I just some some tropical orchids today and I potted them in loosely packed long fiber sphag moss (dead... I couldn't find live). Is this okay? I've read that it's supossed to be anti-fungal, dead or alive.
I'm not so sure that orchid potting medium or river rocks would be best because we have so little humidity in our house. If I had a green house, that's what I'd use.
Bascically, I just want to know if I did okay? And I've got so many mixed answers on how many times I should mist the foliage. How many time do I mist per day or per week? Keep in mind that my house is DRY. And if I mist the least as little as possible, will my plants kind of hardnen off and not need so much?
Thanks for any help!
Just got some orchids
Without knowing which orchids you have we can only give you general stuff, they all have differing culture requirements. If your house is dry, it might be best to get some trays of gravel, fill them with water and stand your orchids on there. You will still need to mist although it depends on how dry your house is, probably twice a day during growing season.
Lets us know what orchids you have and I'm sure there will be more specific advice for you.
Sphagnum is good for many of the orchids that are commonly found around here, but not so great for some of them. For example, I would not recommend sphag for dendrobiums. It would help to know what you got.
Looks like you are going to get conflicting tips on misting here too. I think that in warm temperatures, misting the foliage can help - especially with dehydration - but it doesn't increase the humidity for any length of time. Basically, I think that if the roots are healthy, misting doesn't do much.
I grow indoors in NoVa and I crank up a couple of humidifiers in the winter as it's really really dry. On the other hand, I manage to keep a handful of more dry-tolerant orchids relatively healthy on my office windowsill, where the humidity is even lower and there are air conditioning vents overhead. Those one sit on a humidity tray with gravel, but other than excess water from watering, I don't really fill it up. With the vents overhead, any increase in humidity would not reach as far up as the foliage. Most orchids do not do well there, though.
Many people keep phals and paphs in dry indoor environments, so you might not need to worry.
Here's what I have:
Epi radicans
1 NOID Miltonia/opsis
Stan jenishiana
Onc sphacelatum
I used to mist them but stopped completely. They look pretty good, glossy and strong. Maybe the moisture from the sphag is evaporating and that's enough?
Hi there. Are you limited to growing indoors? Generally, they love the humidity outdoors this time of year.
Epi radicans is usually grown in a bark/charcoal type mix. My radicans hybrid is in a fine bark/charcoal mix. I *think* this is one that likes regular water during the growing season (let dry between waterings), but needs a dry bright winter in order to bloom. It will bloom even in medium light, but will take a lot of sun.
I don't know anything about milts. I think usually this is another bark mix.
Also don't know anything about stans, but a stan guru I know says that all of his are in baskets (the flower spikes from the bottom) with a fine bark mix.
The oncidium, I think, will grow in anything as long as it gets enough water.
The bottom line is that the epiphytic orchids can basically be grown in any medium, so if it works, it works.
On the humidity issue, if, for example, your oncidium's new leaves are all pleated, you definitely need to give it more humidity. The Epi. should be fine as mine grew in very low humidity. I can't speak to the other two.....
Finally, I'm not an expert with any of the genera you have, so pls take my opinions with a grain or two of salt....
Thanks for your help. I don't want to jinx anything but the orchids seem to be doing well in their sphag! I guess it evaporates upwards and that helps. We also have humidity fixed, we'll see how it is when winter comes and the heat goes on though. They all look healthy and green and the epi is putting out new spikes!
Do I cut off spikes after they flower by the way?
I guess I'll just need to repot them more often in sphag than if they were in bark or gravel.
The basic rule of thumb on flower spikes is to cut them off when they dry up and turn brown. Easy, right?
Easy is NOT how I would describe growing orchids! But yes, that was the easiest thing so far I've read about them. Thanks!