Sphagnum moss question?

[Greenthumb.5]

How can you revive sphagnum moss heads? I am trying to revive them by placing them on top of the strings and keeping it moist at all times in a clay saucer witch is watered with rain water.

[Ray]

If the plants themselves have died, you may have a chance to germinate spores that are trapped.

Pure water, lots of warmth and light, and absolutely NO fertilizer.

[Brooke]

Ray I have live growing sphag on some of my constantly wet Dendrochillums and a couple of Bulbos that germinated from NZ sphag. I fertilize the plants weekly and the sphag is not effected.

I do water with rain water.

Brooke

[Paul]

Brooke, it is possible that the fact you are keeping it constantly wet (thus flushing out the media) is helping offset the fertilizer. A big concern with fertilizer is that algae tends to run rampant when fertilizer is used and it can smother moss.

[Brooke]

Paul I don't water the pot every day, it sits in a container of water all the time as do many of my Bulbos.

I use net pots lined with sphag with the media in the pot consisting of orchiata seedling bark with perlite in it.

I also grow many things in sphag and tree fern as the media and yes I get some algae but I have never smothered anything. I grow all of my Lycaste in the sphag/tree fern mix and I never remove the old sphag when I repot, it just gets up potted. The only time I change it out is when they outgrow my largest pot and they get divided.

I do use high quality NZ sphag.

Brooke