Help.. sphagnum moss for humidity

[DariaKlyza]

Hi everyone. Joined some gardening forums for the first time I’ve been looking for answers online but I’m a bit lost... I have live sphagnum moss, my question is, can I put that directly on top of the soil of my plants that like humidity? I.e, tradescentia, monstera, ficus elastica etc? I’m not talking about mixing it with soil.. rather create a ‘carpet’. Will this help with humidity? Is there other things I should know about sphagnum moss? I picked it up locally. Should I clean it etc? Thank you I’m advance.

 

[Chuck]

Hi everyone. Joined some gardening forums for the first time I’ve been looking for answers online but I’m a bit lost... I have live sphagnum moss, my question is, can I put that directly on top of the soil of my plants that like humidity? I.e, tradescentia, monstera, ficus elastica etc? I’m not talking about mixing it with soil.. rather create a ‘carpet’. Will this help with humidity? Is there other things I should know about sphagnum moss? I picked it up locally. Should I clean it etc? Thank you I’m advance.

Peat absorbs water and it has zero nutrition. All it does is help retain moisture and add a little acid so it would be appropriate to use it as you stated. As for cleaning it, if it has foreign matter in it I would.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Yes it will help holda moisture, but it will wick and dry as well. One thing you should know about sphanum is that it has quite good antiseptic properties and was even used for wound healing. Insects could love it for all I know, but in a bucket of water it does not turn gross on me. It gets used for air layering an propagation because it breathes well when moist.

 

[DariaKlyza]

Thank you both i ended up making a moss pole for my monstera and made a moss 'carpet' for my ficus elastica. Will see how it goes.