Looking for Live Sphagnum Moss

[Gage]

MAli, I do hope you find what you're looking for, and the moss you have looks great! Just wanted to put in my 2 cents. I believe sphagnum is more of a bog moss than an epiphyte like the moss that grows on rocks and trees. I always found it growing in the boggy edges of creeks when I was a kid. It would be a mass of moss about 6 or 8 inches deep. So if you put it on a log or branches, you'll likely rot the log with the amount of water it will need to grow. I would suggest something more like a fish tank with it standing in a little water. I don't know much about vivariums and the like, but the water would probably need to be moving or changed regularly. But hey don't let me keep you from trying something different! Just telling you what I saw in the woods in Alabama. Good luck! And by the way it may grow somewhere near you?

[MAli]

Great to see I'm not the only moss lover here. What is that stuff in the second pic Bud ? I can't really see much in the third pic but it looks different. I like different



Thanks Gage for the info. I learned about wood rotting inside my tanks years ago and since then I only use dense driftwood like Mopani , Malaysian or the stuff collected from rivers. I find these last forever and I love how they look covered in moss. Corkbark is my #1 go to material for tank Backgrounds though. Orchids love to grow roots on damp corkbark IMO.

Cheers

[31drew31]

Surprised nobody has mentioned Understory yet. They have 3 types of tropical mosses.

Mosses | Understory Enterprises

[penfold2]

I've been experimenting with local mosses lately. I'm still working on getting some orchids mossed up, but here are some pics of a few other plants that have been growing in 100% live moss for 4-6 months. The moss has grown considerably in that time.

Hydnophytum simplex:


Hydnophytum formicarum 'Horne Form':


Lecanopteris luzonensis:


I'm finding that terrestrial mosses work quite well on mounts. I start with a good size patch, so that it holds some moisture and starts growing faster. There are usually several different species in each patch. Some will thrive and some will not. Sometimes I get one species dominating at the drier upper half of the mount while another species dominates at the wetter lower half.

Here is a Bulbophyllum plumatum that I recently mounted:


The moss is just a thin layer right now and requires frequent wetting, but will hold moisture for longer periods once it thickens up.

[ronaldhanko]

We get live sphagnum from a muskeg - floating bog - in the area. I also get moss, as Bud does, from the woods, old stone, etc., but would warn that you have to be very careful. I let it sit for quite a while before using it since it can harbor snails eggs, other insects, weed seeds, etc., some of which can cause a great deal of difficulty with your orchids and especially with smaller orchids in a closed environment.

[MAli]

Penfold2 Your moss look " Delicious" !! I too am starting to notice something like that but I thought it was just my imagination . The plants on live moss seem to start slow but then boy do they catch up.

Thanks for the info Ron. Unfortunately I learned that lesson the hard way. I am now a professional snail and slug killer !! I found a very effective biological control for the water section but the land section is ruled by my tweezers.

Drew I actually had Understory as a backup plan if I can't find Sphagnum. I like their stuff but it's too "green" without the reds I'm looking for. I might use the blue Selaginella for the tail. I once saw somewhere that had a really nice red moss but I can't find it anymore You are partly to blame for this cause you got me hooked on pings and other CPs.

[s.kallima]

As mentioned by Ezil, HawaiianBotanicals has a lot of nice sphagnum species (some that turn red if grown in bright light). You should email them.
I visit them often as they are my prime source of rupicolous laelias!
I have some wild sphagnum growing in some of my orchid pots (the ones in semi-hydroponic), but sphagnum will be very hard to grow on mounts, because it requires to be partially immersed for most of the year (aside from winter). The species from north america are never as fluffy as NZ species. I am growing some successfully in a terrarium, in a clay saucer that gets misted 3 times a day with pure water, and under T5 fluo lights.

one of my Masdies in live sphagnum

Masdevallia murex by Jaljala photography, on Flickr

[MAli]

Thank you for reminding me about Hawaiian Botanicals I don't know why I didn't check them out. I've ordered from them before and I was happy with everything I got so I decided to check them out. BINGO !! As far as moss I think they have most of what i need plus a few cuties that I just have to get

Thank you Ezil for the original recommendation.

[bballr4567]

I have a keiki that is going to be ready for a mount in about 2-3 weeks so I grabbed some live moss on my bike ride yesterday.

It was ground moss so I figured it would be ok. Should be a fun experiment if I can keep it alive.

[ezil]

bballr4567, are you sure you want to risk this? Moss from the garden/forest harbors all king of insects, some very minute, not to mention eggs. You may want to grow it separate from all other plants until you are sure it will not create problems for your other plants. Good luck!