nightsky
Lover of Mountains
Recently, I coaxed some NZ long fiber sphagnum moss back to life. I did this with the plan of using it for a top dressing for a couple reasons: First I like the way it looks, second to help with local humidity, and lastly as a 'canary in the mine' - to signal if something is amiss.
After it greened up, I applied it on top of my media (coco chips and fiber, perlite). It didn't take long for the tips to blacken up, and they went from green back to brown.
I thought that maybe they were getting to dry. But from the get go, I've misted all of it twice daily, which doesn't allow the media below to dry at all, and each time I do a tactile check of it, it feels moist. I'm afraid of keeping the media too wet - I don't want to rot out the neps!
Here's the conditions they are in, in my highland setup:
Temps 57 - 81F
Humidity - Day 65%, night 90-95%.
So what's the secret? I'm having to keep the media so moist I'm afraid it will hurt the neps - but yet I see that many of you are able to keep live shagnum as a top dressing. Thanks.
After it greened up, I applied it on top of my media (coco chips and fiber, perlite). It didn't take long for the tips to blacken up, and they went from green back to brown.
I thought that maybe they were getting to dry. But from the get go, I've misted all of it twice daily, which doesn't allow the media below to dry at all, and each time I do a tactile check of it, it feels moist. I'm afraid of keeping the media too wet - I don't want to rot out the neps!
Here's the conditions they are in, in my highland setup:
Temps 57 - 81F
Humidity - Day 65%, night 90-95%.
So what's the secret? I'm having to keep the media so moist I'm afraid it will hurt the neps - but yet I see that many of you are able to keep live shagnum as a top dressing. Thanks.