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growing in long-fibered sphagnum moss
- Thread starter rockhoppernc
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- sphagnum
lizasaur
Charlatan
jimscott
Tropical Fish Enthusiast
Ask 50 growers what they use, you'll get 100 answers, hahaha
Most of mine are in a fairly even ratio of peat, perlite, orchid bark, sand, and sphagnum moss. Hasn't been a problem yet (though, I'm suspicious about that on my N. singelana, but thats a different story). As far as I know, pure living sphagnum is best as a top dressing.
Most of mine are in a fairly even ratio of peat, perlite, orchid bark, sand, and sphagnum moss. Hasn't been a problem yet (though, I'm suspicious about that on my N. singelana, but thats a different story). As far as I know, pure living sphagnum is best as a top dressing.
seedjar
Let's positive thinking!
I've been able to make pure LFS work on the top layer of my pots, but it's not ideal, at least in the conditions I provide. The best mix depends a lot on what your other conditions are like, and also varies from species to species.
One thing you should be wary of is that LFS at the bottom of the pot can rot quite easily if kept wet all the time, or if there's poor air circulation. I like to line the bottom of my pots with a thick layer of inorganic media (like perlite, hydroton, or ceramic chips) to help with drainage and aeration. I've used charcoal/orchid bark in a pinch before and haven't really noticed any problems with it, but I expect it to decay eventually and I'm fairly sure I'll have to repot those plants well before the ones that are in a mostly inorganic mix.
I know some growers who condition their organic media outside before using it, leaving it in a well-drained container, exposed to rain and sun for as long as a year, to leach out any excess nutrients and sediment. I do that sometimes for my outdoor plants but I've always been afraid that if I brought it inside I'd get a bunch of baby slugs or something unpleasant like that. Of course I already have the occasional baby slug chewing things up, but my new excuse is that I just don't have space since I moved into an apartment.
~Joe
One thing you should be wary of is that LFS at the bottom of the pot can rot quite easily if kept wet all the time, or if there's poor air circulation. I like to line the bottom of my pots with a thick layer of inorganic media (like perlite, hydroton, or ceramic chips) to help with drainage and aeration. I've used charcoal/orchid bark in a pinch before and haven't really noticed any problems with it, but I expect it to decay eventually and I'm fairly sure I'll have to repot those plants well before the ones that are in a mostly inorganic mix.
I know some growers who condition their organic media outside before using it, leaving it in a well-drained container, exposed to rain and sun for as long as a year, to leach out any excess nutrients and sediment. I do that sometimes for my outdoor plants but I've always been afraid that if I brought it inside I'd get a bunch of baby slugs or something unpleasant like that. Of course I already have the occasional baby slug chewing things up, but my new excuse is that I just don't have space since I moved into an apartment.
~Joe
I use pure long fiber sphagnum on all my Nepenthes. I live in a pretty dry area in southern California so I guess it would work for me, but i do know a couple growers who also use pure lfs that live in more humid areas. There are also a couple of growers that use it even in their greenhouse grown plants. I think the key is to let it dry a little bit in between waterings. I am also growing a couple of plants in pure living sphagnum with good results so far. As long as you have good air circulation and you let the soil dry a bit before watering, you would have happy plants. My advice would be to experiment with a plant or two that you wouldnt mind loosing, worst case scenario, and see how they do.
