Happy Urban Dirt

As you know, some plants need support to grow and develop modern roots. We can find them in stores, but sometimes they are not the most recommended. How about we teach you how to make moss pegs?

They are not tough and you can be sure that they will actually be nutritious for your plants. In addition, you can make changes to improve the quality of life of your plants. Can we start?

Why Apply Moss Stakes

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As you know, moss stakes are made of moss. And this helps the plants to develop modern roots, with the support of which they are attached to this support and can continue to grow. In fact, sometimes plants don’t grow because they don’t have a teacher like thatwhich causes the plant to stagnate and over time may lead to its weakening or destruction because it will not produce modern leaves.

Another reason you should employ moss stakes is that many plants, especially epiphytic vines, need to develop aerial roots, and these require environmental conditions that you may not be able to provide on your own (such as constant humidity). Therefore These stakes can be a very useful tool for the plant to get what it needs.

There is a substantial difference between using a tutor and not. We will make it effortless for you. Think of a flowerpot. When it is hanging, the branches are long and it has leaves, but not too substantial, rather diminutive or medium.

On the other hand, when we place a tutor, it is normal that its leaves will be much larger and stronger; in addition, its growth will be greater.

What Plants Need Moss Tutors

Fuente_Plant Shop

The truth is that it would be very long to give a list of plants that need moss stakes. But generally speaking, Many tropical plants will do well with a moss stake, especially if it is fresh and can be watered, and it should also be kept soggy at all times because this way you will provide the plant with the moisture it needs.

The most common species that require this include: Monstera deliciosa, Minima or Adansonii, Philodrendron, Potho…

How to Make Moss Stakes

Fountain_Garden plants and flowers

Now yes, prepare the items you will need because we will teach you step by step how to make moss stakes for your plants. We have already warned you that it is not tough at all, but you will have to spend some time on it.

There are many advantages to making your own moss stakes. To start with, you will have a tutor made by yourself, where you will definitely know what is needed. In addition, the moss will be fresher, completely the opposite of those that we find cheaply in stores, which are not effortless to “fix” and root plants.

Prepare the items

When making moss stakes, the following elements should be taken into account:

• Sphagnum moss This is the most recommended type of substrate, especially due to its ability to retain a vast amount of water, which helps plants maintain adequate humidity (especially for better aerial root development).
• Stick. Wooden, if possible, but if you have bamboo, much better. Of course, the stick you have is not worth it, you need one of medium or larger thickness, especially if the plant is vast.
• Sisal thread or natural rope. It will support you tie the moss to the stick. It is characterized by being skinny but very strong.
• Container.
• Water.
• Shears.
• Gloves.

With this you will have everything to start creating tutors. Now you may want to make alternatives to this tutor. And it is so that many also decide to create tutors from moss, throwing soil (soil such as humus, peat, soil luxurious in fertilizer, compost…). If you do it this way, a wooden stick will be fine, but you will also need wire mesh to seal it and in this way you can introduce earth and moss so that nothing escapes.

Step One: Moss for Water

When you buy peat moss, it is normal for it to be dehydrated, so the first thing you should do is hydrate it.

For this purpose, you need to take a containerfill it with water and put moss inside. This will make the plant grow, so don’t take a diminutive container, but a larger one.

You will need to wait about 20 minutes for the drink to be fully hydrated.

Step Two: Prepare the Stick

Then, while the moss is watering, you can take a stick and check if it is okay (no signs of any disease or pest). Once you have done this, take a thread and tie it to the top of the stick. This can be done with a knot or, if you have silicone on hand, you can employ it to secure the rope at the top so it doesn’t slip off..

Make sure you have a surface that the stick will fit snugly into, and that you protect it (you can cover it with a tablecloth or something similar), because once you start working with the moss, it will definitely get damp.)

Step Three: Assemble the Moss Pegs

You’ve got your stick ready. And your moss. So now we just need to get to work.

To do this, take a little moss in your hand and shake it lightly so that it separates from the water. You need to take enough moss to wrap around the stick, because the goal is to fill the stick with moss and secure it with thread.

It will be complicated at first, but as you become more experienced, the process will become easier and faster.

This should be done along the entire length of the stick, except for the last 20 to 30 centimetres, which should be left empty, as this will anchor the stick in the pot or soil of the plant and prevent it from moving.

It is true that the layer of moss you will lay will not be very widebut rather narrow. But that doesn’t mean you can’t put more and more layers of moss along the stick to make it thicker (and especially so that the plant has more room to attach to it).

And it’s ready! This is how moss stakes are made. Do you dare to try it now?