live moss for orchid mounts
 

can any one help me on how to care for live moss on a mount for orchids and what kind. I want to put live moss on my orchid mounts so I dont have to water the mounts every day and it would just look more natural.

I have used some live sphag moss on mounts - in my environment still needs watering every day - and mounts in south window apparently light is too strong for the moss so is live no more lol

I also have found that sphagnum moss dries out quickly, even in moderate humidity. For me it only works with orchids that can stay dry for a little while, like Catts or Laelias.

I have a kind that seems to grow pretty quickly. It also seems ok to try out for a bit. But then, most mosses should be able to withstand fully drying, which is when they go into a 'rest' state, and wait till moisture to bounce back.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...frostii001.jpg
On there its pretty much the dominant moss, but there is a type that i would much rather have growing. Its the lime green kind that looks like a star around the little fern, really in the center of the 3 blue rocks (azurite) it doesn't seem to be growing yet, and i've had it in that pot for about 1 or 2 months now, it is still alive, and has reflourished its bad looking color.

if you want that little green star moss to grow learn how to grow carnivorous plants. since i do grow carnivoroua plants I have that stuff everywhere. on the mounts in the pots you name it its growing there. i will have to cheeck my book savage garden and I will follow up with the name of the moss.

I do grow carnivorous plants, mainly alot of sundews and butterworts pingulas or however you spell it and say... a cephalotus thats growing pretty nice and quickly enough for me, and a few venus flytraps. I have all my orchids and other plants in pretty much the same growing meduim, which is a high quality sphagnum moss, fir bark, a little peat moss and then a sprinkle of soil to get some microbes. I've since added mycorrhiza pellets for additional microbes. I just need to keep it more consitently moist, but its growing, and im sure its originally a very slow grower, so i guess im happy with that..
I just wish it would be the dominant moss in some of the pots. Saying that, im going to switch it over with my cephalotus, cause when that baby turns red or maroon in its later years, that moss should have had plenty of time to spread, and will give nice contrast between maroon and lime green. :)

But thanks for checking on what the name is, and what book do you have to refer to? I'd love to check it out sometime, and possibly buy it. Oh, just saw the name. Anyways what kind of bonsai do you grow? im starting a whole bunch of bald cypress, dawn redwood, and a few others in not as much quantity next spring, and hopefully selling some of them over the internet, and will get pictures of each one, with the roots after i transplant them in fall to give the person a really good look at the exact tree they'd buy.

I've never done this with orchids, but I've grown live moss on bonsai trees (I have two), and I just collect from the wild what I need. I live in a rural area, so it's not a big deal for me to stroll around outside, find moss I like that's growing in a similar environment to what my bonsai tree is in, and take a few samples. Generally, I find lots and lots of many different kinds, so I just take what looks the coolest and fits my bonsai. I don't feel bad about collecting this particular item from the wild because it is abundant!

There is a risk of pests, but you can keep it to the side and observe it, as I've done. Also, you can allow moss to dry, crunch it up, sprinkle the dried bits on the object you wish to grow it on, mist it... and if you're lucky, you'll begin to see new moss establishing itself - I would imagine this method would eliminate most pests.

Pick a type that you see growing in the kind of environment that's similar to orchid culture - you won't have to give any special care to your moss this way. I've found that it doesn't matter where you live, because moss doesn't seem to care if it does not get to go dormant in winter - the moss I've taken in spring when I re-pot has lasted years with out any snow falling on it... and trust me when I say the moss in Ohio is used to getting snowed on.

Hope that helps!

Thankes that helps alot