I was at my local nursery today shopping for carnivorous plants. I saw a few pots with moss (I believe it's hypnum) layered on the top of the soil. The owner sold me a carton of "Moss Milkshake" to grow my own. Question is...is this moss destructive?
I would like to add the moss to my venus flytrap pots, my sundew (octopus plants) pots, and my peace lily pots. Maybe even my snake plant pots. And most likely to every plant pot I have since I have literally a milk carton full of the moss starter.
I think you mean sphagnum peat moss. I don't know what moss milkshake is, but you can get a small bale of long fibered NZ sphagnum moss on the internet. You want a product that is clean and does not have a lot of sticks or ferns in it. It should be light in color and very spongy. You only need a small amount as once it is rehydrated it expands. You don't want to wet the whole bag, since the dried moss will store longer and wet moss will get moldy if it is not used within 6 months.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-zealand-sp ... XQXQxRZDiu
https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-zealand-sp ... XQXQxRZDiu
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applestar
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Yes, the kind of moss that grows alongside sundews, etc. is live sphagnum. Sometimes, live sphagnum will grow from the dried sphagnum, I think it depends on how they were processed and how old since packaging. Otherwise, some carnivorous plant sellers sell live sphagnum.
The typical moss grown with moss milkshake is the soft green kind in shady moist area, rocks, moss gardens, etc. They are different with different requirements.
You might be able to grow this with your peace lily, but snake plant is typically known for its very drought resistant properties and if you tend to let the soil dry out, the moss will not survive, and if you keep it too moist, the snake plant might not.
To answer your question, the moss itself is not “destructive” but will have it’s own requirements. If you keep plants outside under trees, sometimes they will grow on their own on surfaces of potted plant soil, BUT in my experience, the moss have never persisted well once the plants have been brought inside. (I keep my plants outside during the summer and bring them back inside in the fall when it gets too cold until weather warms back up in spring.) I think this is partly due to the lower humidity level.
Also, when the soil surface is covered with the moss, it makes it difficult to judge the moisture level of the soil for the plants.
...you might want to try growing the moss on the soil surface of its own pots of growing medium. You might try coating with the moss milkshake and growing the moss on the OUTSIDE of soaked clay pots, hypertuffa pots, and/or concrete pots, then transplanting your plants in those. For your carnivorous plants, you could make (coat with milkshake and allow to grow) moss-covered bricks or (porous) rocks... or decorative terra-cotta, or cement object (like little figurines — you know, like frogs maybe or turtles? — and PLACE them among the carnivorous plants. The moss covered objects should have similar requirements as the carnivorous plants — high humidity/constant moisture, bright diffuse light... IF there are species of moss in the milkshake that has high tolerance for the light. But most moss would not tolerate too much direct sun I think.
The typical moss grown with moss milkshake is the soft green kind in shady moist area, rocks, moss gardens, etc. They are different with different requirements.
You might be able to grow this with your peace lily, but snake plant is typically known for its very drought resistant properties and if you tend to let the soil dry out, the moss will not survive, and if you keep it too moist, the snake plant might not.
To answer your question, the moss itself is not “destructive” but will have it’s own requirements. If you keep plants outside under trees, sometimes they will grow on their own on surfaces of potted plant soil, BUT in my experience, the moss have never persisted well once the plants have been brought inside. (I keep my plants outside during the summer and bring them back inside in the fall when it gets too cold until weather warms back up in spring.) I think this is partly due to the lower humidity level.
Also, when the soil surface is covered with the moss, it makes it difficult to judge the moisture level of the soil for the plants.
...you might want to try growing the moss on the soil surface of its own pots of growing medium. You might try coating with the moss milkshake and growing the moss on the OUTSIDE of soaked clay pots, hypertuffa pots, and/or concrete pots, then transplanting your plants in those. For your carnivorous plants, you could make (coat with milkshake and allow to grow) moss-covered bricks or (porous) rocks... or decorative terra-cotta, or cement object (like little figurines — you know, like frogs maybe or turtles? — and PLACE them among the carnivorous plants. The moss covered objects should have similar requirements as the carnivorous plants — high humidity/constant moisture, bright diffuse light... IF there are species of moss in the milkshake that has high tolerance for the light. But most moss would not tolerate too much direct sun I think.
upon further googling, you guys are right, it is live sphagnum moss layered beside the store shelf's octopus plant.
but, too late for me, I already laid down the hypnum moss milkshake on all my plants. I suppose I'll find out what happens in a month.
my carnivorous plants, I keep in a tray of water. and I spray the top when the moss dries out. if the moss feels like the Nature Valley oatmeal bar, then I spray/mist with the spray bottle.
peace lilies and snake plant... I do not keep in a tray. I spray the dried out moss on top.
I plan on watering the snake and peace lily together in the bathtub every week or so. my showerhead has a 'mist' setting and provides a nice 'dusting' of water inside the tub.
but, too late for me, I already laid down the hypnum moss milkshake on all my plants. I suppose I'll find out what happens in a month.
my carnivorous plants, I keep in a tray of water. and I spray the top when the moss dries out. if the moss feels like the Nature Valley oatmeal bar, then I spray/mist with the spray bottle.
peace lilies and snake plant... I do not keep in a tray. I spray the dried out moss on top.
I plan on watering the snake and peace lily together in the bathtub every week or so. my showerhead has a 'mist' setting and provides a nice 'dusting' of water inside the tub.
I looked up hypnum moss. It is called sheet moss. I have seen moss growing on top of bonsai pots but it was not this type of moss. Algae will grow on top of sphagnum moss turning it green, especially when it is getting older. For plants in moist environments like the venus fly trap it may be ok although, I would not want the moss to over take the venus fly trap by competition. But plants that like dry environments may not be good companions.
I went back to the nursery and bought these new sundews. Can anyone identify the stuff growing on the top of the soil? It's quite densely packed and feels a lot like turf.
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Last edited by P A U L on Fri Feb 02, 2018 4:51 am, edited 1 time in total.