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Honey / Sugar fertilizer / Moss
My question is- can I take some ground moss out of the yard, hose it down,
spray for bugs and set some on some orchid pots or mounts? I even have moss on my roof- that has to be some hearty stuff. diane "Wendy" wrote in message news:c0xSa.6076$Ne.3382@fed1read03... Your post is very interesting Alan & to Peter, didn't see your post again? Alan, you mention the moss growing with plants. My mentor grows all his Paphs & Phrags with moss growing on the top of the mix. (they bloom!) I tried this & my moss just turns an orangy brown, any ideas? Thanks, Cheers Wendy "TQPL" wrote in message ... Hi Peter, Since you have been doing the experiments I reckon _you_ have the one up on most people. It is a subject I have a keen interest in too. A number of years ago the RHS Orchid Review published an article about South American studies where it was found that epiphytic orchids are constantly drenched with a dilute solution of simple sugars from the leachate of other plants especially the mosses, liverworts, and ferns growing on the trees. The levels of sugars and nutrients was considered significant as a nutritional souce. It seems everytime there is a rain shower these simple sugars are released during the natural breakdown of cell wall and decay of plants, they flow down the tree trunks feeding the orchids with sugars. I can imagine some bromeliads might be significant in South America as the sugary flowers decay and go into solution. It is also well known that often protocorms are to be found growing in this moss forest. Here they have a ready sugar supply. Interstingly it is mainly simple sugars such as fructose. Some people believe it might be a reason for the jungle vigor of collected plants ..namely their sugar diet amoung other factors. I used to work with an orchid grower John Banks of Zygopetalum John Banks fame who grew orchid commercially all his life. He and a number of our customers believe that a bit of moss or liverwort did no harm and may indeed have been beneficial on the top of the pot. Could this be a sugar source or realease mechanism for other growth regulators? I have observed how well sometimes pots of rockwool grown orchids grow with a colony of moss on the top...maybe similar mechanisms are at play? My interest was trying to identify possible growth regulators or dormancy breakers of seed naturally found in the moss substrate colonised by germinating seed, however the route to moss leachate research in the field dried up when I last tried a few years back. Keep up the good work Best regards Alan L Winthrop. www.tissuequickplantlabs.com "Boystrup Pb, ann,..." wrote in message e... Hi, here a newbie speaking I don't agree with the rest of you. Peter |
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