Plants
Peacock spikemoss
Selaginella uncinata
EasyClosed jar only
Blue iridescent fronds that spread fast in shade and constant damp.
What the simulation uses
- Light
- 1,000 to 5,000 lux
- The brightness it grows well in.
- Humidity
- 70 to 95 % RH
- Air moisture it is happy in; below the lower end it dries out.
- Temperature
- 15 to 25 °C
- Comfortable range; outside it growth slows.
- Dies at
- below -15 or above 30 °C
- Days beyond these temperatures kill it.
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 7.5 pH
- Soil acidity it prefers.
- Grows up
- 0.35 cm/month
- How fast it gains height in good conditions.
- Spreads
- 3.5 cm/month
- How fast its edge creeps outwards.
- Copes with wet
- good
- 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
- excellent
- How well it holds on in dim light.
- Copes with drying
- poor
- How well it survives the jar drying out.
- Water use
- 0.11 ml/cm²/day
- Water drawn up from its roots per cm² of leaves in room air; a sealed jar cuts this to a fraction and returns it down the glass.
- Leaf drop
- 3 %/month
- Share of its leaves it sheds each month as litter for the cleanup crew.
- Soft leaves
- yes
- Soft new growth that hungry isopods will nibble.
- Full size
- 11.5 cm tall, 37.5 cm wide
- Its size when grown, before the lid stops it.
Care
- Day length
- 12 to 14 h
- Substrate
- Moist
What kills it
- drying out
- direct sun
- slugs and snails
Description
This spikemoss comes from southern China and spreads quickly when kept damp and shaded. It handles cold better than most jar plants. Keep the soil moist all the time, as it does not tolerate drying.
Also called blue spikemoss, peacock moss, peacock fern, rainbow fern.
Estimated, where sources were thin: growth rates; temp_lethal_c; humidity range.