What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

How do you keep the tips of LFS from drying out?

Even in my most humid tanks the tips of my LFS dries unless you can keep it sopping wet, LFS is slow growing in my experience and having the tips of your moss turn brown is unaesthetic. How do you keep your moss growing so nice and perfect like this.

perfect LFS, it's so light & frothy.

And does anybody have some nice LFS that is rapid growing, I heard some people say that they obtained some LFS from Clint and it grew pretty quickly. I'll trade for a 1gallon bag!
 
Water more frequently, or mist the moss daily to keep it hydrated if watering once a day is too much. Moss near a source of air circulation will dry faster. Do not sacrifice air circulation for the sake of nice moss.

Francois' moss has been grown in low light. If you want "frothy" moss like his, then you need to grow it in the shade. Moss grown in higher light does not appear that way.

Sam's forum looks so much nicer than it did before. I love the logo and banner.
 
D, in my experience it seems to be the cool temps of the highland chamber which keeps Sphagnum happy and green. The lush LFS has it's seasons in the warm lowland chamber (fall and winter) but in summer it always browns with the higher temps. High 80s+*F constantly seemed to wipe out my nice LFS. My highland chamber was 40-80*F year round with a average of 50-75*F and sphagnum seems to really like that.

Also, you may want to check your salt content in your finsihed R/O water cos LFS seems like it's the first to go when the salts are creeping higher and those membranes need replacement. But if it isn't that, then I'd suspect the temps.
 
People complain of moss not performing well in higher temperatures. It's been my experience that, while it certainly performs better with cooler temperatures, it does great in lowland conditions, too. Of course I guess it depends on the source.


There will be some in the auction. Last year we made less than I could sell it privately for... maybe it'll go higher this year.
 
Sam's forum looks so much nicer than it did before. I love the logo and banner.

lol! thanks! worked on it early this month. ;) :-D
 
I keep mine saturated. I also noticed that unestablished LFS needs to be saturated and established need only be kept moist.
 
It's been my experience that, while it certainly performs better with cooler temperatures, it does great in lowland conditions, too.

I can prove this because I see it all the time in the woods and ditches here in NC. In the summer the temps get above 100f. Average summer is low to mid 90's. I think the key is with high teps you have to have either high humidity or always keep it wet.
 
I wish I could grow some nice LFSM, I think my problem is I'm always trying to take the cheap way out and recreate dried moss.

I'll be looking for it in the auction this year if I can scrape some extra dough together... :)
 
yeah! trying to go from dead stuff to live takes a lot of time. I suggest the best way is to look for some live moss and start with that. :)
 
  • #10
LSM is weird to me. One side of my pot is a bit alive but with burnt tips [I have it in a Cephalotus pot] and the other side is "light, frothy, and green", aka, the shaded side. I have a bag which has cool water in the bottom so it keeps it perma-wet and the moss is growing rather quickly in a very, VERY bright direct sunlight lit morning window. Rather nice.
 
  • #11
I'm also having problems with my Long Fiber Sphagnum Moss. I have it, as a top dressing, in all my vft pots and in some pots it is alive but with black burnt tips. Other pots it is green and light brown with fewer black burnt tips.

I just replaced one pot where all the LFSM had black burnt tips with new LFSM which is a beautiful light brown. Does anybody know how I can keep it this way?

Thank you in advance for any useful information.

Giovanni
 
  • #12
From what I have read so far it sounds like most sphagnum enjoys it cool and it likes more shadier conditions.
 
  • #13
Where are people getting this hogwash from? It grows just as well in high light, if not faster, than shadier conditions. The only difference is the moss grown in full sun will be more compact, and in my opinion, far more attractive.

Have you ever seen it in the wild growing in full sun? I have. A lot of people have. It does fabulously in full sun. A lot of us grow it out doors in full sun. Just because it's a moss doesn't mean it prefers shade. Let's do the math. Most CP's prefer full sun. Sphagnum grows with most CP's. Two plus two equals four.
 
  • #14
In full sun it grows out - short, squat but big and puffy. Under lower light it grows upwards - tall, slender and gangly. You can grow it anywhere between by controlling the lighting. It probably produces more biomass growing in full sun.

I grow it both ways. The low light grown stuff grows the long fibers that most people are familiar with. Its good for starting new batches or to dry out to line pots. I also use the longer stuff as the lower layers if potting in pure live Sphagnum moss.

The short puffy stuff I use to top my pots as it is already acclimated to full sun.
 
  • #15
I can prove this because I see it all the time in the woods and ditches here in NC. In the summer the temps get above 100f. Average summer is low to mid 90's. I think the key is with high teps you have to have either high humidity or always keep it wet.

Same goes up here in Washington. Not usually as hot, but we get a heat wave once or twice a summer and my Sphagnum never flinched. LFS grows so fast for me that it's actually more of a nuisance in my outdoor collection. And like Clint says, full sun isn't an issue either. Come to think of it, I've never found wild-growing colonies anywhere but full-sun locations. Try a large, wide pot with good drainage and fill it halfway with perlite or another inorganic aerator. Work a few strands of live Sphagnum so that they reach the bottom from the surface, then heap the rest of you moss on top, preferably enough to cover all the perlite to an inch or more. With full sun and a high water table you should have no trouble. If you have dehydration problems, throw a little peat on top and water it into place, adding a little each day until the drying stops. Some filtering shade like a tall grass might be appreciated, guessing by what I've seen in natural colonies.
~Joe
 
  • #16
Buy a bag of Clints LFS in this years auction. Stuff grows like crazy wether in lowland or highland conditions. Best purchase I ever made. I use it as a top dressing on all my neps. It grows so fast, I have probably given away another 3 bags worth to fellow cultivators. Also never had any problem with browning tips although I mist all my plants about 8 times a day. It looks really good too!
 
Back
Top