Dark Green Sphagnum

[Clint]

I added some plugs of live spagnum to my terrarium about 2 weeks ago. People complain about it being slow/hard to grow but mine grows very fast, and I love that. What I don't like, however, is the new growth on it. All the new growth is dark green, however it's still compact , so it is getting enough light,I guess. Why isn't it a nice lime green? It can't be the light, because my lights are almost 3x the power of normal flourescent lights, and because i collected it from an an area where it was growing in water in the dark (not litterly, but it was an extremely low-light environment) and it was light green then.


Humidity is always over 90 percent, soil is 2/1 ratio of sand and peat. i dont know if that matters.

 

[Darcie]

Quote[/b] (JustLikeAPill @ Dec. 13 2003,10:03)]I added some plugs of live spagnum to my terrarium about 2 weeks  ago. People  complain about it being slow/hard to grow but mine grows very fast, and I love that. What I don't like, however, is the new growth on it. All the new growth is   dark green, however it's still compact , so it  is getting enough light,I guess. Why isn't it a nice lime green? It can't be the light, because my lights are almost 3x  the power of normal  flourescent lights, and because i collected it from an an area where it was growing in water in the dark (not litterly, but it was an extremely low-light environment) and it was  light green then.


Humidity is always over  90 percent, soil is      2/1 ratio of sand and peat. i dont know if that matters.

More light = Darker Green or Red depending on the species. Higher acidity can also make red species more red. There are also two "levels" of some sphagnum. The lower part is usally darker green with the upper reproductive part a lighter green.

Yes, I spend too much time with my sphagnum species and reading about them, lol. I think they are almost as much fun as the CP's themselves.

 

[Clint]

WOW! so i have alot of light. thats great!

thanks, darcie!

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

If the color is sort of black, this might mean the moss is wicking up salts from the medium by capillary action. This happens sometimes, and is an indicator that all might not be well in your mix. I have not found much difference in the color of this moss as regards light levels in the tips of the sphagnum. Do you have any photos of this?

 

[Clint]

i'm sorry, no pics. it's definately not black though.

Its the color of a christmas tree, except a LITTLe bit lighter in color. however, its alot darker than lime green.

It's growing pretty fast

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

I am reassured. As long as it's growing, all should be fine. Sphagnum is a very good indicator of CP health in general. If it thrives, they thrive.