Orchids & Sphagnum Moss: How Much do You Know?

[@markw.mullins2208]

First, I got all right. I couldnt help laughing at your Spanish Moss problem. It is all pretty much dried straw. Love your channel. I just got into orchids this year, and I am Sixty Five years old. so I dont have as much time left, but I want to grow Orchids, and all the information I can get, I want. Thank you for your post.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Mark, Thank you for watching! I appreciate it. Hey, 65 is the new 40. :) You're doing the best thing possible which is looking for information.

[@ot7stan207]

my student is 85 and runs two clubs and volutneerse teaching and is more alive and active than most of the 30 years olds I know. u got plenty of time its just how you spend it that really matters!

[@Just_Lurking8]

Yeah, I had only one wrong. Thanks for educating us !!!

[@Orchideria]

Hi Vicky, Awesome. Just 1!! Thats a lot more than I knew when I started. I had no idea what was I was doing. Thanks for watching!

[@scotmcallister9810]

love this channel very good at articulating the science of orchid culture with personality

[@marwankattan4364]

I have so many plants, indoors and outdoors. But because of you my 2 Orchids have become my favorite. I was able to recover 1 that almost died and another that was damaged by the cat. Cheers.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Marwan, wow! Thank you for that comment. I apprecaite it. 🙏

[@marwankattan4364]

@@Orchideria you are more than welcome. Can I send you pictures of the Orchids?

[@Orchideria]

Hi Marwan, unfortuneately I had to program my comment section to not get pictures or links because of spammers and indecent users. Sorry.

[@hennylongbuan1286]

Informations are so inspiring in growing orchids. Thank you.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Henny, You are so welcome! Thank you for leaving a comment. I appreciate it.

[@billbraski]

I have shagnum growing rite now. I started as dried. And it most deff came back to life. And is actively growing not just algea.... so yeah.

[@loribadgero1035]

Thank you for the peat moss tip! ❤❤☺️. 💯 percent helpful!! 🤗👍

[@galecunningham1250]

Wonderful explanations! I use NZ S. Moss. Great info on peat moss. Never used except outdoors garden. Thanks much!

[@lanef58]

All correct!! I love your videos, thank you!!!

[@jerrygruia785]

Thank you, I was just cross referencing myself as I was not sure. Have a great evening, Gracias Jerry

[@Orchideria]

De nada :)

[@tallybeaverman9462]

Lowe's sells Spanish Moss down here in Spanish Moss Country. You can get a truck full from one tree down here, it's everywhere.

[@diogenesjesus2290]

Thanks, Amanda!🌸

[@frankaaaa384]

Wow great knowledge. 😃😃😃😃Thank you.🙏

[@engelinacorreia2440]

Dank je wel voor het delen, zo leren we hoe we de orchidee moeten verzorgen.🌹🌹😉👍👍👍🤝😂😂😂

[@Orchideria]

Bedankt voor het plaatsen van een reactie. Ik waardeer dat.

[@thusharagunasena5588]

Thank you.

[@Orchideria]

Thushara, thanks for leaving a comment. I apprecaite it. :)

[@frankl1024]

Amanda, I really love your posts on orchids, I have learned a lot. Would you mind sharing your thoughts on an idea I have on displaying my orchids, using sphagnum and bark in a wire basket type setting. Picture this. A cedar plank about 5ins wide by about 9 ins tall, a wire cup type basket attached to the plank, maybe chicken wire, not sure yet. Repot an orchid with moss and bark inside the wire basket. I intent on displaying them vertically mounted against a brick wall on our back porch. We live in north Florida area so 95% of the time they will stay outside. I will make a wall inside to transfer them to when it gets to cold. I have had orchids for a few yrs now and are doing well, some very healthy plants. BUT,,, some of them have a tendency to want to grow over the edge of the pot instead of staying vertical. I did read some where they naturally do that. What are your thoughts?

[@Orchideria]

Hi Frank. Thank you so much for your comment. I think that would work well, but I'd stay away form the cedar. Some orchids don't interact well with cedar. Take a look at this page orchideria.com/best-wood-for-mounting-orchids/ to get an idea of what are better options. I know what you are talking about and I have a few pins on Pinterest of mounted orchids. They are not what you described, lacking the wire basket, but I think that what you described would be an excellent idea. You can see the specific board for mounting orchids here: www.pinterest.com/Orchideria/mounted-orchids/ Disclaimer: I don't own those pictures, I just repost them. It might give you some ideas. The other board that could come in handy is this one: www.pinterest.com/Orchideria/orchids-on-trees/ I hope that helps some in your design.

[@frankl1024]

Sorry for posting twice, I thought first post didn’t make it!

[@Orchideria]

No problem. :) Sometimes my anti spammer likes to hold comments for a while, too. I've had comments appear a day late, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with them... ugh.

[@frankl1024]

Amanda, thank you so much for the recommendation. I thought of Cedar because of the weather resistant when watering. I will definitely reconsider my backdrop.

[@anuppusate2559]

Please show video on live spagnum moss growing with orchid and there care

[@heartandsoulfunandmix3082]

Algae growing because of clear pot light and too wet can put pot inside another pot a clear inside and a not clear regular pot.

[@elbeem20001]

I do not get the good quality sphagnum here in my neck of the woods - so I stick to charcoal and pebbles. We do have a sphagnum moss - from the sea, which has been treated to remove the salt, but it dries out very quickly.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Lyn! You're doing the right thing because when the sphagnum moss dries out too fast, it's worse than not using it at all. Pebbles and charcoal does just fine.

[@elbeem20001]

@@Orchideria Yes ... that was THE worst US $3.00 (our currency equivalent) I spent on a 2 lb packet!! I followed the instructions - moisten it. But thus endeth the lesson!! Grrr ...

[@ljessel6612]

Can I use backyard Spagnum Moss - about 8 inches high and just waiting in a wet area. Green and alive.

[@morenacampanero]

Spanish moss good for decor

[@morenacampanero]

Peat moss is good for pot plants roses and others

[@ingridroberts6302]

Hi Amanda I love your videos. I am converting some of Phalaenopsis in water culture into Spagnum moss as they doing quite poorly. We used to be able to get New Zealand Spagnum moss here in Australia but it has been unavailable for quite a long time. Do you have any suggestions on how I can convert my orchids safely. Regards Ingrid

[@Orchideria]

Hi Ingird, Thank you so much for watching my videos and leaving a comment. I appreciate it. Sometimes New Zealand Moss is hard to come by, so I'm glad you are giving water culture a try. You can read a written article here: orchideria.com/full-water-culture/ that will take you to my website, or you can watch the video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJ6sgn-ugLiod9E I wish you the best in transferring your orchids.

[@janicesrygler8964]

Etsy

[@ll-qq9qr]

Hi, Love, Love, Love your videos. What do you think of Sun Bulb better grow spagnamum moss? (the package you have next to you in the video) not the one in the purple bag.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Lisa, I use it a lot because it is in my price range and does a decent job. If I could, I'd only use the New Zealand or Chilean moss every single time, but that gets expensive. This one is darker and not as fluffy as I'd like, but holds up a lot better than the purple Supermoss, like 10,000x better.

[@jerrygruia785]

Hi Amanda, quick question...i cannot get regular sphag here but i was able to get green terrarium sphag. I have been using it, seems to work. What do you think?

[@Orchideria]

Hi Jerry, That works well. Orchids love that sphagnum moss. I've bought for frogs (just to test it) and it did very well.

[@regiegija02]

Hey Amanda, what's a good ratio of sphagnum and better gro special potting mix for phalaenopsis? Just looking for a general idea and will adjust as needed. Tk u

[@Orchideria]

Hi Giordana, My home office is very dry, even with the humidifier. For that reason, I tend to use a lot more sphagnum moss, almost 60%. If you have a more humid climate, you can start with a 40% sphagnum and 60% bark. This all depends on pot size, too. My mini Phals are in 100% sphagnum just because their pots are small. It's really hard to give an answer, but I hope this helped.

[@regiegija02]

@@Orchideria im in Fl but they're all indoors, so not as humid as outside. Since they receive a generous amoubt of sunlight, that makes sense to me, I'm gonna try that as i intend to keep watering them only 1 or 2 times a week. Tk u so much for replying!!!💝

[@sujathananaiah3048]

I get fresh sphagnum moss that grow in my coffee estate can I use it directly

[@Orchideria]

I'm trying to remember if there was a drying process involved in using the live sphagnum moss, but I think you can use it directly.

[@nirajanmahat7039]

Good morning hjr,

[@Orchideria]

Hi Nirajan Mahat. Good morning!

[@cliffcox7643]

The Spagmoss brand, the new zealand brand says they're better then the chilean one.

[@Orchideria]

Hi Cliff, Which moss is better is hard to say. The Chilean moss is extremely good, but so is the New Zealand moss. I have a feeling the New Zealand one is more famous and has easier access. I only ran into Chilean moss when I lived in Brazil. I don't know which is one is better really, since both are excellent... Depending on where you live, its hard to get access to one or the other so maybe that's the deciding factor.

[@LiamEserda]

At sphagnum I guessed the price: wrong answer. But if the best comes from Chile and its the most expensive; am I not a little right?

[@Orchideria]

Hi Liam, Excellent point! Hehehee... I hadn't realized that answer could be read both ways.

[@serenarobinson6669]

Dear Amanda, I’m very confused, when I go to hard wear stores and nursery shops,all I can purchase is dead compacted moss, the pine bark is contaminated with a chemical WEED KILLER. I try to was this bark and dried it out in my microwave, the stench was shocking and I finished up with a shocking headache, never mind me, what about my 10 poor moth orchids? Where can I purchase uncontaminated Pine bark. .? 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

[@Orchideria]

Hi Serena, Mulch has the same problem as you described with pine bark: they both have weed killers in them that harm orchid roots. The stores do that because most bark chips are used in winter to keep the weeds down until they decompose in the spring, when the flowers grow. I honestly wouldn't know where to go to buy pine bark in your area, but wherever you buy it, the bark has to be without chemicals. As for the sphagnum...I've never heard about putting sphagnum moss in the microwave before. If the aim is decontamination, I wouldn't worry too much about that unless you got it in a forest and are making a terrarium. Even so, I wouldn't microwave it. You can bake twigs and sticks in the oven, but I've never seen sphagnum done that way. In that case, if you're building a terrarium, I'd leave the live sphagnum moss by itself in a closed Tupperware container with moisture inside and wait a month. See what critters (or even weeds) grow from the moss by itself in the terrarium "quarantine" container. Just leaving it by itself (the live moss) will show in time if something else is growing on it. If it's just for the orchid pot and not a terrarium, then you can soak the dried, dead sphagnum for 24 hours to plump it up before you use it. The problem with the sphagnum isn't that it's dead, it's that some brands dried out the sphagnum too much, and its absorbs almost no water at all. Also, you should only buy the live sphagnum for a terrarium. For that, look in frog and reptile stores. They have a lot of live sphagnum for their vivariums. Live sphagnum in an orchid pot will not do well, and you'll have to repot soon.

[@dianabonilla6361]

So funny

[@Orchideria]

:) Thank you!!

[@LiamEserda]

@ My favourite teacher : I failed for my exam. :(

[@Orchideria]

Hi Liam... Oh no... :(

[@yolyrom7233]

Your wrong! You can absolutely grow sphagnum moss that’s dried!!!!