Sphagnum moss - live

[Maren]

Hi,
does anyone know where I can buy live sphagnum moss in the UK? the short strand type with the little green rosettes? I am using this for my carniverous plants, which are companions to my tropical orchids. I think I killed a batch when I ran out of rainwater and now I'm a bit desperate to get some fresh supplies. Any suggestions most welcome.

[pseudobulb]

hi maren  you should be able to buy live sphagnum moss on ebay. i bought a large bag of this  in the spring for use on my pleiones, you could also try amazon, some garden centres stock this but only normaly in smalish bags, hope this is of help kind regards pseudobulb

[Maren]

Hi pseudobulb,

I tried these but it tends to be either long strand or dead.

[Hoy]

Maren,

I should gladly send you some but it is a bit difficult I think!

(I have no pictures of the green ones!)

[Chris Johnson]

Trond

Is that Sphagnum capillifolium? It's the commonest red species we have here.

[christian pfalz]

hello hoy,
please send me an e-mail at   christian.winkelblech@gmx.de
many thanks
cheers
chris

[Hoy]

Trond

Is that Sphagnum capillifolium? It's the commonest red species we have here.

Yes, I think so.

[fredg]

Just grow the long strand Sphagnum and then cut the tops off and use those. They'll regrow new tops.

[Maren]

Hi Fred,

if I get some long stranded moss, I shall try your method. Thanks.

[hud357]

It has been a while since this thread started and Maren may well have gotten herself some alternative Sphag.

Just noticed that... http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/urprettysmart/m.html?item=191670784733&hash=item2ca07812dd&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562
is back.

I got myself 10kg from here a while back and was very pleased with what arrived.

It is a shorter growing sphag and under all manner of conditions will grow anywhere between green->blackberry. Very good for what I had in mind. Plenty of 'lower material' too (still live) , if you are looking at mixing 'dead' into your media to hold water.

As a slight aside, the best way (North UK), I have found, to keep Sphag, of all kinds, growing is to get one of those cheaper plastic garden sieves and just drop it in there 'face up' and make sure it never gets dry. One of the few 'media' that increases when left to its own devices     

[Maren]

Hud, you are right, I received a nice parcel of fresh Sphagnum moss from Christine on the island of Uist. Outer Hebrides. Apparently she walked across the island to collect it, and I couldn't be more grateful. It's not just the moss, it's the walk I imagine and the landscape and atmosphere. We are so fortunate here to make friends with people from all over.

The moss is now sitting on a bed of peat in a plastic washing up bowl on my allotment (don't really have a garden to speak of). I placed it in semi-shade, next to my water butts, which collect rainwater from a greenhouse. It looks quite happy.

I am still striving to set up a little Sphagnum unit I saw some years ago. It consisted of a pond cascade, where each tray was filled with sphagnum. The water re-circulated, driven by a little solar powered pump. I've never seen such happy and thoroughly green sphagnum. Obviously the water never stagnated, just as in nature. A project for the future.

In the meantime, thank you for that link. I might try it once I set up the proper environment. I don't need fresh sphagnum for my orchids, they put up with dead moss. But it's for my carnivorous plants, of which I have quite a collection.

Trouble is, we are plagued by thieves on the allotment. They filch anything they think they can sell at the local pub or a car boot sale. So maybe my first installation should be an electric fence, powered by a car battery, charged from a solar panel - that's if they don't steal the equipment. 

[fredg]

Just accidentally connect the fence to the National Grid Maren. That'll deter hem 

[ian mcdonald]

At some shows, such as harrogate, plant stands often had masses of moss to "improve" their displays. I expect this moss was then thrown away after the show. I wonder if this is acceptable? It seems like a waste of a multitude of plants. Even if they were bought in for the show they must have been collected from somewhere. Perhaps they could have been re-used after the show. Even when dried out, mosses, such as Sphagnum species, can be re-juvenated by immersion in water. I don,t think sphagnum is so fussy as to require rain water.

[Maren]

Hi,

when I displayed at shows, I used sheet moss bought from a garden centre.

After the show, the moss carefully collected and laid out on a large black gravel tray, kept moist and in the shade and with a plastic sheet over the top it used to last all through the season.

[Jack Meatcher]

A couple of years ago, Maggi tipped me off about Orchid Supplies Ltd (orchidsupplies.co.uk). They certainly sell sphagnum moss but it may not be live. I use them for Long Tom pots.

Also, if you can't get rainwater, go to Tesco's household products section and buy a container of de-ionised water. The chap near Winchester (UK) who wins Gold Medals at Chelsea for his carnivorous plants recommended it to me when I bought a Drosera from him.

Jack