Moss
Red sphagnum
Sphagnum magellanicum
ModerateFine in a closed jar
A peat moss that turns wine-red in bright light. Very acid.
What the simulation uses
- Light
- 8,000 to 50,000 lux
- The brightness it grows well in.
- Humidity
- 75 to 100 % RH
- Air moisture it is happy in; below the lower end it dries out.
- Temperature
- 8 to 30 °C
- Comfortable range; outside it growth slows.
- Dies at
- below -20 or above 46 °C
- Days beyond these temperatures kill it.
- Soil pH
- 3.5 to 4.5 pH
- Soil acidity it prefers.
- Grows up
- 0.35 cm/month
- How fast it gains height in good conditions.
- Spreads
- 0.13 cm/month
- How fast its edge creeps outwards.
- Thickens
- 2.5 %/month
- How fast its cover fills in on its own ground.
- Copes with wet
- excellent
- How well it stands soggy soil; poor means rot comes quickly.
- Copes with still air
- good
- Sealed jars have still air; poor means grey mould finds it.
- Copes with shade
- poor
- How well it holds on in dim light.
- Copes with drying
- fair
- How well it survives the jar drying out.
- Water use
- 0.035 ml/cm²/day
- Water that evaporates off the cushion each day in room air.
- Holds water
- 0.25 ml/cm²
- Water a cm² of moss soaks up and keeps.
- Grows on
- soil
- Where it can take hold and spread. Moss that cannot grow on stone thins out there.
Care
- Day length
- 10 to 14 h
- Substrate
- Wet
What kills it
- tap water minerals
- low light
- drying
Description
In the wild it builds hummocks in bogs and needs plenty of light. Watch the colour in your jar, since a deep red means it is getting enough. Use mineral-free water, because tap water minerals harm it.
Also called Magellanic bogmoss, red bog moss, S. medium / S. divinum (recent splits).
Estimated, where sources were thin: photoperiod for red colouring; temp_c.