Hi Karen,
Moss is tricky to use because it will hold so much water and because it
is also variously affected by ambient conditions. Moss is better in a
warmer environment because water evaporates from it faster and because mold
has less of a tendency to form. In cooler temperatures, sphagnum can stay
wet for weeks.

But there is also a trick to watering it; at least I think there is.
Once you get moss damp, you don't have to water it copiously like you do
bark or gravel. It doesn't drain well, because the stuff is the equivalent
of growing your plants on a sponge. Also, moss will pack very tightly when
it's damp and friable, but a lighter pack is much better because it allows
more air and less water in the pot. If the moss is damp down below, all you
have to do to keep it that way is lightly water the top when it starts to
get dry. Moss is also deceptive to the touch. It can feel almost dry
on top of the pot and still retain adequate amounts of water for the plant,
especially deeper down in the pot.

I took Ray's advice a while ago and switched most of my plants to
semi-hydroponic pots and have never regretted it - Phals do very well in
semi-hydro and it requires less tending than moss and is infinitely
"cleaner". I did this not because sphagnum wasn't a good potting medium
though - it's excellent for Phals - but because I was starting to accumulate
quite a few plants and it makes a big difference in the amount of time I
spend tending the plants.

I still use sphagnum for young plants and initially for mature plants
that I buy, get home, and discover they have a poor root system. Plants with
poor root systems often don't do well going directly into in semi-hydro
until you've developed more and better roots. And sphagnum develops much
the same kind of root as semi-hydro does. In fact, I prefer that plants I
buy that I intend to move into semi-hydro be originally potted in sphagnum
because they make a much better transition from sphagnum than they do from
any other medium I've encountered.

One of the important things with sphagnum is to pack the pot no tighter
than is required to hold the plant. For small seedlings, this is very easy
to do because they don't generate inflorescences, so they have a lower
center of gravity. Another technique that works well for larger plants but
requires a bit more tending is to fill the pot half way with styrofoam
peanuts so that you use less moss. I've seen this technique used quite
successfully by commercial growers. But I think the thing someone who begins
using moss needs to do is spend a lot of time with their fingers in their
sphagnum. If you do this, you get to the point with experience where you
can just look at it and know whether or not it needs watering. You can also
lift the pot. Sphagnum is very light when it's dry, and you can definitely
tell by lifting the pot when it's dry. I don't like to give this advice
because by the time it feels "light" it's too dry and plants prefer STABLE
growing conditions, so you need to catch it before it gets that dry.

Sphagnum is messy, and when it starts to accumulate fertilizer, it's
the best growing medium there is for algae, which can turn dark green and
look bad. So why use it? For one because there is no other medium that I
am aware of or have used that will develop seedlings roots as fast as
sphagnum. Also, I agree with Ray on most aspects of semi-hydro growing, but
while he mentions it I think he downplays the shock to some plants when you
first introduce them to semi-hydro growing, and I've had a few plants go
belly up in transition because they couldn't take it. It may have been the
genetic makeup of the plant, but I'm more inclined to think it had to do
with the plant's root structure to begin with.

Any plant I bring home that doesn't have good roots goes into sphagnum
until it does. I won't introduce a plant like that into semi-hydro
directly. I can't explain the odd plant that has good roots in sphagnum and
STILL fails to adapt to semi-hydro, but it's happened to me at least twice.
One of the plants died, the other took two years to come around. But I think
that is a more than acceptable price for the superior results I've gotten
with the vast majority of my plants. Semi-hydro is an excellent growing
medium. So is sphagnum. They're just very different approaches to the same
problem.

Finally, there are different kinds of sphagnum. The good stuff is more
expensive and comes from New Zealand or Chile. I buy five star sphagnum
from Chile which has long strands with lots of loft.


"Karen" wrote in message
...
I have the same problem as Jerry, so I stay away from spag. Each grower
has to know their conditions and how they grow so that they can do their
best for their flowers.

I know many people who swear by moss and their orchids are very happy
and healthy.

Everyone is different. Thankfully!

Karen

Jerry Hoffmeister wrote:
I suspect the excess nitrogen helps the alge grow?

And some folks (me for example) have a hard time growing in spag for
some
reason so I've learned if I get a plant in spag, I repot it as soon as I
have time into bark or chc. Probably I water too often for it.

"Ray @ First Rays Orchids" wrote in message
...

I was referring to moss that had begun to break down.

Green color is from too much nitrogen? I thought it was algae.

--

Ray Barkalow First Rays Orchids
http://www.firstrays.com
Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info!


"Jim Landers" wrote in message
news:QRv1a.50165$be.34683@rwcrnsc53...

Ray, When you described sphagnum as "sour" what were you referring to?
Did you have in mind moss that is old and disintegrated or still in
tact

in

long
strands but super-absorbed with fertilizer salts and starting to get

costic

or
actually smelling "sour". I don't throw away good sphagnum just because

it

turns green and smells "earthy", because I buy good, five-star sphagnum
and when it starts to get dark green, which it will do with nitrogen
buildup,
it's useful life is far from over. I just put it in a large plastic

bowl,

saturate it
with tap water, and squeeze out the water (and the old fertilizer
salts)
with it.
As long as it is still in strands and has "loft", this technique works

well

and
has lowered my sphagnum costs. I repot every plant I buy when I get it

home

so I knows how old it is. The problem with old moss is twofold: it

contains

too
much old fertilizer salt and it compacts too tightly.

Or
"Ray @ First Rays Orchids" wrote in message
...

I think that you remedied your first mistake - reusing the apparently

sour

sphagnum.

All should be OK from here.

--

Ray Barkalow First Rays Orchids
http://www.firstrays.com
Secure Online Ordering & Lots of Free Info!


"Fran Kirby" wrote in message
news:bAg1a.39191$vm2.22318@rwcrnsc54...

I have a phal. that was bought potted in spaghnum with popcorn in

the

bottom

of the pot. It was in bad condition and I had to remove most of the

roots

due to rotting. I repotted but kept the same planting medium. Since

then,

one leaf has yellowed and died and another one split and is wilted.

However

there is a new leaf coming up in the middle, so I have some hopes of

its

recovery. After reading some of the recent posts on phals, I have

changed

the potting medium to the orchid mix I use for the rest of my plants

and

also put it in an "orchid pot" with extra drainage. I am glad I

checked

the

roots again-the remaining roots had also rotted-evidently it was

kept

too

moist in the spaghnum. Any other hints for its health would be

appreciated.

TIA

--
Fran Kirby
Jacksonville, Florida