liverworts

Peter Cole (carnivor@bunyip.demon.co.uk)
Fri, 13 Jan 1995 18:09:37 GMT

Brett Lymn said:

>The problem is weeds. I have a
> couple of varieties that seem to be endemic in my collection and no
> matter how hard I try I cannot get rid of them! One weed is, I
> believe, called liverwort - it is a thick green leaf that sits on the
> top of the peat, the underside is a mat of fine roots. ...
> The other weed I do not know the name of. It is
> a rosette of thin stalks with small spiky leaves arranged in bunches
> up the stalk, mostly decumbent up rises up at the end of the stalk
> where the flower/seed head is borne. ....
(stuff deleted for space)
>Anyone got any good ideas about how I
> can cope with these pests?

What's wrong with liverworts? If you leave them long enough you
get pretty little 'palm trees' ( flowers? ) growing up from the
main leaf. They don't seem to do any harm, and are a good
indicator of moisture - if the liverworts go crispy, it's time
to water your CPs :)

The other spiky weed - damned if I know. They're fully hardy and
resistant to drying out though the roots aren't too invasive - they
pull out if you're careful. I guess from your description they're
the same as mine - I haven't seen mine produce flowers yet, but
it's sort of like a miniature terrestrial pondweed ( Aldrovanda
without the traps. ) They don't seem to like shaded pots though...

If you ask me though, the worst pest of all is U. Sandersonii -
I mean, short of napalm, how do you get it out of other pots?

Peter Cole | carnivor@bunyip.demon.co.uk | If Pavlov had used cats, the
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