Humid substrate for orchids?

[awesomebillfromdawsonvill]

After getting some advice from the forums, I was trying to pick up some spaghum moss for my orchids, because the current moss i have in there is not getting me over 60%humidity. However I could not locate any at the pet stores I went to. In the end I settled on this moss with the generic brand name of "frog moss", it seems to be alive, needs indirect sun light for one reason or another so I assume it grows mybe? Does anyone have any experince with this stuff? Advice or warnings? Is this gonna get the humidity im looking for? Sorry I dont know the actual type of moss im at work right now away from the package, will post moss type when i get home. Thanks in advance for any advice! Oh yeah if anyone can tell me where to get spaghum moss from that would prolly be cool too.

 

[Rick]

Are you in the states? If so go to any lowes or home depot and look for this stuff called "orchid moss". It comes in a dried soft brick shape. When wet it holds a lot of water. Don't get all worried about getting to a certain humidity level on a gauge. Get the moss moist and mist daily for orchids and it will be fine.

 

[Alex 1]

I've kept orchids without substrate and had no problem. But if you want to take extra measures to prevent mismolting, you can also have some mesh or a paper towel up the sides in case is falls and can have a chance to get back up. The only orchid mismolt I've had was when an orchid fell and couldn't dry in the proper upside down hanging position.

 

[Rob Byatt]

Hi there,

it is not necessary to get the humidity really high for H. coronatus; this is one of the things that people always think they need. 60% is okay, but spraying them every day is likely to cause more harm than good.

Just spray every other day and they will be fine.

Rob.

 

[Rick]

Hi there,it is not necessary to get the humidity really high for H. coronatus; this is one of the things that people always think they need. 60% is okay, but spraying them every day is likely to cause more harm than good.

Just spray every other day and they will be fine.

Rob.

No problems with it here. But my room is heated at night by a small heater that really dries the air out. I think some of the best advice in this hobby is find what works for you and stick to it.

 

[Rob Byatt]

Hi there,it is not necessary to get the humidity really high for H. coronatus; this is one of the things that people always think they need. 60% is okay, but spraying them every day is likely to cause more harm than good.

Just spray every other day and they will be fine.

Rob.

No problems with it here. But my room is heated at night by a small heater that really dries the air out. I think some of the best advice in this hobby is find what works for you and stick to it.

I completely agree Rick, but the point is I have bred hundreds of this species, so what works best for me may be what is best for the species.

This species is more common now because people have been listening to advice from breeders.

A few years ago not many people had bred H. coronatus in the UK and everyone was obsessed with high humidity. This is one of the reasons that it was uncommon.

Rob.

 

[awesomebillfromdawsonvill]

Thanks for the input everyone! Ill go down to home depot before long and pick some moss up, and ill try not fret so much over molting and humidity in the future.( ill just use an emergency paper towle for peace of mind )