> > I have another question, regarding moss. I went to a garden
> > centre
> > and asked what exactly sphagnum moss looks like. He told me that it
> > looks like a small fern leaf, and grows in mats about 1" deep.
> > However, in all of the CP books that I have, the moss that they grow
> > CP in has a kind of shotish stem with a little green bobble or
> > pom-pom-like structure on the top. I have both these types growing
> > in the woods nearby, but I don't know which one I should use, or how
> > to encourage it to grow on my media . On the other hand, the moss
> > that I got that was alrerady growing in the pots when I bought the
> > plants looks completely different from both the other kinds! Can
> > you use any kind of moss, or what? Help!
The sphagnum that grows in Wales (and I imagine Scotland too,) is
found in dense cushions with the 'pom-pom' growing-tips packed
together on the surface to give a lumpy green appearance. The
stems, a few inches long, which I suppose do bear some
resemblance to ferns, are hidden by this, and are whitish and
stringy on account of being blocked off from the light by the
tips. These plants keep on growing, with the bottom ends of the
stems rotting down and turning to peat over the course of
centuries (assuming it's left undisturbed.) Hence 'sphagnum moss
peat'. If you chop the sphagnum to plant in or toplayer pots, it
will grow stems and fat growing tips in 6 months or so to revert
back to this natural habit. If you just lay the separated
strands of moss horizontally around the plants it may take a bit
longer to firm up and look good and natural. It doesn't need
encouraging - just good light, clean water and acid conditions.
If your CPs are happy, so will the moss be, and vice versa. I
find it rather too damp a medium for most CPs, tending to rot
most Sarracenia and Drosera crowns, though D.adelae, prolifera,
some of the epiphytic Utrics and Heliamphora spp. do appreciate
it. It's handy for increasing humidity in a terrarium, but if
you just want attractive mossing for Sarracenia pots etc., you're
better off getting some spore-producing stalks (can't remember
the technical name :) from a smaller moss (the kind that grows on
walls is good,) and sprinkling on the surface of the pots.
Hope this helps,
Peter
snail:Peter Cole,17 Wimmerfield Cr. :mailto:carnivor@bunyip.demon.co.uk
Killay, SWANSEA SA2 7BU, WALES :http://www.angel.co.uk/flytrap/index.htm
vox:+44 1792 205214 :ftp://www.angel.co.uk/pub/flytrap