FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I have live sphagnum moss that I got off of eBay from a retailer in Florida. The moss was green and looked healthy, but majority of the heads were growing out to the side and not up. Is this normal? Most of the sphagnum moss I see is growing straight up. The "stem" near the head starts to make a hook shape in a way. There were only a select few that were growing vertically. Could I have gotten a weird batch of sphagnum? Would anyone be able to tell me where they got their live sphagnum moss from so I can maybe get some where the heads point upwards?


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I would recommend just giving it more time and let it acclimate. And make sure you've got proper conditions it should be okay. I think I read you got it from the seller on eBay right?

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cjpflaumer wrote:I would recommend just giving it more time and let it acclimate. And make sure you've got proper conditions it should be okay. I think I read you got it from the seller on eBay right?

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Yeah I got it from the eBay seller that many people recommended. I've had it for about 2-3 weeks. I've been keeping all of the sphagnum moss in one container and it is always moist. I keep it inside on a windowsill with orchids.


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I just ordered from the same supplier about 4 days ago, it will be in today. I contacted him on the species of sphagnum, he says "As far as I know this is SPHAGNUM CUSPIDATUM and the reason I say this is there is 3 types that grow here on the property and all are very similar and all mingle together and some may be a mix hybrid." so if it came form a shady spot in his backyard it might have been coming up sideways to reach the sun.
Also the info on the wiki about cuspidatum says "Branches are spread in quite obvious sickle shaped patterns, giving the capitulum a twisted appearance" I also read that a couple of other places too. so that might have something to do with it.

Rammplins wrote:I just ordered from the same supplier about 4 days ago, it will be in today. I contacted him on the species of sphagnum, he says "As far as I know this is SPHAGNUM CUSPIDATUM and the reason I say this is there is 3 types that grow here on the property and all are very similar and all mingle together and some may be a mix hybrid." so if it came form a shady spot in his backyard it might have been coming up sideways to reach the sun.
Also the info on the wiki about cuspidatum says "Branches are spread in quite obvious sickle shaped patterns, giving the capitulum a twisted appearance" I also read that a couple of other places too. so that might have something to do with it.

So does that mean I just got unlucky with what I got? I looked up sphagnum cuspidatum, and all of the images showed the moss growing in a straight line.


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Yeah I think so, probably grown close together so they started twisting together to form a carpet. but give it time and they will probably straighten out. I will let you know how mine look in a couple hours when I get them and post a pic.

Just give it time, it should look like regular sphagnum after it establishes. 3 weeks is still kinda early

Yep. I totally agree. And about half of mine were crooked, but it didnt really matter too much. Tops went in my moss float, bottoms will be minced for a germination tank

Most sphagnum moss will grow in the direction that their light comes from until it forms a nice carpet. Then it is just everywhere.