Marimo Moss Ball Collapsed

[JustKia]

Months ago I bought 5 Marimo moss balls - yep, I know they are not really moss but algae.

4 of the are still nice and round, albeit bigger than when I bought them. The 5th one has collapsed. They were kind of golf ball sized when I bought them and the 4 are now just a bit smaller than a tennis ball. The collapsed one is smaller than the rest.

I've tried giving it a squeeze and rolling it in my hands but within a few minutes it just collapses again. Is there any way to revivie it? I don't really want to split it and tie it to something as it seems like a pointless task, everyone else who has tried seems to come back and say it didn't attach (and it's not moss, so it's probably not going to act like a moss).

If there's a way I'd be quite happy to split it into two and make two smaller balls, or just make it back into one big ball

 

[iffles]

what does it look like when it collapses. i have 2 given to me by a friend, and the instructions say that when it starts to flatten out (when its a good size) you should split it and roll them into 2 smaller balls. if there are 2 main lumps in the moss, you should take these and roll the into 2 smaller ones IMHO.

 

[JustKia]

It just looks like a deflated ball - just sort of squished.
So, try making it into two smaller ones?

 

[iffles]

probably, but mine arent very big yet and havent split, so ive never done it. but maybe whats happened is the middle didn't get much light because it grew bigger, and the center died so it was hollow, and then it collapsed. I would split it if thats probably the case because it wont easily go back to its round shape, and might do better in 2 balls, but the balls might not be very round (they might be oval or lumpy) to start with. Search "split marimo" in google images and there are trays with newly split marimos that were from a large strangely shaped one. You can probably split it into multiple marimos, depending on the shape and size of the collapsed marimo.

 

[jennybugs]

I've had that happen with plenty of mine. They go lozenge shaped. I just spilt them and roll them up. Just remember to regularly roll or turn all your marimos to keep them nice and round

 

[JustKia]

LOL It's the smallest one that's collapsed

I'll give it a go as two

 

[iffles]

good luck with the marimos

 

[Inchworm]

I've had that happen with plenty of mine. They go lozenge shaped. I just spilt them and roll them up. Just remember to regularly roll or turn all your marimos to keep them nice and round

Hi jennybugs

Do you tie it up to keep it that way?