scratch that - though it is still ALIVE it DOES look unhappy. I wish you could edit Gardenweb postings...

It seems to be a bad year for S. uncinata everywhere. Mine is still trying to populate the entire garden, but it looks like you are describing yours. Mine receives too much morning sun since the jerks nextdoor cut down all of their Southern Magnolias, including 2 mature ones that furnished shade on part of my eastern exposure. Plus we have had a Spring with scant rainfall, 0.75" in early April, none in May and 3 brief showers in June, totalling 1.8". Even the potted S. uncinata, that is in total high shade, doesn't fare any better, it looks terrible also. It doesn't seen to respond well to the water from a pipe.
I just hope that it hasn't become so weakened by climatic conditions that pests and diseases will start to take a toll.
Rb

Hello Treehaus,
understand your problem but can only speculate as to an answer. I am growing various non-native species in containers in my greenhouse and notice that a couple are almost bleached out entirely while others are green. The conditions for both are the same except for the potting mix. As I failed to note the kind of mix I used I am starting to suspect that it is the soil conditions that are the culprit in the coloration of the plants. With the species you are wondering about, s. uncinata, I would think that some sunlight or dappled sunlight would cause the plant to become redder and more metallic as these are probably reactions to incresing sunlight.
My first recommendation would be to try fish emulsion on the plant or a very diluted miracle gro liquid. Note: I am cautious about using fertilizers on club mosses but your thread really makes it an important experiment to attempt.
So perhaps repotting into a fresh mix will be helpful and maintain sufficient light with daily watering> this would mean a mix that drains rapidly as you are used to with your xerics but one that can retain moisture or the plant is kept in a very humid atmosphere (60%+).
Also there is the question of coolness. One thought I had in looking at my whitish plants is that they are too warm.
I have yet to put them on the floor of the greenhouse but believe that a cooler spot may be helpful. The only way I can grow S. kraussiana in my greenhouse without being in a container is to have it on the floor in shade and give it a good misting every day.
Hope these comments help or at the least provide approachs you can make in seeing what changes will work under your conditions.

Selaginella uncinata is native to the S.E. states. I planted a 2" x 2" plug into a 5" x 8" wire basket filled with sphagnum moss about 10 weeks ago, then hung it on a finishing nail in dappled shade. Here is a photo of its status. Also shown is Selaginella in Hawaii growing wild.
{{gwi:607440}}
{{gwi:607443}}

Thanks folks, these are very helpful recommendations. Interesting pictures, as well. The image of Selaginella in Hawaii, to me that one looks like Selaginella willdenovii, "vine spike moss." Razorback, I am sorry to hear about the loss of your next door Magnolias. You always have to wonder how that kind of thing gets rationalized.

Terrestrial man, nice to hear from you! I think you might be onto something with the coolness, and I will tell you why I agree with you. This is my suspicion: S. uncinata, although it grows in the Southern U.S., is native to China, and it grows on the forest floor close the soil... I bet it is able to tolerate the high subtropical warmth in its native climate by being so close to the cool, shaded ground of the dark forest floor.

I will try to find a cooler spot for my uncinata.

It may be the case that it has also not been humid enough for my S. uncinata, which I have not been misting very diligently.

The other issue that concerns me is light. I just bought a new little pot of S. uncinata, and it is that wonderful, deep metallic blue. What kind of light should it receive? I have read things that suggest medium filtered light, but I have also read that it likes deep shade. I am an indoor grower (I live in an apartment), so for me it is not always easy to solve problems of lighting by subtracting light with shadecloth or the other strategies one uses in a greenhouse. Instead, I have to move things away from windows... Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Hi Treehaus,
not to take away from your thread but Houstonpat do tell us more about your uncinata. How often do you water it and
what are the temps the plant is experiencing!
I definitely will try something similar with sphagnum moss.
Is it living moss or dried sphagnum moss or the ground peat moss that you are using???

Hi
I have a lot of trouble with uncinata though it supposedly grows wild here i've never seen it Isn't it native to SW China.?? How can you positively ID the Selags?? I grow martinsii in the shadehouse in soil, sphag,
and tree fern and in every location it's a different color. lol. Ranges from a straw color through greens to a metallic blue. If they weren't cuttings from the original plant i'd swear they were different kinds. I'm sure the amount of light has something to do with it.
Grows great in the summer ,goes dormant in winter and hates my tap water. I put in a water collection system so use only rainwater for all my plants and it seems much better. Grows best among the tree fern in dappled light while the best color is in deep shade in top soil .
I got a red form about 6 months ago rupicola?? I believe but much more of a brown .
They all look alike to me lol gary

The photo from my yard was just an example of how I am growing Salaginella, it is not S. uncinata. I have found light and water (as always) to be key. It is growing in dappled shade, never direct sun for more than a few minutes. I water it every day or so. The temps here are 78F to 94F with 60 - 100% humidity throughout the long summer. I have grown uncinata and other species in the ground but they eventually die off after being completely covered with fallen leaves over the fall and winter.

Houstonpat,

Is the selaginella you're growing in the wire basket S. kraussiana?

Gary,

my understanding is that uncinata is native to China, so is S. willdenovii, which is similar looking though more vine-like in habit. I do not have a way of collecting rainwater, but do you think I could use distilled water instead (maybe with fertilizer added)? I think that I too should probably try to avoid water from the tap.

What is deep shade, like 200 foot candles?

Hi
Have never measured the foot candles but wouldn't matter anyway as it changes throught the year.The brightest blue is growing among oil fern below macho fern with heliconia above that and various hanging baskeets above that with 3 inch lattice on the roof. I'd call that shady lol. Trying to get it to establish on the ground .RO water certainly couldn't hurt a thing.
houstonpat Won't uncinta go dormant?? I've heard it will handle down to frost of maybe lower if mulched.. i figured in my case it was the incessant heat. Most of the tropicals i grow go dormant at around 50 but soon wake up again gary.

While this thread is focusing on a member of the sub-genus Stachygynandrum (those that look like S. kraussiana, such as S. apoda-a true native species) I am wondering if anyone is growing members of the sub-genus Tetragonostachys. These are more moss-like in appearance and is characterized in the east by S. rupestris. There are several species in Texas (the state that can lay claim to having the most native species of Selaginella in the continental USA). If so what and how??