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Hi, what is the difference between peat moss and sphagnum moss? I'm currently growing my newly bought phalaenopsis orchid in a pot of peat moss. Is that the correct method? Please kindly advise! :wink:

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Hi julie - regarding the first part of your question: there is no difference. They mean the same thing as far as I'm aware. As far as the second part, I have to confess I've no idea!!

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thank you so much for demystifying some of these 'technical terms' to me! I'm still pretty new to gardening but always love to have these living green things around me. I will wait a few weeks and see if the orchid grows well in the moss and post the findings here! :wink:

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they are interchangable for gardeners, but for others they aren't. peat is usually considered the compacted, non-renewable moss that is often dug out of bogs to use for fuel.

green peat and sphagnum moss are renewable resources and very important for gardeners!

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Oops! I should have thought before opening my big fat mouth!

'Sphagnum moss and sphagnum peat moss are not the same product. Sphagnum moss is used in the floral industry to line wire baskets and make wreaths. It is the LIVING moss that grows on top of a sphagnum bog. Sphagnum peat moss is used as a soil conditioner by gardeners. It is the dead material that accumulates in the lower levels of a sphagnum bog. Harvesters of the horticultural peat moss remove the top few inches of the live sphagnum moss before harvesting the peat from the lower levels of the bog.'

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Orchids want orchid potting soil not moss as their medium. I think you are possible courting either root rot or having the plant die due to a lack of oxygen to the roots or even burning the roots due to an abundance of nitrogen.

I'm a beginner orchid grower so I don't know much. But my potting mixture is a combination of bark and lava rock.



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Yup, Tammie is right. Better to buy a bag of Orchid Mix.

I have been to a Peat moss farm(2 hours drive from here), it is so cool the way they use a vacumn truck to pick up the peat matter, it was quite a process.



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I have seen orchids commonly grown in pots of bark and charcoal and did enquire about the difference in potting material used. I'm not too sure if it is due to the differnce in kinds of orchids but I noticed that those orchids that are grown outdoor are planted in charcoal but those for indoors are planted in peat moss. The person at the nursery didn't really gave me a specific answer but i was just told that my Phalaenopsis cannot be grown in the commonly seen bark and charcoal material. why


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