Personally moss can kill a Phalaenopsis faster then anything! It is a very tricky media to use. If that is true you may be thinking, why use it then? Well for one, it is fairly cheap in some places and very convenient to use.
I currently have two bags of it sitting in amongst my orchid supplies. One bag is a dull, gray brown color and in spite of the bag saying, "high quality New Zealand Moss", it clearly is not! I have used it only on a few plants where it quickly clogged everything up depriving my Phalaenopsis of drainage. They lost their roots very quickly.
The other bag IS High Quality New Zealand Moss. It is tan and cinnamon colored, very long fibered and much easier to work with. I should mention that they both came from the same vendor whom I adore!!! The bad stuff needs to be discarded because I am afraid to use it, the other is fine.
Another point that just came to mind. I have seen New Zealand offered for sale in like these "little bricks". Yet when I open it up, it is not long fibered but shredded!
Nothing will kill an orchid faster then shredded moss.
Currently I still use the good moss for Phalaenopsis and I use it in my mix for Zygopetalums and Bull Frog Paphs. There seem to be no issues there that I can tell.
Happy Growing All.
