# Selaginella Care



## SHADES254 (Apr 8, 2008)

Hey Guys,

I was wondering how many of you here on the boards use this type of plants
for decorating your tanks ? I am experimenting with them for the first time and seem
to be getting mixed results. How important is the lighting for most types of Selaginella,
and is there a definite preference as far as the substrate that they rest upon ? I have 
been told they don't do well in an overly moist substrate. I would appreciate hearing
from anyone here who has had success with these plants in their tanks ! Thanks 

Shades254


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## epiphytes etc. (Nov 22, 2010)

Really it depends on species, but most seem to prefer bright, indirect light and a moist, but airy substrate.


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## Gamble (Aug 1, 2010)

Please keep in mind, that under proper conditions, this plant can grow quickly and take over a tank.

Atleast in my experience, working with Peacock, it took about 3-6 mo to really get going, (planted from 3-4 small cuttings). but once it did, it quickly over grew the other plants.

I would suggest planting this plant as minimal as you can handle & just letting it do its thing.

It's a pretty plant tho.

If you look thru my thread, you can find some updated pics of my tanks with this growing nicely.


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## qdude46 (May 1, 2013)

In my viv it sadly turned brown and died off except for a few sprouts left over so I just threw it out. Some people have better experiences with it thought and it's a very beautiful plant.


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## zth8992 (Jul 19, 2012)

I have mine in direct light, mist every other day or so and it has taken off. A lot of roots all over the cork tubes and it doesn't pull it self down really so there are a ton of visible roots which is kind of unappealing but still love the colors. Can turn brown but if it isn't mushy it's fine. Easy to start from cuttings just put the end in some sphagnum and it will take easily.


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## Dartfrogfreak (Jun 22, 2005)

It really depends on the species. 
Ive grown dozens of species. Most of them dont mind different light specs. But they like their feet a bit wet. 
Selaginella erythropus looks better in lower light. Under high light it tends to look very blah.
Also, Ive found the Selaginella kraussiana variants to be a pain to grow period. 
Selaginella uncinata is a weed be prepared to trim that one every 1-3 weeks. Or cut it back to almost nothing every few months.

1 key component to growing the majority if Selaginellas is to NEVER let their soil get too dry. 
I have been experimenting with Selaginella sericea the past few months as a houseplant. I keep a 10 terracotta bowl of it in a shallow water dish with about 1/2 inch or so of water in the dish and let the pot self water. I didnt top water the plant until about 2 weeks ago when the ambient humidity started dropping too much.
The leaflets are a little brown here and there, but overall the plant is very healthy. 
I think soil moisture is a major component in success with this genus.

Todd


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## LoganR (Oct 25, 2013)

I've found _S. kraussiana_ to be a pain as well, but other species seem a bit more forgiving. Unfortunately a lot of what I have are without proper Latin names, just names like "Semi-aquatic Selaginella from Malaysia." There are probably many species out there that have never been assigned formal Latin names.


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## Dartfrogfreak (Jun 22, 2005)

There are a ton of species in the hobby alone that are assigned official Latin names. Not to mention the hundreds of species that arent in the hobby that are assigned Latin names. 
There are also so many species in the hobby that arent even formally identified yet


Todd


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## gryfer29 (Feb 12, 2019)

Dartfrogfreak said:


> There are a ton of species in the hobby alone that are assigned official Latin names. Not to mention the hundreds of species that arent in the hobby that are assigned Latin names.
> There are also so many species in the hobby that arent even formally identified yet
> 
> 
> Todd


What soil do you use when growing these species in shade house type conditions. From other posts about selaginellai, I can gather that you have a pretty extensive knowledge of the genus especially some of the lesser offered species. I plan on importing a couple and any care tips would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## jgragg (Nov 23, 2009)

> 1 key component to growing the majority if Selaginellas is to NEVER let their soil get too dry.


Agreed, firmly. It's really the first thing to take care of - the first limiting factor.

If they are happy with their moisture I think you can often get away with a variety of substrates (damp wood, cork bark, LFS, ABG, etc) and light intensities. If it's happy it will "crawl" rapidly to whatever light if wants. Or endure lower (or brighter, I guess, though I have never seen that) light than it might desire.


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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

Dartfrogfreak said:


> 1 key component to growing the majority if Selaginellas is to NEVER let their soil get too dry.
> odd


If you do let the soil get dry, selaginella will die in a matter of hours in my experience. Went to work one day with everything looking great in my plant prop tank and came home to a crispy plant that would never recover. About half a day.

I'd also like to add my annecdotal experience with Selaginella kraussiana. I am of the belief it is a little slower to adjust to changing conditions. I purchased mine from a local nursery. It melted almost 50% upon putting it into a plant humidome within a mater of days. I theorize it was due to the change (a dramatic increase) in humidity. It took a while to acclimate, and once it did, I have had no issues with it....except if I try and take it out of tank/humidome culture and reacclimate to houseplant culture.


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## jgragg (Nov 23, 2009)

> If you do let the soil get dry, selaginella will die in a matter of hours in my experience.


Yeah, exactly - me too. Zero to crispy between breakfast and lunch. The horticultural ones just cannot abide dry conditions. Though there are some taxa I have seen in the desert - kind of a resurrection fern deal they got going. Real trippy.


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## Capsized (May 5, 2020)

I have 3 that thrive in moist ABG. My favorite is the gold tips just left of center.









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## varanoid (Jan 21, 2011)

Capsized said:


> I have 3 that thrive in moist ABG. My favorite is the gold tips just left of center.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


beautiful tank. thanks for sharing


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## Capsized (May 5, 2020)

varanoid said:


> beautiful tank. thanks for sharing


No worries. Thank you!

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