Tuck of fluff?

[Clint]

do you tuck your LFS in (pack it down) or do you just sort of plop it in the pot and let it stay all fluffy? i was wondering if this made a difference and if tucking nepenthes media is a bad idea.

 

[Treaqum]

Pack it down a bit. I am assuming you mean pre wetted LFS

 

[jimscott]

Why should it be packed down? Just curious. When I look at the live LFS I have growing upward, housing several species of leaf cuttings, the moss is airy / fluffy. Wouldn't that be resembling natural conditions?

 

[Treaqum]

Not like packed down totally but just gentially pressed down so not a lot of air is in it.

 

[jimscott]

Not to be a pain, but why should it be packed down some?

 

[Clint]

hmm.. i dunno.. i hope tony or dustin say something...

 

[sharp229]

I have always packed it down just slightly, mostly to hold the plant in place. I probably don't need to anymore though, since I have to use stakes on the larger plants anyway.

Doesn't water end up packing it down pretty well anyway?

-Ben

 

[nepenthes gracilis]

I don't have a preference for packing or fluffing spahgnum. It shouldn't be compacted like a brick or fluffed to just a few strands, but, just fill the pot up and plant your Nepenthes.

 

[Clint]

basically i try to stuff as much lfs in the pot as possible...

it's not brick-like though

 

[SydneyNeps]

I pack sphagnum in as loosely as possible, as the roots grow in the spaces, so the more space, the easier it is for the roots to grow into the medium. With larger plants, I try to have the leaves resting on the rim, and only fill the pot to just above the root like, sprinkling the sphagnum on then watering it to compress it a bit. Eventually the sphagnum grows up the pot and starts spilling over the edges.

 

[Treaqum]

Yes N.G. explained it well

 

[Tony Paroubek]

say something .. ok

SOMETHING

I don't use pure Sphagnum often. However, Sphagnum has the remarkable ability to hold a huge amount of water while simultaneously holding a huge amount of air. I compress it just enough to give the plant some stability. A flopping around plant = damaged plant. I try to maintain the Sphagnums ability to hold air and moisture. The more you pack it the less air it will hold. It is also possible to pack it so tight you reduce the water holding capacity too!

T