Green Slime

Demetrio Lamzaki (Dee_Lamzaki@msn.com)
Mon, 1 Jul 96 17:30:32 UT

>I grow my plants in a pot with 100% sphagnum. In some spots
>of the sphagnum that appear to be dying off, I eventually get what
>appears to be a green slime of some sort on the surface. It is quite
>hot here this summer and I think that is part of the reason. The
>slime, for lack of a better word, does not appear to be effecting my
>plants at all, although the heat does a little.

John, watch out for that green slime, it can be devastating to seeds and
seedlings and will swallow pygmy Drosera whole. I know someone who
went on vacation for a week and when she came back the surfaces of
her seedling pots were covered with about a half-inch of the slime, she
lost everything (the guy watering her trays for her was not a plant person
so he had no idea what was happening). My own colony of D. pygmaea
was hit by it, it smothered a couple, one recovered, the other didn't.
I solved the problem by keeping the pot on the dry side for awhile, wiping
as much of the slime as I could off the surface, and putting a layer of
sand over the old soil, that all managed to dry it up. This slime really
moves fast, had I not noticed it when I did it would have covered the whole
surface of the pot in no time. For bigger plants it's more of a nuisance
than a life threatener, but keep your eye on it.

Regards,

Demetrios