How to Change the Sphagnum Moss for Phalaenopsis? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Method

The growing medium for Phalaenopsis is mostly sphagnum moss, and changing the sphagnum moss for Phalaenopsis is also a situation that flower lovers often encounter. Whether it is a Phalaenopsis sold on the market outside or a Phalaenopsis grown at home, it needs to be repotted regularly. Especially for Phalaenopsis just bought from outside, after bringing it home it is recommended to change the growing medium first. Although repotting while in bloom is a major taboo in flower growing, for Phalaenopsis it is a must.

In the north, many people buy Phalaenopsis to bring home around the Spring Festival. It is the cold winter season, indoors there is heating, and the air is often relatively dry. The Phalaenopsis sold on the market has growing medium packed too tightly, with too strong water retention, and buyers who do not know how to grow them often like to buy them arranged in groups to bring home, so dying after blooming is the current situation for many people growing Phalaenopsis. In the north, using sphagnum moss to grow Phalaenopsis, repotting in time, and reasonably packing the sphagnum moss is exactly the key to growing Phalaenopsis well.

The basic steps for changing the sphagnum moss for Phalaenopsis are as follows:

Step 1: Take the Phalaenopsis out of the original pot, remove the old sphagnum moss, cut off dry roots and rotten roots, and soak it in disinfectant solution for half an hour for disinfection. For the disinfectant solution you can use: carbendazim mixed with water or 1:5 hydrogen peroxide mixed with water (100ml hydrogen peroxide mixed with 500ml water). Because carbendazim is toxic, I often use hydrogen peroxide for disinfection, which is safe and does not affect human health.

Step 2: After disinfection, take it out and let it dry for one to two hours, until the orchid roots turn whitish and moist.

Step 3: After disinfecting the new sphagnum moss with high-temperature boiling water, forcefully squeeze out the excess water until no more water can be squeezed out, just like a wrung-out towel, moist but not wet.

Step 4: Hold the Phalaenopsis upside down, stuff the squeezed-dry sphagnum moss into the very center of the roots, stuffing it to a degree of seven or eight parts tight.

Step 5: After stuffing the sphagnum moss into the very center of the roots, use sphagnum moss to wrap all the outer roots, then stuff the Phalaenopsis into the pot. Put some small pieces of plastic foam board into the bottom of the pot in advance (to increase the breathability of the pot bottom, and at the same time create a drainage layer, making root rot less likely).

Step 6: After potting, press the sphagnum moss around the edge of the pot with your fingers, then continue to fill in sphagnum moss and continue pressing until the sphagnum moss is seven or eight parts tight (the sphagnum moss is slightly elastic). Be careful not to press the middle position of the pot, otherwise it is easy to break the orchid roots.

Step 7: After potting, place it in a place with weaker light and keep it in shade for half a month (shade growing will promote faster root growth and quickly pass the potting recovery period), then gradually increase light. An orchid that has just been repotted must not be directly given a large amount of water to soak through; it must be kept dry for a period of time until it passes the potting recovery period (the orchid stem basically has new roots sprouting, which takes about one month). Before passing the potting recovery period, if the pot surface is dry, use a spray bottle to spray it a little wet; do not spray too much water, otherwise root rot is easy. By the same principle, fertilization is also not allowed during the potting recovery period.

Step 8: After patiently caring for it and passing the potting recovery period, you can restore normal fertilizer and water management.

After potting, do not water; place it in scattered light for one week of care. For normal care, after the surface sphagnum moss dries out, water by spraying until water flows out from the bottom; it is not necessary for all the sphagnum moss to be soaked through, and even less should you soak the pot. Growing it this way, you can not only repot it in all four seasons, with the flowering period being no exception, but also save many Phalaenopsis that are near death, making them recover and become robust, blooming every year.

Phalaenopsis is often grown with sphagnum moss. Lower-quality sphagnum moss generally rots in about one year. If new sphagnum moss is not replaced in time, it is easy to cause root rot, thereby affecting the healthy growth and even flowering of Phalaenopsis. Generally speaking, for the quality of sphagnum moss: domestic sphagnum moss is relatively poor, Chilean sphagnum moss is better (especially Chilean seven-star sphagnum moss), and New Zealand sphagnum moss is the best (the price is also the most expensive, but it can be used for two to three years).