New to Sphagnum....Questions

[AlessandraS]

Hello, I have a few questions about sphagnum, and repotting.
In all the time I've grown orchids I've never used sphagnum.
A few days ago, my brother finally helped me tracked down a few phalaenops violacea var alba seedlings.
The leaves were translucent and you could clearly see the veins and the roots were cracked, but they're still salvagable.
The seedlings came in a bark mixture which did not look too good, so since they're a little sick I've decided to repot them into sphagnum for added moisture...
How exactly would you do this, is it any different from repotting into bark or CHC?
Another qustion about the leaves, the tranclucent leaves....what causes this...were they not given the proper nutrition?
Thanks everyone,
Alessandra

[paphman910]

Hello Alessandra:
I grow all my Phal violacea var alba in a plastic pot with styrofoam peanut as drainage. I use sphagnum moss around the roots but I soak the moss overnight. Then I squeeze out the excess water from the moss and pack the moss around the seedlings loosely. I also put the seedlings in an area with high humidity and very bright indirect light and keep the temperature high (33 C) during the day and about (20 C) at night. They should recover in about 3 to 6 months. I would also change the moss every 6 months because the moss starts to decay due to moisture.

I think your leaves are probably deprived of water since the leaves are translucent due to root problems and low humidity. My Phal violacea var alba leaves are bright green and very round and thick.

Paphman

[Gin]

Hi , I grow all my Phal. species in Spag. and any seedlings . I use small shallow plastic containers like Tupper ware with extra holes in the bottom and the sides made with a sodering iron, if you use a regular pot add styrofoam peanuts to take up some of the depth . Small pieces of styrofoam are added to the Spag.it is not packed tight so air can get to the roots . The object is to let them dry as fast as possible but not bone dry . The leaves on yours might be from root loss . being kept to wet . The violaceas are prone to rot , just my humble opinion . Hope you can save them that is a very nice violacea. Gin

[AlessandraS]

Hey Everyone thanks for your responses.
I'm a little concerned about humidity....how much would be good, I keep things in my orchid growing area at about 70 percent day in day out, and everything including my bellinas are doing great.....
Should I try increasing the humidity for the seedlings?
Thanks
Alessandra

[uncasteeb]

70% should be excellent for the seedlings .