It depends on what kind of peat moss they're talking about. Are they talking about New Zealand sphagnum moss? This is regularly used for phals by many growers, and some people might add perlite to the mix. NZ moss holds more water than bark and is often used with clay pots because of this.

Then there is a peat moss mix called Pro-Mix, which is the dark, aged moss. Many growers use this mix because the phals grow fast in it. I've tried this myself. The mix holds more water and fertilizer than regular bark medium so it doesn't need them as often, but it needs replacing more often. My phals did very well in this mix, but I couldn't repot every six or eight months so I switched back to bark.

Stony Brook Orchids has some beautiful, healthy plants, so you might want to ask Susan which mix, exactly, does she use.

Their FAQ describes it as looking like "dirt". Would that be the Pro-mix you mentioned?

Yes that would be the Pro-Mix. Technically the Pro-Mix is not just the peat moss but all the other ingredients (vermiculite, perlite, lime, etc.) that might be added to the straight peat moss to come up with the formulation. A certain amount of speculation and extrapolation has to be applied to the project of considering a new medium like Pro-mix for plants that have been growing in something very different. For sure it won't be as simple as repotting in the new mix and then carrying on as before! Watering frequency might have to change and/or light levels might need to be increased.

H

If you hate to water, a peat based mix is for you. I personally hate it for phals but have some terrestrials in it that need constant moisture. Even with 50% more perlite added to the mix, I only water them once a week.

Brooke

I have some seedlings that I was thinking of trying this with. Bark is too big for the tiny root system and I'm not crazy about using spag because it stays soggy for longer than I would like. Any suggestions?

I find sphag in clay pots works well for recovering and small orchids.

But yes, a mixture of sphag and perlite is normally used for orchids that prefer wetter conditions, such as stanhopeas, anguloas etc.

RP1

Sphag is great if it is not packed too tight. To avoid this I have been using it mixed with tree fern fibers and absolutely love it. The tree fern keeps the sphag airy and it cannot collapse around the roots, even if you are behind on your repotting. I have taken phals out of flask and this has been a great medium for them. Between the clear pots and the sphag/tree mix, the success rate is great.

Brooke

There is a big difference between peat and moss. Peat is the decomposed moss and other organic material that is mined from old bogs. It is usually ground and and "dirt-like" compost. Moss or Sphagnum Moss nowadays is usually long strand sphagnum from New Zealand or Peru or Chile and are used by itself and stuffed into clay pots. It hold a lot of water. I grow most of my cattleyes that have lost their roots and pot them up in New Zealand sphagnum.
However, once they have good roots formed, I transfer them to a traditional orchid mix which consists of medium fir bark, perlite, Canadian peat, and some medium charcoal. I wouldn't grow anything in pure peat. It's like mud when it gets wet.

I have heard that spagnum peat is okay - bought some phals that way and they just about croaked. You need to pot for your growing area. I had a very wet greenhouse and used a minimal amount of spag moss with large sponge rock - lots of peanuts.

New greenhouse this year and is dry so went to HP pro mix -- that's the one you want -- got it with the fungicide though it doesn't make a bit of difference - on the advice of a very good grower of many awarded phals I mixed it with 50% bark -- he also said let it get very very dry between waterings -- course he knows I love to water. Planted my phrags in the same mix - you can control the driness by the amount of peanuts you put in the pot - a few for phrags a lot for phals. So far so good. Supposedly you can make regular into HP with adding perlite.

Remember repot for your growing area -- would not recomend this for a high humidity area.

I get sick of soggy rocks and bark in the pot deep and the top drying out too quick. peat, rocks,bark, it'll all retain too much water for too long. so don't water the thing till it comes gushing out the bottom and keeps gushing. this big of a pot will hold 8 fluid ounces for awhile, like a week or so putting canadian peat in the thing with bark and rocks works fine for me, peat like that won't absorb water quick, it drains. I can do that though, i check my pot of orchids daily. they jut get a mist a day for a week, then watered lightly, like where water might or might not run out to equal 4 to 6 fluid oz's, so peat, plain canadian peat, works for me. I am just not gonna shell out 12 bucks for a tiny amount of peat. as far as the seedling re flask flask replate or whatever it's called, until they can't quite budge out of a test tube, or whatever, first set of leaves for like 4 months or more afterwards, i think, but not sure. everyone is different about their orchids. i am surprised, mine have lived this long and even co exist amongst other kinds in the same pot. phals seem to do alright, leaving the flowers a little while, but not like 90 days, a month seems fine, then clip those suckers off. i am learning, and,mine might die. so far so good.

oh the packing peanuts, seem fine for a mount, but in a pot, right up under the crown with the root ball grasping it would be water depravity, which would be fine for a wintering dendrobium k. or d. so it can dry and chill and eventually flower later, but it just seems to deprive the plant of oxygen in a pot. anyway, on the peat, see how dry this looks? might look wet, but it is just damp. no it isn't dirt, lol. that is watered for the week, then light spray daily, away from inside of crowns. sure, it might pop off, but, it has been an entertaining learning experience. phals can get pretty dry and live. when they want water their leaves let me know, but then again if they are too dry this and too wet that. I might be able to go two weeks with the canada peat, might just try that, and mist with a good squirt deep a few times a week.

dendrobiums will fool ya, see that cane, it had a keiki that broke off too early, was zapping the cane anyway, the light sun scorched the keiki, the rest is history, but that cane has green and the keiki fell out of the pot to the whims of the cat lol, to the ivy, so, i will just have to see if it turns up,but that cane that supported the keiki, looks pretty rugged, still living. and the search for the kei ki begins, lol. the roots might suck that cane dry, but they will benefit. orchids are fascinating. cats do the cutest things sometimes.