FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I have the same fungus growing in my sphag cultures ( pic is not mine) and I find it really annoying. Doesn't seem to be affecting the sphag but it looks ugly and I want to get rid of it any suggestions?

That stuff grows in one of my pots on the live sphagnum that came with it. I always thought it was mold. When I give it better air circulation it goes away but when I have it in stagnant air it comes back again

A small bit a peroxide, mix 1/50 with water will kill it.

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Megan is correct.I think your sphagnum is slightly wet.
Sphagnum works same as carnivorous plants in terms of watering,
if you will keep them "moist" they will grow well and if you keep wet it will bring consequences like these.
Am I correct Megan?

That is not true. :p
Sphagnum itself will grow in a rather wide variety of conditions, and seems to grow fastest when quite wet. (Which makes sense, when you realize they grow in waterlogged bogs and similar locations). I've had it grow underwater as well (but it doesn't look very nice).

Even when speaking about carnivorous plants, not all like it only "moist". There's some like U. graminifolia that will definitely grow better wet or even waterlogged rather than moist. Some species even stop growing and die if kept just moist. Of course, there's a lot that do like it moist, but it depends on species and your own conditions etc etc.


Mold can grow even if you only keep the soil moist. Usually it is a result of bad air circulation as Megan said and often the presence of some decomposing organic matter that the mold is feeding off of.

Is it "cottony" like mold or is it thick and slimy? Maybe it's a slime mold or some bacterial growth.

Jds wrote:Megan is correct.I think your sphagnum is slightly wet.
Sphagnum works same as carnivorous plants in terms of watering,
if you will keep them "moist" they will grow well and if you keep wet it will bring consequences like these.
Am I correct Megan?

I grow Sphagnum while it stands in water halfway high, in a bright location, no indirect light.
It only dies back when the temperature gets too high.

You can't really compare Sphagnum's conditions, to CPs.
Sphagnum, in general, likes very bright light, but cool temperatures, with high humidity, and that is why it does great in highland greenhouses. In higher temperatures it burns and dies, especially if not kept wet.

CPs enjoy a wide variety of conditions. Some, as mentioned above - Aquatic Utricularia, enjoy being submerged. Sarracenia and Tropical/Sub Tropical Sundews grow nicely in wet soil, even in nature.
Dionaea like it moist, not wet.

Also, these mentioned CPs can do well in higher temperatures (most of mine survive temperatures of over 40 celsius for short periods, and high 30s for most of the summer), as long as they are kept in wet soil.

All of them can do well also in RH of 20-40%.