Problems watering orchids in sphagnum moss
 

Did some searching here, but am still confused.

I have had three orchids for awhile (one paph, odontoglossum, and a cattleya). They are all planted in a loose bark and do well with my watering schedule. I try to use 2-3x the volume of the pot in distilled water when watering.

I recently (7 months ago) bought a Jewel Orchid and it came in Sphagnum moss. I didn't know much about it and kept the same watering schedule. Well... Sphagnum stays wet a long time! Well, the Jewel orchid has seen better days.

The main plant is, well, gone. There is a small bud that is growing leaves that I am hoping will keep going.

I then got a Phal (not getting up to get exact name) and it showed up in Sphagnum... sigh. I tried to adjust my watering and let it dry out a good bit between, but it doesn't seem to be doing well.

I was just given anther Phal and it also came in Sphagnum moss.

Now, if I can't get this straight I am about to replant all these in a bark.

How do you water Sphagnum planted orchids? Just water lightly and not flush the pot with water like a bark planted orchid? Do you let it dry out really well between watering? Or just water very lightly?

And do they need to be in Sphagnum? I really like my bark.

I keep all my Phals in sphagnum. The trick is to water it, and YES flush it thoroughly, and then wait until it's crunchy dry on top before watering again. Another tip is if in doubt with any of your orchids insert a wooden skewer (kabob stick, chop stick) or freshly sharpened pencil into the center of the media, pull it out and if it's damp hold off on rewatering until it isn't damp when inserted. Some people say to leave it in but I just can't buy that. It should be dry before inserting, then checked after. HTH !!!

BTW, :welcomeflowers: To our forum !!!

its about you and your plant getting to grow each other...you trust your instincts.
if you are comfortable with bark...then do it.
or you can do the skewer method in moss media
then learn how to do that.
find a comfortable watering/fertilizer regimen that works for you and your plant depending on your grow zone, temperature, light and humidity inside your room...
but the jewel orchid needs to be watered evenly moist not wet...I put mine in small bark. lava rock, charcoal and clay chips...and 50% ordinary potting mix...I heard it can also thrive well in S/H method

Wow, fast replies. Thanks!

I am in Louisiana, humidity is not in short supply here, even inside. Maybe that is keeping the moss moist too long? A good watering will keep the moss wet for weeks!

I may need to try a different medium for my plants. I really don't want to harm another one.

That's where Bud is right, you have to learn and adapt to YOUR own environment.

OH>>>BTW>>>WELCOME TO ORCHID BOARD !

and Thank You, Chryss !

I've had the greatest success with sphag when I limit it's use to pots that are under 4" in diameter, because they dry out faster. Also, sphag gets compacted so I mix a few other things with it to aid in providing air space and drainage. Charcoal, tree fern fiber and sponge rock or small pieces of styrofoam have worked well as additives. I'm not fond of the skewer method. Instead, when judging for a time to water, I check for the depth of crustiness on the top one inch layer and I feel the weight of the pot. When they need water, I'll drench them at this point or sometimes just water them lightly. It all depends on the type of plant and how much moisture it's roots can tolerate.

Having stated all that, I have a stanhopea that's planted in a 12" basket almost entirely in sphag. This particular plant needs a moist root environment and I've learned to maintain just the right amount by watering it every day to about 1/3 capacity. It's also grown outdoors and receives great air circulation. If it rains too much it's brought under shelter to prevent it from becoming too soggy.

Thank You for the Stanhopea tip: Junebug ! I have a 8" netpot entirely in moss(I guess I need to water more)

Thanks, Bud. I can't stress the importance of air circulation. My plant is grown outdoors in Central Florida and it's given plenty of space around all sides. During Summer when it's hot and dry I have to water at about 50 percent capacity and it's growing in subdued dappled lighting just above my phals.

In my case I chose a wire basket over a netpot because the sun and heat causes plastic to get brittle. Now I'm not so sure my choice was a good one because the latest growths are protruding between the wire along the sides. I mean those babies are big and they're jammed in so tight that getting them out of there would be an impossible task. Then the thought occurred to me, that even if I could get them out then how in the heck do I repot this silly plant with growths popping out the top and sides??? After a Google search I found some photos posted by a professional grower who's stans were potted in wire baskets similar to mine. I don't know how they change out their medium but last year I tried teasing out the old stuff and replacing and tucking in some new sphag with a little charcoal and tree fern fibers thrown in. The plant is growing well and has never looked happier, so I guess I'll keep going at it like this until the wire basket rusts away. Another OB member, Nancy, has had great success with stans and she fertilizes her stans with horse poo. I don't have easy access to horse poo, so I substituted a slow release product called Milorganite with periodic additions of fish emulsion. :)

Wow! Milorganite, unless mistaken, is processed Human! Supposed to be very good!
I have been gifted two potinaras "little toshee", in small plastic pots of sphagnum. What I know about orchids is that I always kill them. It is obvious to me now is that I'm keeping them too wet. I live on the Northern California coast where it's cool and "generally" humid.
I've put the cids outside but am concerned that 50 degrees overnight, and 60-65 daytime are too cool.
Filtered sunlight, and/or shade under the eves.
The giftee said tray of pebbles watered for moisture/ humidity. I have new leaves, (they bloomed last October), but indoors the newbies were reaching for the light so moved them outunder the translucent patio cover. Don't want to burn them due to too much sun.
I think I'm in zone 8 in Eureka, Calif. what do you think?

Some plants that need constant moisture need sphag moss. When I use it I don't compact it, then I generally mist the moss with a spray bottle. I don't pour water on it. I want the media moist not water logged.

OK so old post but, I am thinking if you are going to keep them in spagh you are going to have to let the spagh get crispy before you water it. I love Little Toshee. And yes you are right Milorganite is human waist. I think next time you re-pot use a bark mix.

Everyone's environment is different, so you can't generalise, but there is one thing where I think you can. Since it is ridiculous to reapot for each season as it comes round, I think it is accurate to say that you need to pot for the most dangerous season.

For me winter is the most dangerous, without a doubt, and I worry about overwatering then. So, I don't use sphag much. I might use a bit in some pots where they are exposed to the hottest areas, so I will put a ball or two of moss in, so as to act as a reservoir. Also if an orchid is a newcomer with poor roots, I will put a ball or two in there.

Phals get large bark in a wide shallow container I make myself. They have to be watered every day in summer, but winter, twice a day is fine. There is no danger of root rot, because the medium gets wet, but the air movement is unhindered. The latest trial sizes of 30 cm diam and 8 deep aren't really wide enough, as the latest one is thrusting roots out thru the drain holes like a mad thing. I'm going to start looking at 35 cm which is about 14 inches diam and about 4 inches deep.

All this means a lot of watering in the summer. However it enables me to inspect each pot and keep an eye on things.

Thanks guys for the information! I DO appreciate! Now, three other things on the tag that I'm not familiar with: I assume "H&R" is the developer of "Little Toshee", but what about the notation "AM/NOS"?
Thanks BIL & Shannon.

You are in Louisiana. Hot/warm and humid most of the time? You probably would not even have mush trouble with bare root or mounted orchids. Well, where I am, it is the desert, and the spagham moss remains wet maybe 1 day if I am lucky. So it is relative to where you live.

and therein lies the nub.

You need to experiment. Don't blindly follow what people say, because no matter how good their advice is, it can only be guaranteed to work for them there.

So, try various things, and experiment.

H&R would be the nursery it came from. I don't know who first hybridized it. I use to have one before I killed it :(( I really liked it. I'm getting one that's is suppose to be here today that is Little Toshee crossed with another orchids yay.

I think it is AM/AOS I typed this earlier today and I guess I haven't found out if I'm wrong but I think AM is Award of Merit AOS is American Orchid Society. It means the orchid Little Toshee has been given these awards.

Hay Bil I think you mean in summer you water them once a day in winter twice a week? Is that right?

Oh yes. If the catts in the trays look a bit dry, I'll give them a second spray.

They also get misted 16 times a day. I'm pushing the 40C barrier here.

I am trying live sphag moss in a couple of my plants, an experiment.

I was told when I first came here/started over a year ago - all with good intention no doubt - that I'll want to pot my orchids in a bark mix. But now I have learned that I am a chronic under-waterer (I think I need therapy for it, lol) therefore moss is not my worst enemy. HOWEVER a lot of times you'll find when you first get a new plant that it's not just in moss it's PACKED DENSE in moss and this can be problematic b/c dense, dense moss can hold water for weeks as you've experienced (and so many others have as well, myself included). With such dense moss I've had orchids survive 6 weeks without watering!

If bark is working for you and you don't mind watering more often then by all means stick with it. I do believe Phals like to dry out a little between waterings while Catts like to dry out even more. Oncidiums on the other hand I don't think like to dry out between waterings, but this is all generalizing.

Today I started a MAJOR experiment (yes I know I'm taking a huge risk) and did mass repots with a pro-mix like mix, basically it's peat moss potting mixture with some perlite and I added a little bit more perlite, bark, clay pebbles. I've done this b/c I underwater so bad and I've bought plants that were already in Promix that are still doing well.

To each his own as they say... now beware the rain... that's my latest lesson... bad lesson...

AND WELCOME! :D

I use bark mix for catts and sphag for phals and my 2 sharry babys and am pretty successful. For the phals, I put a layer of stone in the bottom for ballast, add a layer of white peanut packing, a layer of moss, put the plant in with a some of peanuts in and around the root cluster and a fill the pot with moss. Water once a week, unless they are outside (like now), feed once a month. Have had no problems re-blooming NOIDs with a low mortality rate (2 lost to crown rot in the past 3 years out of 20+ plants). A little neglect can go a long way to keeping them happy. My dad, who has grown orchids professionally in the past, is jealous.
My 2 cents.