Home - Gardening Tips - Why I ’ll Never Be Using Sphagnum Moss In Potted plant Ever Again .

You might have heard of sphagnum moss before , and all of the reasons to use it with your plants – it preserve moist longer than soil , and keep nutrients more than when body of water run through the filth . But I did n’t have hazard with it , in fact , I think it hindered some of my plants growth in the last year . That ’s why I do n’t recollect using moss in pot plant is a serious idea , and why I ’ll never apply it with my houseplants again .

  • This post may include affiliate data link . When you purchase items from these tie , we will receive a small delegation , at no extra cost to you , to facilitate sustain this web site . Thank you for your support!Read more - >

( remark : This is not for orchidaceous plant or plant that specifically necessitate it . )

The way of life I used bog moss moss for the last year was to have it as a layer at the bottom of the skunk , to keep back some moisture to then be put back into the soil whenever it dry out . It did n’t ferment , and backlash on me , which I realized as I was just repotting many of my plants ( they just involve to be refresh up after a year )

So let ’s get into why I require to use sphagnum moss , think that moss is unspoilt for plant , and how it did n’t work for me .

Why I Wanted To Try Sphagnum Moss

Before I explain why I wo n’t be using sphagnum moss in my pots anymore , let me first explain why I want to judge it in the first shoes .

I have many plant , and I water them every week . But I need to have to water them less often , particularly during the summertime . And I had heard that having a layer of this moss in the bottom would be beneficial to my plant life by curb in moisture to permit water to lento go up into the soil throughout the hebdomad . It would also aid with keep nutrient in with the works .

This fashion I would have to water them less often , and less water would just drain out of their drainage trap .

What Was My Problem With The Sphagnum Moss?

Looking at my plants that had the sphagnum moss in the bottom of the pot a class later on , I gain I had two different egress . Whenbottom watering plant , only that layer of moss would be moist , and the relaxation of the land stayed completely teetotal . The other problem I found was that the roots would not grow in the moss , thereby micturate them have less space to spread out .

The Moss Took All of The Water

One of the openhanded issues I did n’t realize until I look at the soil of one of my plant was that the moss was absorbing all of the water and not share with the soil . This is particularly a problem when bottom watering plants .

My watermelon pilea ( aluminum plant ) , I ’ve almost exclusively bottom watered for the last year , because it seemed to need a lot of water every week .

And this is a DRAMATIC plant . It wilts the second it gets even slimly dry ( or so I thought ) . When I pulled this plant out of it ’s pot to repot it , the soil was completely ironical . It felt up like the ground had n’t feel water in months , where I knew I water it the day before .

The moss was dainty and moist at the bottom though . So it was no admiration why this poor plant always looked starved for water . It was only capable to get water from any root that were near the moss .

The moss has now been take away from this plants pot , and now the ground will actually be able to have moisture and the plant will not have to act upon as hard to get a drink .

Keep reading:9 Striped Leave Houseplants

No Room For The Roots To Grow

The other subject I noticed with multiple plant that had sphagnum moss at the base of the passel is it acted almost as a barrier .

What I was concerned about was the fact that plants with sphagnum moss in the bottom of the dope could not extend their roots as far . The root would grow above the sphagnum moss , wee-wee it seem like they were in a smaller container than they really were .

And this deliver me position them into a big pot so they could extend their roots and grow larger basically useless .

Final Thoughts

So do I think using moss in pot plants is a estimable approximation ? Not in the way that I used it . possibly , if I had mixed the moss in among the soil , rather than experience a layer at the bottom it would have work out better .

The manner I used it did n’t seem to help the plants at all .

For the meanwhile , I ’m going to be staying away from adding sphagnum moss from any of my potted industrial plant , indoor or outdoor .