Many of us use Sphagnum Moss for rooting because of it's anti-rot properties.  When you go to a big box store to purchase it, you will see a huge manufacturer of Sphagnum Moss front and center.  You will have to search for the real deal!  It will cost about half of the Scotts brand. 

Granted Scotts is basically Peat moss with some Sphagnum added and some Miracle grow, so you pay for that, but what you really want is just pure Sphagnum Moss.  A cutting will root in a damp paper towel, and you don't need the peat with the miracle grow until there is actually a plant to be fed.

You want this!


Not this!


The website for MosserLee will inspire you with all the uses for the moss.  I'm thinking Christmas gifts here.

Suzi

Good thing to point out Suzi,  But I can't agree with the brand recommendation. I'm going to use moss for some cuttings this fall, and just the other day purchased a bag of the Mossier Lee sphagnum and it is the absolute WORST moss I have ever seen in my life. I am not new to sphagnum moss. This stuff is indescribably bad, complete with numerous strands of grassy weeds in it. I am planning on returning it to Home Depot where I purchased it. I am totally shocked at the poor quality of it. Maybe I got a bad bag, or what was swept off the company floor on a bad day, but it should never have passed their quality control. But because it did, they lost me as a customer.

Fortunately I was able to find small bale of much better stuff at another location. Not the Scott's stuff as Suzi warned. If you are shopping in person, you'll often find the correct spaghnum moss not with all the big bags of potting mix, etc, but in the houseplant section, often inside the store. Make sure you buy a bag or small bale that has a clear section so you can see what you are getting.

You want the whole strands pictured on the left, not the ground stuff on the right: 

(10/25 - edit to clarify - this is a photo found on the internet to show the difference between 'long fiber' and 'ground' moss, not the mosses I purchased.)

Thanks Suzi and Gina for pointing out the correct product. It will certainly help out all the newbies.

Good job Suzi. I'm sure many are happy to read this post.

The key to buying SPM is to ask for "Long Fiber" SPM. Those small bags you get at Lowes and HD have lots of grass. And I am allergic to grass. So, I buy mine in bulk in cube form without the weeds.

thanks for the tip Suzi!

After Gina's post, I looked online for other brands.  There are a ton on Ebay!

Suzi

It wasn't just a bad bag.  there are seed heads and other nasty stuff in HD's Sphagnum.  If you go to Lowe's you can get orchid moss, which is good quality long fibered sphagnum.  $7 for 1.36L

I did my rooting experiment with rooting grapes in just a bit of wet newspaper for moist inside of a plastic tub with tight lid, those that come with greens for salad.. it has a half size wall in the middle, so I rested the  cuttings on that mid wall and the newspaper on their feet.  I opened for air every day and just rotated, one day with their feet up the next with feet down, literally they are full of callous, like I never seen before in my cuttings, they are very swollen now, so I think I will plant them... Seems that the moist and warm air beats any moss or peat.  Now that went well in less than a month, I am going to try with my own fig tree, just to see how it goes. Shall report.  

So can sphagnum moss be reused or should it be composted after use?

It all depends if you don't manipulate it too much, I guess, I let it dry out completely and start another round, now by the 3rd time, I check often for that mildew smell, the cutting sometimes get it first, so you wash it off with soap... and sometimes that is enough to stop the mold.  but it all depends on conditions, heat, moist, and air.

Grasa, I think you are correct.  Let it dry completely prior to recycling!  Gina, there were a few weeds in my batch, but I smoked em!  Feeling pretty fine about now.  Just put 7 varieties from my wish list into individual bags.  Weed, well, you know can be only used once.......

Suzi

I intend to use mine more than once - and as long as it physically holds up. I'm also thinking of solarizing or steaming it in between uses to kill any mold spores.

Thanks. In fact since I intend to start some cuttings in the next few days, I decided to steam some up before using it for the first time. Even though it is said to have anti microbial properties, it is from the forest floor and heaven knows what's on Bambi's feet. So I just wet and softened some of the new stuff, and put it on to steam. (understanding household, lol) It would be smarter to do this outside on a hotplate or solar oven of course, but it's dark here now. So far it does not smell too bad at all - sort of earthy. Steaming broccoli is stronger.

Peat moss (sphagnum peat moss is one variety) is a complex media component whose properties can vary a lot from bog to bog and even within a bog. A place to start learning about peat moss is here:
http://www.peatmoss.com/

Two scientific publications discussing the variations found between different sources can be found here:
http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/content/42/2/349.full.pdf+html
http://repository.lib.ncsu.edu/ir/bitstream/1840.16/5254/1/etd.pdf

Gina - Your picture looks like you simply bought 2 different grades of peat moss. Different grades, when used properly, can give you terrific results in my experience. I am curious. What criteria other than visual inspection caused you to reject the peat moss on the right? If you plan on doing a side-by-side test of used, steamed SPM versus fresh SPM to root cuttings, I would love to hear what you observe! 

Good luck with your trees!

Gina, I purchased the same brand - Mosser Lee and it looks like the pile on the left.  If you haven't discarded the bag yet, try contacting the company with a picture of the product to voice your complaint.  It might have been a packaging error.  I am certain any company wants to know of any dissatisfaction with their product - they want you to be a customer, and they want to make sure the products they package are indeed in the correct package.  Who knows, they may surprise you and you may become their biggest fan ;)

I'm having better luck with just rolling in damp newspaper in a plastic bag than I had with the moss. For me, it's easier to see the roots and no gnats. With the moss, I had to dig thru to find the cutting and see if there are roots.

I enjoyed the Mosser Lee website with so many suggestions of ways to use the moss.  I had no clue that it makes a good mulch!  Just mulched my thirsty avocado tree with it.  It's water retention properties could be an essential part of mulching in the hot and windy desert.  I hope the wind doesn't blow all my mulch away :-(

Suzi

i have block of that stuff from about.. i don't even remember. i got it for orchid and all my orchids have died over 10 yrs ago. baggie and paper towel works for me so far. my rule of thumb is.. don't change things that's still working well. of course that might change and i might have to start looking for SM.

Mosser Lee sphagnum is real crap, not spongy at all. At Home Depot and Lowes you can find Better Gro Chilean long fibered Sphagnum, 

http://sunbulb.com/info/?page_id=454

I'd stay away from Mosser Lee. The price is also similar. 

Some probably would not like the Better Gro as much as expensive New Zealand premium Sphagnum, to me is good enough. I use it to root cuttings, make a mix for some orchids or use it as a top dressing for orchids in hydroton sometimes.

I looked at the only bag I have purchased in years and yes it is Mosser.

I get mine in compressed bale form from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Long-Fiber-Sphagnum-Moss-Quality/dp/B00423F8NA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1351180984&sr=8-7&keywords=Sphagnum+Moss

It is very clean and fluffs up nice and yes, I reuse mine every year.