granite or similar rock often have water with moderately low pH and low dissolved solids, perfect for orchids.

What is I kept them in the clear plastic orchid pots and put them in a ceramic pot. That's the way I had them before. I only water every 7-10 days, or when the pots seem light in weight. I put skewers in all the pots so am using that method to test for dryness. The spring is about a half mile up the hill from my house, and there is alot of volcanic rock and clay in this area, that's all I know. lh

F.Y.I. To clean pots, use bleach. Nine parts water to one part bleach plus a half hr. soak should do it. Orchid leaves are not getting enough light if they are "DARK GREEN" They are, rather, supposed to be a "grass green." If you use the correct fertilizer, you should not have to put any additives...I happen to use Peters 30-10-10 during the growth period. When the new growth is almost mature, I start using Peters 10-30-20. As Ray says, this "allows buds to form." BettyE.

Your water is fine. Very low in dissolved solids. Coos Bay water is wonderful. You are seeing algae forming on the iinsides of your pots. Not a problem. It grows when there is light getting on a surface that has been inoculated with algae in the first place. I have algae in my clay pots and it is ok. Bleach. no matter how dilute the concentration will kill your plants. It is an oxidizer to the max. It oxidizes the cellular walls. There is no need to worry about the algae. It is harmless. If it is moss, it will only grow on the top of the media. Moss requires light to survive.