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Growing Plants In Sphagnum Moss

Milled Sphagnum moss is a versatile and popular material used by many gardeners. You can use it in various gardening applications, from soil amendment to growing medium for plants that prefer high humidity levels.

Sphagnum moss can be used for plants you may not know about. In our guide, you can find more about the many sphagnum moss uses. By the end, you’ll see how you can use it for floral arrangements, hanging baskets, and sphagnum peat moss in regular pots to help with water retention.

Growing Plants In Sphagnum Moss

What is Sphagnum Moss?

The term “sphagnum moss” describes a large moss genus that contains about 380 species. Most sphagnum moss you find typically sold in your local garden center is in bogs or wetlands in the Northern Hemisphere.

You find that sphagnum moss and peat moss are dead, dried materials from the sphagnum moss plant. Gardeners and artists adore them as soil amendments and for arts and crafts. However, the two are hugely different.

It is occasionally referred to as sphagnum peat moss, but the two are distinct. Sphagnum moss for plants and peat moss have key differences, as the former is a live moss that has been harvested and dried.

Peat moss is a mix of dead or decaying sphagnum moss and other decayed matter in peat bogs. Because of this, sphagnum peat moss harvesting is bad for the environment, as there is a limited supply. Sphagnum moss continues to grow, so using sphagnum moss plants uses stuff from a renewable source. (Read Best Color Combinations For Flower Pots)

Sphagnum Moss vs. Peat Moss

Sphagnum moss and peat moss are the same plant, although how they are harvested sets them apart. The dead moss debris that accumulates at the bottom of bogs and wetlands, where sphagnum moss grows, is harvested to make peat moss.

This means that besides other decayed plant and insect material, the dead moss material is mixed with it, making it extremely rich in organic nutrients. These peat bogs date back thousands of years, hence the reason it is in limited supply.

The still-living moss that grows on the surface of bogs and wetlands is harvested to make sphagnum moss. After being harvested, these living plant material chunks are dried, making a final product entirely made of sphagnum moss and not a mix of other materials.

In addition, the two differ in their chemical makeup and how you can use them. Peat moss is an excellent soil amendment for both potted plants and the garden because it contains a variety of decomposed matter and is less expensive.

It helps retain moisture that might drain away if combined with sandy soil. It also helps loosen the soil and improve drainage if you use it mixed with clay soil. Also another benefit is that sphagnum moss comes with a neutral pH level, yet peat moss has an acidic pH level.

Whether sphagnum moss or peat moss is the better choice for your gardening needs will depend significantly on the pH level of your plants and soil. Of course, adding peat moss to the soil will benefit acid-loving plants, especially when the soil is alkaline.

using sphagnum moss

How to Use Sphagnum Moss

Sphagnum moss serves a variety of gardening and crafting needs, but because of its higher price and less varied organic content, it works best for specialized uses. You’ll frequently see it used for seed starting, planting medium for orchids, potting soil amendment, lining baskets, or other art projects. It is excellent at retaining moisture in the soil and has a neutral pH level.

Smaller bags in dried form are frequently found in both garden centers and craft stores. In addition, you can find live sphagnum moss used to decorate terrariums for humidity-loving plants. Here are some inventive ways of using sphagnum moss:

Potting medium

Sphagnum moss is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a soilless potting mix or growing medium for your indoor plants.

Pure sphagnum can be used in containers to grow plants such as Philodendrons, Alocasia, Anthuriums, and orchids, which thrive in a mix of moist substrate ate and good drainage.

To further improve drainage, you can also mix sphagnum moss with a soil amendment such as perlite, pumice, or coco husks. (Read Do Yucca Plants Bloom)

Make a moss pole

This is one of the best ways to support tropical epiphytic plants that love to climb. A moss pole also encourages other plants like Monstera and Epipremnum (Pothos) to grow eye-catching fenestrations and help your Philodendrons grow those large, recognizable leaves.

It is easy to create your moss pole. PVC-coated wire mesh, cable ties, and a lot of sphagnum moss are all you’ll need. Trim the wire mesh to the correct size, fill it with moss, and tie everything with cable ties. Once you’ve done this, you can wrap your plant around it, where the root system grows into the sphagnum.

Use to propagate seeds

Sphagnum moss is an excellent seed-starting medium because of its great capacity to retain moisture. Any plant seed, including those of cacti and succulents, can be germinated using sphagnum moss.

Fill the seeds on top of the damp sphagnum moss in a bright plastic container, close the lid, and keep the container in a warm area with direct light. The time it takes for seeds to sprout will vary depending on the species of plant you are growing. (Read What Do Plants Need To Survive)

Root plant cuttings

Depending on the gardener, plant cuttings can be rooted in water or soil. Sphagnum moss is an excellent way to up your propagation results.

  1. Your cuttings will grow roots faster thanks to the substrate’s excellent moisture retention.
  2. Place your plant cuttings stem down in a plastic box filled with sphagnum moss and mist the moss with tap water to keep it damp.
  3. Keep it in a warm area with bright indirect light, and you’ll notice plant roots forming in as little as two weeks.

Use for air layering

Vining and trailing indoor plants respond exceptionally well to the propagation technique of air layering. It is a very user-friendly method for propagating indoor plants.

  1. Wrap the plant’s growth node in a piece of damp sphagnum moss. To keep it in place, use some plastic wrap.
  2. It can hold water, so just dampen it once you see it begin to dry.
  3. Cut the plant stem and transplant it into a container once you notice roots emerging from the moss wrap’s bottom.

Heal plants that have sick roots

Having plants die from over-watering is every indoor gardener’s worst nightmare. However, having root rot doesn’t mean that your plant is doomed.

Using sphagnum moss for plants with root rot means you could save them.

  1. Start by removing the plant from the pot and washing the roots of the plant thoroughly.
  2. Cut the rotten roots using a sterilized knife and place your sick plant in a pot with moist sphagnum moss.
  3. Keep it there for about a month or until your plant looks healthy.

A top-dressing moss for indoor plants

If you struggle to keep humidity high around your houseplants, then sphagnum moss can help.

Forget misting, as this doesn’t help. All you need instead; all you do is apply sphagnum moss as a top dressing. In theory, this works like a pebble tray, yet the moss releases moisture into the air where your plants need it. (Read Majesty Palm Benefits)

Use sphagnum moss for basket liners.

You can line your hanging pots or orchid baskets with pure sphagnum moss. This will ensure drainage and moisture while giving the roots much-needed air circulation. Long-fiber sphagnum moss holds its shape better and is a superb choice for lining baskets.

One thing to note is once you water your baskets, don’t think the dry weight of the moss will vary little when you add water. The moss can hold up to 16 times its water weight, so your baskets could be too heavy if you are not careful.

Use moss to line a terrarium.

Growing ferns, the Fittonia nerve plant, small begonias, carnivorous plants, and even plants that need lots of moisture are suited to terrariums. Living sphagnum moss is a necessary component of any terrarium, although you can use dried as an alternative.

potting medium

Make bog gardens

Sphagnum moss can also be helpful in outdoor gardens, especially if you can find live sphagnum moss. In addition, it can create bog gardens, perfect for raising plants that thrive in acidic environments.

Simply add moss on top of the soil or use it as a ground cover, and watch it flourish as the species adds nutrients to the soil as it would in its natural environment. It can also maintain moisture in full sun areas, which also helps your plants avoid drying out. (Learn How To Spread Peat Moss)

Environmental Sustainability Of Sphagnum and Sphagnum Peat Moss

For a good reason, when you use sphagnum moss, it does cause some debates. As carbon sinks are destroyed, peat bogs are being drained at an alarming rate worldwide, causing localized environmental collapse and global warming.

First, it’s the reason to limit the use of peat moss, and you can get the same effect from earthworm castings. Perhaps coco coir is a suitable substitute for sphagnum moss, yet while it can retain moisture, it can’t hold as much as when you use sphagnum moss. (Learn How Do Weeds Grow So Fast)

It’s possible to grow your own, and it wouldn’t take too much effort to harvest and dry some for your plants.

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