> Over the last couple of months the sphagnum appears to have
> "settled"
> and now is about 1/2 to 3/4 of and inch below the rim of the pot. The
> top of the sphagnum remains green in spots, and in other spots it
> remains a slightly brownish-white color, but does not appear dead.
> Should I be concerned with this settling and that some spots on the
> surface do not grow green?
>
>
I use live sphagnum for almost everything, and my most common situation
is that it grows up and over the pot and the plants. One of the things
I have to watch is to make sure the depths of the pot still have enough
material to support the roots. Sometimes the thick top layer of
sphagnum hides voids down at the root level. Perhaps your settling is
due to the moss filling in one of these spots. Another thing to think
about is that live sphagnum in my experience is more sensitive to water
conditions than even the Sarracenia. I occassionaly get dead spots in
the moss for no clearly apparent reason. If I pull the dead spot out
new moss usually moves in to fill the space.
> Another concern is of water depth. My pot is 5.5" deep, and sits in a
> water tray about 1.5" deep. Is this depth of water sufficient for the
> proper growth of live sphagnum?
>
> I would like to eventually move to a larger pot. Can I rely on the
> sphagnum I have to grow to fill a larger pot or am I going to have to buy
> some more?
Water depth is within the range I use. One thing I do in using sphagnum is to
make sure that the moss is properly oriented when being planted. Sounds
obvious I suppose, but it doesn't make sense to me to plant the moss upside
down or sideways and then expect it to reorient itself. As for replanting,
when I repot I almost always need far more new moss than was overgrown in the
pot. For one thing the moss at the bottom usually has begun to break down and
needs to be removed. Secondly, the moss naturally goes fairly loose, when I
repot I try to compact a little to ensure good support (ie for upright Sarrs.)
until the plant is restabilized.
Hope this answers your questions.
Tom in Fl.