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Spanish Moss drying up indoors
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Posted by
hj89 MA (
My Page) on
Thu, Dec 9, 10 at 13:54
| Hi all,
I have a rather large piece of Spanish Moss that I keep indoors. I've had it for about a year, and used to keep it in front of a bathroom window which seemed to satisfy it's humidity and light requirements. However, I moved a few months ago and my new bathroom has no window. I placed it in front of a window in another room, and it seemed to be doing ok with copious amounts of misting. However, now that the heat is on for the winter, it has become very dry and I'm not sure quite how to take better care of it.
It hangs over a table with several plants with pebble trays, which doesn't seem to help. I don't own a humidifier, though I am curious if putting one in the room would negatively affect some succulents I have growing by another window. Another crazy idea I had was bringing the Spanish Moss into the bathroom every time I took a shower so as to take advantage of all the moisture.
Thoughts please?! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Spanish Moss drying up indoors
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| I would recommend using RO water when misting,& putting it right next to a humidifier (& if your new place is anything like my apt, you will be lucky to get the room's humidity up to 33% running 2 humidifiers). Next idea would be to set up a terrarium. |
RE: Spanish Moss drying up indoors
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| Misting alone is probably not enough. I regularly soaked mine overnight in a bucket of water when I kept it in the house. It always looked much better the next day. I wouldn't expect it to thrive in such dry conditions, though. The soakings will just help it survive the winter. You can also add a bit of fertilizer to the soak water. I used 1/8-1/4 strength. |
RE: Spanish Moss drying up indoors
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| The soaking sounds like a good idea. I may invest in a humidifier as well. Thanks! |
RE: Spanish Moss drying up indoors
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| I brought some Spanish Moss home from a winter trip to Florida a few years ago, thinking I could keep it alive also. I even had the idea of mounting them on a piece of cleaned sea sponge which was sitting in a dish of water to keep them moist, but they still ended up drying out before winter's end. Christopher |
RE: Spanish Moss drying up indoors
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| Spanish Moss is one of the more environmentally sensitive of the bromiliads. I'd suggest experimenting with one of the other Tillandsias. Even the addition of a humidifier won't be of much help. |
RE: Spanish Moss drying up indoors
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It never hurts running a humidifer. Dry air effects my breathing, so once our heat is turned on, I set up a humidifer and an indoor fountain. The fountain is placed in the corner of a plant room where both tropicals and succulents are over-wintered. Added humidity won't bother your succulents, as long as soil isn't kept wet.. But humidifer or not, a suc will rot if soil is constantly wet.
I also keep a second, smaller, filter-less humidifer in the upstairs bedroom. Sure, when you're in the shower, bring your SM in..Every little bit helps. Can't hurt. SM is one of the prettiest mosses around, but they're not meant to grow in a dry living room. Then again, neither are many other tropicals, but we keep them going, right? Good luck, Toni |
RE: Spanish Moss drying up indoors
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RE: Spanish Moss drying up indoors
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| Hi all, I have really wanted to try Spanish Moss in my house as a hanging plant. I have a whole house humidifier that keeps the house at around 45% humidity. I have a swamp cooler that keeps the humidity up around the same percent in the summer. Under those conditions what would be you opinions on how often I would need to give the plant a full soaking in a tub to keep it vital? Larry |
RE: Spanish Moss drying up indoors
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| Knowing how sensitive Tillandsia usneoides (Spanish moss) is, I don't think you have much of a chance of keeping it vital for very long. But it doesn't hurt to try! |
RE: Spanish Moss drying up indoors
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| Hi Rhizo, Thank you so much for responding! I have had enough plant experiences that have failed, I don't need to put myself through that one more time. I guess I will pass on this one. The thought of having Tillandsia usneoides hanging from the ceiling does seem cool though. Larry |
RE: Spanish Moss drying up indoors
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| Larry, if you can obtain some fresh SM, submerge it in bleach water for a few minutes and rinse well afterward. Allow to air dry. The 'moss' will maintain a nice appearance for a long time, rather than turning dry and dusty. I learned that little trick when treating the stuff for mites, chiggers, spiders, and other lovely critters prior to using it for crafts, packing material, etc. It stays nice looking for years. You might be able to fool people into thinking that it's alive. Dorie |
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