Using Live Sphagnum Moss As Potting Media for Neofinetias?

[Pilot]

not to be devil's advocate but I don't think it is entirely true that neos MUST dry out in winter. I have a group of neos, Amani, that has 50+ fans growing in sh-- a situation where I assure you they never completely dry out. I think it's less of a cardinal rule than it is a situation requirement-- meaning that if you grow in moss, the roots that grow in this environment experience a large swing in conditions and that when it's cold out (winter) the roots need the protection of "dryness" to keep rot at bay. If the plant is in sh, where conditions are nearly constant with the exception of temp, the roots are already adapted to handle the situation and thus need not dry out in the winter.

With that said, live moss is a tricky thing. I have live moss growing in my grow space on plants that get watered often. it was DEAD moss but the spores sprouted and have been growing since. It doesn't like to be dried out but it will tolerate it for short periods-- for about as long as I think I'd go before watering my moss-mounted neos.

Matt I say give it a try-- experimenting is what makes this hobby fun for me. Many said that one cannot grow tolumnia in SH and I'm now the proud owner of a tolumnia that didn't get that memo, which is also blooming and has HUGE toli fans that have thick, full leaves. I'm not saying what Jeremiah et al says isn't valid or true-- I'm just saying it's worth a try and who knows, you may be on the cusp of a new way of growing neos that improves your plants or gets more people into the hobby, which is always great. I do think Jeremiah's point is a good one and it may be difficult but maybe you can figure out something that'll get the plant happy in this situation. I personally would LOVE to have a green moss mound that isn't algae. As you said, it seems that once established it would provide a pretty cool symbiotic relationship.