Growing live sphagnum moss from dried LFS

[eBeyonder]

I've have moist LFS sealed in food containers out in the tropical sun. It's been a month or more but the only thing that is green appears to be algae

So, some questions:
1. Must the setup be cool? The tropical heat is 30 degrees C and I'd imagine it to be hotter in the box.

2. Do I need to mist it continuously or can I leave it moist sealed in the container? Does it need to be almost under water or just moist?

3. How much light is needed? It's now outside in the sun so it probably gets 12 hrs of direct sunlight a day.

4. Do I need to chop them up? Does this make a difference?

5. Finally, is there a "sterile" form of LFS? I mean, could they be dried so much that it is impossible to get new growth out of them?

Thanks!

 

[PlantAKiss]

Hi

I can't tell you how to deliberately grow sphagnum like you're doing in a container, but it grows very well in my tanks...not something I expected. I put a layer of dried sphagnum in the bottom of my tank and wet it just to help raise the humidity...and lo and behold, in a few months I had a carpet of beautiful, green, live moss. I guess it responds well to the artificial lighting and warmth. So I've never had to TRY to grow it...it just grows on its own. I don't use it very often just because I like the carpeted look it gives the tanks. Maybe the problem is the sealed container? My tanks are open enough for air circulation.

Suzanne

 

[peter]

I have some sphagnum that I just leave in indirect sunlight and cover the top of it with plastic wrap. They are growing good and they are sending up weird little stems that look like they're going to flower or something. What are they?

 

[Spectabilis73]

Never leave live lfs in direct sun! they hate that!

they like shade or, at most, indirect sunlight.
Peter,
That green stem is just the new growth of the lfs

 

[goldtrap2690]

i wonder what happens if i try to regenerate chilean and new zealand sphagnum moss , the only live moss i;ve seen is domestic .