Thought I would try these interesting plants...so have one, it does dry just as they say, into a ball. It does NOT open wide like suggested, just opens a bit, maybe til it is almost 2 inches wide. It also grows white mold on it when it is open, which concerns me. How can I kill the mold on this, so that it hopefully will do better for me? It never gets green either, stays a brown color with a hint of green when open...

Hello muffin! I have that plant, I just leave it alone outdoors in its little tub container. If I remember to water it then it gets to fully open. It did get some good cold rain two days ago and temps have been cool so it is holding itself open longer, water has not evaporated fast so it is able to remain moist longer. I cannot stand its musty smell when it is wet, so I decided to leave it outdoors.
I just keep this plant as an oddity of sorts in my garden, have not even tried to see if it will root. But it adds fun seeing it do its close-open cycle.

I do not know how to remove the mold though. But here is how my plant looks like:
In April 2015





this November 10, 2015 after our two days of cold rain:

mine never opens that much I cannot leave mine outside...I live on the prairies of Canada, and -40C+ would kill it I am sure! I would like to get rid of the white mold...then pot it in gravel and let it grow...unless it is a dud...

I used to live in the prairies too, several years ago..and I know what you mean about our dead cold winters there.

I saw this article about white fuzzy mold see if the remedies they suggested will work on it. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/n...

Since your area is colder than mine, maybe you need to give it some extra lighting to increase ambient temps, that way it is not too wet. You may have to wait till late Spring or Summer to be able to bring that out for much needed fresh air, if it survives.

Good luck!

it has been the same since mid summer...in the sun and heat, so I don't know....will deal with mold issue first and see I guess

Maybe it is the humidity aspect. Maybe it is getting too dry indoors? My plant opens up outdoors when soaked, but as seen in my photos it takes awhile to open wide, our humidity during our dry season is so low sometimes 0% to 20% only. I just let it try to open regardless and then close later on, always fun to see.

During rainy time and cool conditions here during Fall to early Spring, it opens up faster and holds it longer since our humidity is at 60 to 80% or higher if it is actually raining.

But do try to treat the mold, it may be an issue with poor air circulation around it that makes it too damp and conducive for molds. Maybe you just have to wait for Spring and then bring it out and let the cool rain handle it.

Oh no !!! Before I found this site I had one and got so upset with it that I threw it away..

Oh sorry to hear that Sharon..but you can always try again

well, I tried something for the white mold...will see if it worked and let ya'll know either way

Oh okay, keep us posted regardless. I removed the excess water from my plant, since we are going to have cold rain again by tomorrow. Though it is trying to close, I guess it is getting some moisture in the air at night, so it is like in suspended mode of closing up.

Just putting here observation on my resurrection plant after our two days of cold winds coming from the north, quickly dried it out, now tightly closed. Our humidity went down to 25% too..so the aspect of humidity and winds affects the opening up of this plant, considering it got rained on two days before.

Muffin did you get rid of the mold

What ended up working for me was changing the water every day and misting with a mixture of one table spoon baking soda to one gallon of distilled water. Baking soda is a natural fungicide but it can also make plants sick in large amounts so be sure to not let it build up in the pot and rinse the plant to get rid of the dead mold and excess baking soda when you change the water. Watch your plant for signs if it starts to act sick change the water and back off for a day or two to let it recover. This is hard on the plant so only do it if you actually have mold. Another way if actually possible is to let it dry out completely then spread out all the parts in the sun. This should not hurt the plant in its dormant stage. Just be careful of squirrels.

Hullo KyleRiebow! Glad you are back to update us!

My plant is not looking brown or green now It sure makes a very dry and tight closing of its leaves, but I finally watered it again today, it still opens up. I guess am just keeping it here in my garden as a nice oddity.

Thank you, Tarev, for the pics and instructions on how you grow yours. I had the same experience as @SharonTexada. I got it, got disgusted with it and threw it away figuring it was the ugliest plant I'd ever seen! I may have to try it again just for the novelty.

Hi Karen, my plant is not pretty looking too right now..those old photos were 2 years ago.
Here is what it looks like now, I just had it soaked in water and now sitting in that ceramic container with no drain holes but is on top of those clay rocks and some pumice, so it has opened up, but the leaves are too dark, almost black. Don't know why it is like that, but at least it still managed to open. Have repositioned it now to some sun, maybe it needs sun..who knows..but it is an oddity, fun to watch.

To be honest I have forgotten about it, just left it outdoors in one of the cube grids.

Your good care has kept it alive. It's a strange one, for sure.

I remember back in the late 60's/early 70's when Resurrection Plant (Selaginella lepidophylla) was a novelty. I got one and tried it but was working very long hours at the time so it didn't survive. They are such interesting plants but I know with my current age and lack of patience, it probably wouldn't live long a week!

I remember when every magazine and comic book had an ad for them. I can't remember how much they were, but my guess was about a quarter.

How do you know if your resurrection plant is growing? Are there any signs of to look for?

Can 1 plant produce others while it is by itself?

I hope someone is still here monitoring this. 🌞