Re: Spanish Moss

Chris Marsden (100620.2156@CompuServe.COM)
18 Jul 96 04:40:09 EDT

All,

> At 08:35 AM 96/07/17 -0700, you wrote:
> >> A couple of months ago I bought two new Nepenthes (N. alata and N.
> >> coccinea). Since I was out of sphagnum and could not find any
> >> locally, I tried potting them in Spanish moss. They are doing very
> >> well, with large, healthy pitchers. Has anyone else tried this?
> >
> >
> >What is "Spanish Moss"?
> >
> >Andreas Wistuba; Mudauer Ring 227; 68259 Mannheim; Germany
>
>
> Spanish Moss is a tillandsia...I forget which species. It grows in
> the southern U.S., draping gracefully from live oak and other trees.
> It is often sold, dried, in garden and flower shops, where it is used
> as a base for flower arrangements. In texture, it is quite open and
> airy.

It's T. usneioides ( well I can't spell it ) but I would have thought it
was quite expensive to buy, the stuff in my Nep terrarium is growing
*very* slowly (which is a good thing because if it gets any bigger it
will get eaten by the D. aliciaes). Anyone had any long term success or
otherwise with this as a potting material? It certainly is good as a
shading material.

I got mine from the BBC gardening show in Birmingham, 3 pounds 50p (4 to 5
dollars I _think_) for a nice bunch.

Kind Regards,

Toby