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shade cloth

upper

Capensis Killer
what %age and color should i get it in?

i want to allow maximum light in, but minimum heat.

i assume that when its 60% shade cloth, it blocks 60% of the light, but how about heat? i thought of putting nepenthes outside next year, but now my sphagnum needs it more. half my sphagnum collection got cooked to death today, they turned pale white, and became soft.
 
Yes, 60% shadecloth blocks 60% of light.

Heat and light are related. Much of the heat is in the form of infrared radiation. The shade cloth should block most infrared in pretty much the same ratio as visible light (e.g. 60%). However some of the light striking your pots and plants will be converted to heat/infrared. That's why objects in sunlight get hotter than objects that are shaded even though the ambient air temperatures are the same.

The color shouldn't matter that much, which ever you prefer. 20-50% is probably sufficient. Shading afternoon sun may be all you need to do.

If the moss is white and partially opaque it is probably still alive and can be revived by wetting it down. If it is white (or yellowish) and almost clear then it is dead.

Sphagnum from Clint should be fully acclimated to full sunlight and temps that we've been experiencing Los Angeles recently. You're probably not keeping it wet enough.
 
I think there is a special type of shade cloth, made of reflective aluminum, that is meant to reflect some of the heat away...you may want to look into that. :)
 
ever since you(i think) or somebody else said it could go semi aquatic, i can just say that, its wet enough...
and i'll look into it jimmy, thanks.
 
Exactly how are you growing it then?

If you've adapted it to grow semi-aquatically then you have to re-adapt it to grow in drier conditions. That's probably why you can't get it to grow as a top dressing on your pots. It takes several weeks at least to adapt.

When adapted to semi-aquatic conditions Sphagnum changes form and gets ropey looking - shorter "leaves" that are much different than the short spindly look it gets when grown in drier lower light conditions. It also takes on a more olive (yellow-brown) color.
 
Exactly how are you growing it then?

If you've adapted it to grow semi-aquatically then you have to re-adapt it to grow in drier conditions. That's probably why you can't get it to grow as a top dressing on your pots. It takes several weeks at least to adapt.

When adapted to semi-aquatic conditions Sphagnum changes form and gets ropey looking - shorter "leaves" that are much different than the short spindly look it gets when grown in drier lower light conditions. It also takes on a more olive (yellow-brown) color.

ah no wonder..... it was very wet before... then the last few day has been hot and the water evaporated, the peat under it is still sogging wet, but the top was turning brown, and 1 day after that they all turned white.... so how do i adapt it? slowly decrease water level is pretty hard....





thanks.
 
The easiest thing to do is get it out of direct sunlight, maybe only a couple hours daily. Wait for a good layer to grow above water level and then start lowering the level. Even faster would be to cover it and grow it under lights, hopefully you can control the temps indoors better that way. It will grow wispy from the lower light levels. Snip off the black/brown tips as this inhibits growth. Then slowly acclimate it to higher light levels.

You can work with the wispy stuff to start a top layer in pots. The trick is to start with a dense clump that won't dry out as quickly (don't spread it thin). Keep it mostly shaded to begin with and top water and mist frequently until it starts growing out. Divide the clump, let those grow a bit, then divide and grow again, filling the pot surface patchwork fashion.
 
The easiest thing to do is get it out of direct sunlight, maybe only a couple hours daily. Wait for a good layer to grow above water level and then start lowering the level. Even faster would be to cover it and grow it under lights, hopefully you can control the temps indoors better that way. It will grow wispy from the lower light levels. Snip off the black/brown tips as this inhibits growth. Then slowly acclimate it to higher light levels.

You can work with the wispy stuff to start a top layer in pots. The trick is to start with a dense clump that won't dry out as quickly (don't spread it thin). Keep it mostly shaded to begin with and top water and mist frequently until it starts growing out. Divide the clump, let those grow a bit, then divide and grow again, filling the pot surface patchwork fashion.



what do you mean by wispy? and i never knew that black/brown tips stop growth, i got alot of work to do then :jester:


thankyou
 
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