Old Sphangum on Mounts
 

A question for my revered fellow orchid addicts.....

I have several orchids mounted with sphagnum moss. In many cases the Sphagnum moss is now decaying. My instinct is to remove it (carefully with tweezers) and, if still needed for moisture, replace it.

In some,cases the orchid is well established, attached to the mount and doesn't really need the sphagnum any more, at least not while they are outside for the summer. Once they come inside where the humidity is lower, I may have to reconsider.

In other cases, the orchid has great roots, but is not well attached to the mount and/or needs continuous moisture. So here, I'd like to replace the sphagnum moss.

What do you do about old decaying sphagnum on your mounts?


Thanks in advance!

:bump:

We are lucky if we can get sphagnum moss to last a full year, so we should replace it every year if you are smart. I will say that the mounted orchids I have I do try to take out as much sphag as possible and replace as carefully as possible so I don't damage any of the orchid. I could certainly leave the sphag off here in South Florida as we have lots of humidity but I find that my orchids do better with the sphag then without.

Thanks JDT,
It's good have my logic confirmed. I have found that when it comes to orchids, logical isn't alway right!

I agree

I don't try to remove or replace old sphag. Ever. You could risk a lot of root damage and it's not really necessary. The goal when I put them on a mount is for them to get established...when they do, I leave them be. I have several mounts that have/had outgrown their first mounts and I attached the old mount to a new, larger mount...adding sphag/materials where needed w/out removing the old...plants are perfectly happy.

Really, don't worry about the old spahg because being on a mount is not like in a pot. Think of how these guys grow on trees and all the dead plant material that gets tucked up in and around their roots...it's actually very good for them.

Now, with all of that said, I will add in that I do get some native moss that likes to populate a few of my mounts and if that gets too thick then I will remove some of it but it's only because if I don't it will completely grow over the plant. But that's not the sphag and it's not really what you're talking about...just thought I'd mention in case you ever had that happen.

I'm sort of with Katrina. I've only ever removed the old sphag on one recently because it was just a tiny amount of very degraded moss (and I sort of regret it now) and all the others have been going years without any old moss removed.

I say 'sort of' because when I read this thread I started to wonder if I was wrong and should have been removing it regularly for the last few years... I'm not really confident at mounts, despite having several for several years, to confidently say you should leave it... but that's what I've been doing.

Like Katrina if the native live moss growing on the mount get's to thick I do some of it. Although I'm regretting that on one of them as well as it seems it may have been helping the roots more than I realised. Maybe I should have left some and just removed a little to keep it under control.

I lost a mount of Mystacidium capense due to root rot (if you can believe it) because the moss had decayed and was smothering the roots. So I removed it from my Gastrochilus which was starting to show signs of distress, and the roots have taken off again. So I have a few where I am removing old sphagnum moss with tweezers and tucking a few strands of fresh moss back in. Now I am watching closely for decaying moss.

I had hoped that as the orchid attached to the mount that the moss would essentially just rot away, but where it hasn't, I am proactively removing it now, and if needed tucking a few fresh strands back in.

I only started with mounts about 2years ago, so I am still feeling my way. In the winter months, i do have to worry about humidity levels which is where the moss is essential. I know one grower, who grows with "bare rooted" in the summer with her orchids outdoors and then "applies" sphagnum moss in the winter for the humidity and moisture retention.

Carrie,

Didn't see this thread before. It depends partly on which plant you are dealing with. If it is something that cannot tolerate drying out, yes, you have to replace the spaghnum.

In many cases, I use the spaghnum primarily to encourage new root growth, so that the plant can hold itself to the mount (so I can remove the wire). If the plant is OK with watering every 2-3 days, then I do not bother to replace the spaghnum.

My one exception is Ascocentrum aurantiacum, ssp philippinensis. It is a tiny plant, slow growing, and it only has 2 or 3 roots. It was not doing well when the spaghnum disintegrated, so I repacked it in the spring, and now it is growing well again.