Growing Sphagnum for moss's sake

[missann]

I have a book that tells me that live sphag is a miracle worker for sick/ailing or special orchids so I bought enough live spag. to cover the bottom of a 10 gallon fish tank that I am devoting to being a terrarium for my moss so that I always have some to use in potting my orchids.

so...
I have read of people chopping up the moss in order to "seed" flats of peat moss, but I have enough moss to cover my entire fish tank. Will it survive like this, or should I spread it out so it has more room to grow?
Does each part of the plant continue to grow, or just the tops? For instance, if I take one strand of moss, roots and all, and cut it into 3 pieces, will the top, middle, and bottom all continue to grow or just the tops?

Also how long does it take for the moss to re-grow itself..like if I seed one foot of substrate with 1 inch of moss, how long will it take to grow in and cover the surface?

Finally, what is the minimum depth of substrate that I should have for growing my moss? I have a 10 gal. fish tank and about 2mm of peat moss/pearlite mix underneath it. I really don't want to put more than about an inch or two of dirt in the bottom of this thing unless it is totally nececssary because I have lined the bottom to avoid getting dirt in the cracks so I can use it as a fish tank again, should I choose to do so.

Thanks for all the help..

[patticake]

Wow, missann, I don't know what to tell you. I have sphagnum sprout in my pots and I usually pluck it out so it doesn't compete with the orchids for nutrients, etc. I never knew anyone who grew it.

[BillC]

Hello Missann, I like the idea of growing your own. Check out the link it might give some help.

Bill

Growing Sphagnum Moss

[fred]

very good questions missann

I also see sphagnum moss as a miracle worker for sick/ailing or special orchids

one you do not need to plant the Sphagnum moss onto anything you can keep the moss damp at all times not to wet just damp and it will also grow from small chopped up pieces
provided it gets bright light and also kept cool so no direct sun light, as I collect sphagnum moss and the moss is always damp from melting snow and rain.

I harvest sphagnum moss once a year from one place then move onto the next patch of sphagnum moss and once I harvest that I do not do that again for 12 months I find in the right conditions sphagnum moss will grow to about 12 inches or more in a year.

the sphagnum moss we have here grows from a single strand but will continue to shoot even when chopped up.

I have seen sphagnum moss to a length of almost 3 feet long.

I can also grow sphagnum moss in a clear plastic bag for 12 months just with placing the bag in a shaded position and keeping the moss damp in can be kept loose once its tight it will not grow as good or may even stop growing

I hope this helps you

I have just moved this into ( Orchid Potting Mediums ) as Sphagnum moss is used as a Medium as well.

[NicC]

One of the orchid growers in this area has a clump of moss about 6 feet long hanging from the rafter of his greenhouse. He waters it like any other plant and suppose, harvests it as needed. The strands are very long which is supposedly desirable for people growing that plant revered in Japan as a Samurai symbol.(I can't remember its name just now and am using the computer for this)
Nick

[jay]

That would be Neofinetia falcata, and there are several threads about it.

[made4engineering]

You can chop or shred the moss up into little bits and it will branch off from each of the little strands. Just sprinkle/spread it over the medium, and then pat it down to flatten it and make sure every strand is in contact with the medium. It will grow faster this way because of the easier access to water and light for the individual strands.

Also- Live moss doesn't rot, and holds water just as well as the dead stuff. (looks better too!) . In proportion to its size, moss grows quite quickly.

[missann]

I bought a tupperwarre container with a clear lid to grow the moss in today, and I am just afraid that I am going to crowd it. Maybe I should keep half in the tupperware and half in the fish tank so that it has more room to grow. I have about 2 square feet of it, and I am not really interested in growing a lot more than that-I don't have a huge number of orchids that will use all of it, and I want it to be something that is easy to deal with. I don't want to have to start babying it like my orchids who have thier own greenhouse, humidifier, fan and lights. I want to just be able to stick the flat in the bottom of my greenhouse and water it when it needs it.

Thanks for all you help, people. I really appreciate it.

Also, if anyone wants to buy some of the stuff, I will be more than happy to send out a little chunk to you.