Date: Tue, 25 Nov 1997 09:19:00 -0500 From: "Mellard, David" <dam7@cdc.gov> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg4505$foo@default> Subject: RE: Live Sphagnum - What do I DO with it?
>What do I DO with it? When should I use live sphagnum instead of peat?
It makes a nice top dressing for Sarracenia, either in a bog or in a
pot. Smaller growing cp's may have a more difficult time treading the
sphagnum, which tends to overgrow them.
>Should I plant my seeds on live sphagnum, or on peat?
I planted Sarr seeds in live sphagnum once and got rather poor
germination. But then, that was when I was new to this obession and may
not have stratified the seeds properly. Other people may have better
experiences. I get good germination of Sarr on a peat/sand mix (1:1)
and see no need to change.
>When I repot plants this spring, should any of them be planted in the
live sphagnum >instead of peat/sand/perlite?
As stated above, your Sarr will like it. I have a few growing just in
live sphagnum and they do fine. One of the reasons I use live sphagnum
is that it's great for keeping the surface soil of your mix cool so I
try to use it whenever I have a cp that is sensitive to heat. I think
many of you know the next word: DARLINGTONIA.
>Or am I just growing this so I have something to plug the holes in the
>bottoms of the pots with?
Sometimes that's hard to tell from a distance. I also like using it in
an aquarium with some plants planted directly in it and others in pots
set into the live sphagnum. I also like the asthetics that it gives
to some plantings and so would use it in some cases regardless of its
benefits.
Thanks for asking a rather intriguing set of questions.
David
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