FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

i just got a bag of live sphagnum moss the size of an soccerball, and now i was wondering what is the best way to use it.
i was thinking of seperating the heads from the fibers so that those heads can keep growing and i can use the fibers as growing medium, or use it in the peat/perlite mix in my terrarium to make it more fluffier (or would this just be a waste?).

so i just finished separating the live from the dead sphagnum, but the dead sphagnum is still soaked with water and i was thinking of putting it in the microwave or oven (would also kill all the bacteria that might be in it). but i have no idea if this will be possible, obviously i dont like to end up with sphagnum that falls apart the moment it gets out of the oven.

As the top parts grow upward, the bottom turns brown, even though it is all still alive. Microwaving or baking it in the oven will surely kill the live Sphagnum. Start another culture like you would with with lots of humidity and in a few weeks you'll see some new heads sprout.

dr_donut wrote:As the top parts grow upward, the bottom turns brown, even though it is all still alive. Microwaving or baking it in the oven will surely kill the live Sphagnum. Start another culture like you would with with lots of humidity and in a few weeks you'll see some new heads sprout.

thanks for the reply, but i already have 2 live sphagnum cultures, and actually wanted to use the moss that i just got as potting material. thats why i wanted to dry it so i could store it without having to make sure it stays moist so it wont die.

Yea honestly, you should just lay it out as "flat as possible", Don't separate anything, just make it as much of a Mat as possible, make sure it has bright, not hot light. Cover it with something, and wait.

I use cerain wrap and let it be for weeeeeks. Trust me, it's best to be left alone for a bit, I got so much now.

Aozora wrote:so i just finished separating the live from the dead sphagnum, but the dead sphagnum is still soaked with water and i was thinking of putting it in the microwave or oven (would also kill all the bacteria that might be in it). but i have no idea if this will be possible, obviously i dont like to end up with sphagnum that falls apart the moment it gets out of the oven.

I wouldn't recommend the miccrowave, at least, just because hot, wet sphagnum smells very bad. Just lay it out to dry, unless you want to sterilize it. In my experience though, sterilizing sphagnum makes it more prone to mold in humid conditions, though algae is not a problem