I also forgot to add : /...if i end up getting dried moss instead of live, should I sterilize it, and if so by what method?

Can't find the link to her website, but here's a link to her eBay stuff~
http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZteresab123
She has some cool mosses for sale...

Here is a link that might be useful: Moss Link

I was under the impression that sphagnum is the only moss that will work, because other mosses will kill your plants eventually. But I donno.

As for other plants... Maybe some Butterworts or Bladderworts? Butterworts are pretty attractive plants, Bladderworts are mostly underground but they do send up their flower stalks a lot.

Maybe some weirder Sundews, like the Wooley ones, Filiformis "Florida All Red", or Pygmys?

Sterilizing soil is done on regular potting soil and one way I heard is baking it in an oven at 350 for 20 minutes. But I donÂt think that will work on sphagnum peat moss or long fiber sphagnum moss. It may cause it to cause part of it to become like charcoal and destroy its acidic nature. Why would you want to sterilize it?

I never so reasons to sterilize it for my plants.

Now adding some form of ornamental moss can be dangerous. Most of the moss I saw on the link provided grows in alkaline soil and most moss has a tendency of turning any acidic soil they are growing alkaline. Reason they are dangerous to CPs. Very few moss can grow safely on acidic soil without converting it.

In my case I have some small sprigs of moss growing in my pots but that is after I have determined theyÂre not dangerous to my plants. If I see wilting or some change that make my plants look down. I scrape them off. If no sign of harm show on my plants, I let them sprout and proliferate. It usually may take a month or 2 for moss to sprout from your pots but if you sterilize the medium, you may kill the spores of some of the mosses that doesnÂt cause harm to CPs.

Yes, for now. Sphagnum moss base media is the best to grow CP. Some species of Nepenthes can be grown in a mix of orchid bark and/or coconut husk. Some growers are experimenting growing CPs in other inorganic mixes in their media because the harvesting of sphagnum moss is destroying precious wetlands where CP grows. I remember buying a brick of LFS moss and in it had the remains of what looked like a dried pitcher of a S. rubra.

Seramis and Lecaton clay pellets have been used successfully on some Neps (www.sarracenia.com/faq/faq3320.html). Some have been successful grown species of terrestrial Utricularia in leaf litter.

On some websites I've read that if LFS isn't sterilized it can cause growth of molds and fungi. Is this true?

There is a type of fungus that grows in moss that can enter human skin. But it is true with all product that carry sphagnum moss and only effect people with weak inmune systems.

That has never worried me and I don't bother sterilizing my media.

Still... if you wish to sterilize it, just remember you may change the composition of that make sphagnum moss acidic that is important for CPs.

Bladderworts and wooly sundews generally do well in a terrarium setup.

{{gwi:546696}}

I thought most people sterilized LFS to make sure LFS spores (read: baby LFS plants) don't grow. Even dead and dried LFS will have spores and regenerate, there's a thread on intentionally doing that on "that other forum" -- just take some dry LFS, absolutely SOAK it with water, put it under lights, and wait.

Not sure about molds and fungi, I thought those were a problem with any wet potting media, not just LFS?

Well I don't keep my soil too wet so I don't think fungi and mold will be a problem, but with LFS I thought I should sterilize since it'll trap lots of moisture within itself.