Sphagnum - Loose or Packed Tight?

[Jmoney]

Thanks Roberta! I have been using sphagnum for years but in the beginning it was very much a love/hate. (back then it was mostly phrags). Plants really perked up and put on a growth spurt, but after a year or so invariably they would decline. They were potted "loose" and when I finally got around to repotting it was a slimy mess with dead roots. I chalked it up to rapid breakdown of the moss and needing to repot earlier.

under my conditions the tight packing method produces totally different results. Not saying one is better than the other, and clearly depends on one's growing conditions and watering habits, but just saying the two are night and day in terms of properties...