EXPERIMENTING WITH MOSS ALTERNATIVES - and the winner is...
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- čas přidán 19. 12. 2022
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Aroid Mix: • My Aroid mix for Monst...
Moss Poles: • Moss Poles - Why? How?...
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Watering Plants: • MY WATERING ROUTINE - ...
Q&A 1: • Q&A while making Moss ...
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I live in a rural part of Philippines where coconut products basically determine our economy 😅 so we have a lot of coco chips. I tried using coco chips and a coco pole for my epipremnums and philos. None would climb on them. Sphagnum moss too expensive over here so I can’t go that way. Like you, I tried experimenting and I found that coco fiber (shredded coco husk prior to being made into coir ropes for naval and riprap applications) mixed with chips is the perfect pole for my climbing plants! Similar to the moss almost. Can water these poles the same way you do with your sphagnum moss poles.
Thank you for this alternative method.
Thank you! I'm trying to design alternatives to moss since in Chile Sphagnum is harvested with zero ecological methods so your comment is very helpfull!
same here in burma.. sphagnum moss's too expensive to use in every single pole so i use the same way as you, with a little bit of moss in the mix.
I have lots of luck with a shredded coco pole aswell for my monstera
Hey can you mix the moss with the chip?
I combine both because here in Arizona USA it is very dry!! The coco Chips have really helped retain more moisture so I'm not watering every other day!!👏👏 Thank you for turning me on to these poles!!💜🌱
Aloha Sydney, from Maui, Hawaii. Thank you for all your informative moss pole videos, as they have been both extremely informative & inspiration. About six months ago I made about a dozen 3’ moss poles & up-planted several varieties from rooted 4” pots. My first pole was 100% sphagnum moss, but due to high cost & availability of sphagnum moss on Maui, all the rest of my moss poles are 50% sphagnum moss, & 50% coco chunks.
I believe that the 50%/50% mixed sphagnum moss/coco chunks poles water very similar to the 100% sphagnum moss pole. I am able to use your water bottle method quite effectively with my mixed poles, as the 50% sphagnum moss allows the water to syphon down the pole quite well.
I can not say the mixed poles are better than my 100% sphagnum moss pole. But I can say the mixed poles are much more affordable for me to make, at my location in Maui. I can also say that I do NOT plan on making any 100% coco chunk poles, as the coco chunks alone will not syphon well when watering with bottle method.
Thank you again for all your assistance, information, & inspiration, mahalo!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOW....cuttings straight onto the moss pole....makes perfect sense...why didn't I even think to think of that? Thank you. X
I picked up a smaller E. pinnatum ‘Albo’ like these ones and they are BOOMING. I sincerely did not expect this little inauspicious plant to give me split leaves, fenestrations, half-moon and marbling variegation. Very quickly becoming my favorite plant in the collection. As always, thanks for the excellent videos, love!
Happy growing :)
i've had a great time using fern fibre, nice and light like moss, and holds onto moisture really well. All my aroids on poles grow into the substrate in no time! I used to use an aroid mix but it just gets too top heavy, the fern fibre is super lightweight, and provides great aeration too.
Fern fibre is not very sustainable...
@@naturebehindglass6512 if you get tree fern fiber from NZ, it's collected pretty sustainably :D somewhat expensive, admittedly.
Thanks Jan! Been waiting for this.
Thanks for this video, Jan.
I am so happy you did this! I couldn’t find anything for non-moss moss poles!
I’m really happy that you did this experiment. I use moss, but was considering wood poles that only provide support, but no nutrient. I’ll definitely continue using my moss poles as I want large leaves quicker. Hopefully, my plants will be DANCING😃soon!
You cant water coco chips in pole like that. Water flows too quickly n doesnt really soak thoroughly into the chips. Use a sprayer instead and spray from front and thru gaps
I ended up doing that but using a sprayer also makes it messy & time consuming :/
@@sydneyplantguy i pokes three holes in the lid of my plastic bottle and use hot water.. almost too hot to keep your finger in and that soaks into the moss, i havnt tried coco chips yet but other comments say that mixing the two works.. im going to have to look back at older videos of yours to see how often you water, i just put my plants onto moss poles and i water once a week.. by spraying a straight stream down at the bottom where the plants are starting off then squeezing a bit of that hot water up into the top of the pole.. my plants are starting to climb.. my sprayer has fertilizer in it but my hot water doesnt
I appreciate you challenging yourself in regards to how the experiment was performed! Like how you mentioned being more familiar with moss versus coco. Very critical but in a good and efficient, scientific matter! Bravo!
Thanks :)
A nice experiment! Thank you, seems like plenty of us were wondering and seeing more people try this out and share their results is really helpful. Not sure if it means anything, but it seems like the base root mass of the plants grown up the coco pole is quite a bit more voluminous than the moss pole. (@8:39 vs @ 9:11) Another difference is that the leaves on the coco pole look brighter than the darker leaves on the moss pole version. (@5:34) It would be wonderful to see updates on both these plants in a couple of months!
Brilliant. I love experiments like this!! Always looking to improve and it obviously looks like you’ve nailed your technique 🙌🏼 just ordered your tried and true fertilizer with your code so can’t wait to see some awesome growth 🤩🌿
Really nice video! I was inspired by you 3-4 months ago, and thus ended up buying supplies for mosspoles myself. As I live in Denmark, sphagnum moss is a bit expensive, so I ended up mixing coco chips and the moss together, hoping it would prove effective thus helping the environment and my wallet.
I live in denmark too! I buy my sphagnum from a German seller who has a little shop located in Flensborg.
Pflanzengestöber is the name if that helps, you can dm them on Instagram and ask them if it's possible, they don't "officially" deliver to Denmark
any update ? Im using mix of bark and moss and it works pretty well , its easier to water it because gaps caused by bark are working as drainage so water fills whole pole faster. I dont think i saved that much moss compared to 100% moss pole but maybe 10-20% max. Oh and one thing i noticed is that poles with bark inside turned green (algae) faster than 100% moss poles.
That's why I love your content very much, Jan! Sphagnum moss is quite scarce and expensive in some locations so alternatives are really good option to think about! ~Happy growing and much love from the Philippines! 🫶🏻💚
Thanks for the experiment. I constantly experiment to improve my plants.
Thanks so much for this video. I think I'm going to do an experiment with the coco and sponges in the back in hopes to keep the chips wet longer. Moss is expensive and I've been looking for alternatives.
Great to see you talk about this. I just started making support poles (almost same design as your grow vertical) with coco chips in them and another plant with aroid mix. It's been a week so I can't say they're successful yet. But I've seen many people using these alternatives and have successfully rooted their plants into the pole. Sphagnum moss isn't easily available where I live and buying online is expensive. I have plenty of coco chips though so I went that way!
Hi! How did the coco chips pole go?☺️ I'm thinking of trying it myself!
I'm going to try a sphagnum moss/coco chip combo. Quality moss has been quite difficult to source here and can be rather expensive. I think combining the two products will get me the results I want at a reasonable price.
I’m going to try this too. Great idea.
Did you try blending the two? I'm curious about the results.
How did it go?
I think this a great suggestion, I also wonder if a sheet of coco liner to keep the coco chunks from falling out would help.
@Sydney Plant Guy Use a mixture of Coco coir pith with the husks , that will give a similar result like moss pole, as the coir pith fills the air gaps in husk pole.
More good info, thanks Jan 🙂. Don't much like the look of these poles, but I made one just to try. It definitely retains water better but is much fiddlier and time costly to make with its 2 rows of holes up each side of the plastic, and twice as many cables to tie. Going to try a regular round one with clear plastic insert at back.
That is what I have been doing. My latest one has a thick plastic bag Inside the mesh. I don’t have to look at the plastic, and in my very dry climate it helps immensely with water retention. Also, much easier to assemble, as I am only working with the mesh.
I’ve been experimenting with moss poles, making just like yours, which I love, now I am experimenting with moss with perlite in the center and moss mixed with coco chips 🤷🏻♀️
Love your videos, started collecting my house plants this year and I've learned a lot from you. Thanks
Glad to hear it!:)
You are great teacher to me! I've learned a lot from your videos. Thanks. Following
Happy to hear that!:)
I made those enclosed moss poles myself, with PVC gutters from home depot and plastified bird netting. Just space out holes on the sides evenly, drill holes, and zip tie it all together. Best mosspole I ever had, and you can make them gigantic,or small.
Yes :) you can easily DIY them based on the materials you have available :) happy growing
Thanks again for sharing bro. nice alternative if moss is not available. Greetings from the U.A.E.
Thanks for watching!
We too use coco chips to grow aroids. We can even replant them! I hope you will take a look ^-^
Love youre videos 😁 I'm trying spagnum moss, leca and coco chips mix in plant poles
Keep us updated :) i heard leca just dries out super quickly in poles 😬
Thank you for this vidéo 💚🇫🇷🙏🌿
Coco poles it's my first poles, so hard to remove the roots. But still love both! Greetings from Java ☕🙋🏻♂️
Nice experiment, moss for the win! I wish I had your growing conditions. It was 29 F here this morning in NC. 💚🎄
Hi. Thanks for sharing this. Actually, I build my plant poles following you tutorial by using quarter inch galavnized mesh as coated mesh is not available in my area. I used a mixture of Coco Chips, coir and fiber with some orchid bark, and what is named "orchid rocks" (which look very similar to LECA) and some charcoal. My pole filler is basically an aroid mix. Sphagnum moss is just too expensive here and its not economical given the amount of climbing plants that I have. So far, the aroid mix pole works great. I do water and fertilize it as well. The roots goes in the mesh and embed itself in the filler. My poles do not have a backing so sometimes i see roots going through the other side. I think the coco chips is a very good alternative filler for plant poles.
If you can find spray paint to coat the wire with they will last longer. Rust-Oleum is a brand here in the US and we have a rubberized spray made by Flex-Paint that works too
I guess the difference with the Coco chips bcoz is that it's less dense and hence the moisture retention is less.
These Aroid plants' roots actually get stuck/ anchor to the barks of the tree it is growing/ climbing on.
Coco chips should ideal for aroids grown outside in the tropics in daily rain area's.
While watching the video, I am eyeing your very huge oxalis triangularis, Jan. Mine is still a measly size despite a few years of care🙄. Hope one day you'd make a video of its care when you decide it's time to divide the plant. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you 🎄🎉🎊🎄
Thank you & to you too :) I have recorded a plant spotlight on my oxalis before :)
Thanks!
Controlled every element but the one only element - the moisture level in the media…
I like the quality of your videography! This video was very helpful as usual 🌿.
I'm going to make a moss pole with some of the reptile coco coir and sphagnum moss mixed in it for a moss pole. I'm experimenting. I think maybe the moss could keep the coir from moving so much. I hope it works!
Thank you :) sounds good !
Sometines moss is difficult to find and expensive... for the alternatives.. u can try using mix cocofiber n little soil.. thats good
Thank you for the video and your thoughts!
Moss is quite expensive and hard to find where I live so I was wondering if one could mix it with pine bark/orchid bark instead of coco chips (as I have a big bag of that at home)? 🤔
I wonder about an aroid mix with sphagnum moss in it to make it more cost effective and less messy
Im doing aroid mix on thai con, and it's huge, partly genetics tho.
Moss grows white mildew mold for me. Coco chips dry too fast. Sooo. I use 2 inches coco chips than 2 inches moss (good moss) repeat. Works perfect for my environment and my plants agree. Messy yes. I place over a bowl and water that way. Now, I only have 4 plants on poles. So far so good. I use your recommended plant nutrient and mesh pole design. Thanks again for inspiring me. My plants thank you.
Sounds like a good set up u’ve got there :)
moss with perlite seems to work fine.
Great video! I’m curious if I were to DIY this moss pole what kind of plastic would you recommend? I’m not even sure what to search for..
I mix chunks of charcoal with the coco chips...
Love from India 🇮🇳
I’m wondering about a 50:50 mix of coco/moss 🤔
Get the benefit of both, so to say 🤗
I've been looking forward to this one thanks for sharing your experience Jan! My experience has been similar, definitely works and my subhastatum in particular seems very happy with Coco chips but watering isn't as easy as moss poles.
Thanks for sharing!😊
From what I understand, coconut coir and coconut chips and other things made of coconut contains salts and I've been told that I need to treat it by rinsing it with water a few times. If I were to get coconut chips from the nursery, would I need to treat it by rinsing it?
💚🌱💚
With that said 👇🏻👇🏻, perhaps it's better to place the Coco chips and compact it more into the post before planting the new plant 😅😅
The two medias are not equally packed. The coco ships are not packed densely. Too loose so they dry up
Buenas tardes!! Podría poner la traducción en español??
Gracias
Your dedication is admirable ❤
Thank you for sharing your results with us😊
I have been trying to grow some of my climbing plants in moss poles and I’ve been having a hard time keeping my poles moist.
I’m using an airy mix very similar to the one u used on this video and I feel as if the soil is still wet by the time the pole dries up. It’s drying up in about a day! I’m worried I may cause root rot if I continue to wet the pole which will then keep my soil to wet. How can I help keep my poles moist without potentially keeping my soil too wet? I’d appreciate any advice!
Always look forward to your videos 😊 and have learned a lot from your experience. Thank you!
First, I would keep the mix as chunky and airy as possible. So lots of pumice and perlite. Jan has a video about it. The mosspole should contain enough sphagnum moss. And I would try to keep the mosspole moist, and only water the pot when necessary. With a bit of practice, I think you'll definitely get a feel for the right amount of water. regards
Thanks so much! I will definitely take your advice 😊
I’m hoping I get the hang of it! It was my second time making my own soil mix and was nervous and worried I may have made it too chunky but after I started watering it didn’t look as chunky so I may just make another batch and stop second guessing myself on the chunky portion 😂
Appreciate it 👍🏻
If you're pole is bone dry in a day it's likely so dry it's hydrophobic. This results in all the water running down the pole and not actually being absorbed by the medium. Use a sprayer to force water into the pole fibers and try top down watering again.
Coco chips are quite coarse so in my opinion 50/50 mix with coco coir could produce more interesting results. It's just my guess.
I'd be worried about the coir just falling through
i m quite strongly thinking about going mossless poles i have to say. yes mosspoles are awesome for growth but there are alot of downsides to it, no one really seems to talk about alot. it can be messy, it can stink like a swamp, quality new zealand moss is out of my budget so i have to use chile one and i m constantly fighting mold on it too, even with good airflow and a lot of other small things that add a lot of extra work.
i do watch alot of plant content from asian regions and i noticed more and more that almost no one over there uses actual mosspoles. most people fill their poles with coco fiber and other things and they still grow huge beautiful plants, something they do sometimes is putting a little moss between the stemnode and the coco pole to encourage the roots growing into it faster. in Thailand i even saw people use some sort of poles wrapped in fabric or something. it seems to me that sphagnum moss poles are mostly a western thing.
sphagnum moss is really stressing me out lately somehow. and the thing is: with a few plants, it might not be a big deal but if you need a lot of poles, you cant just go the route of "what is the best'' anymore. you have to apply basic financial thought behind it to find something that is good enough but also efficient and cheap to get. there is no chance i would be able to manage building like 20-30 big new zealand poles every year
Always choose what works best for you. This is supposed to be fun & enjoyable and if sphag moss is stressing you out then it’s not the way to go for u :)
I have a monstera deliciosa in PON with a water reservoir at the bottom of my pot.
What type of pole do you think you would use? I know you said you don’t usually do moss for deliciosa but I’m not really sure what would be best.
fab video, thank you for the science experiment! One thing i have noticed within the moss pole fanatic community is the almost self righteous attitude around spagnum moss?? I now understand the sustainability aspect of harvesting the moss but as you said there are decent options... i wonder if reptile owners also get heat for using a commercially available product 🙄 lol !!
It’s when mis-informed people think their opinion needs to be broadcasted 😬
Thank you for the video!! Where do you buy the plastic sheets for your moss poles???
From Grow Vertical :) linked in the description
You know that those plants are everything when been water by Fiji water 😂
I wonder what the result would be if you combined them (to reduce the amount of moss $$)
🎉🎉
I was interested in using the moss as a top cover to the wire grate and my aroid mix underneath. Thoughts?
Great idea :)
The coco should prob be sprayed than poured ❤
👍👍👍👍👍
I wonder if forest moss ...sold for vivariums...would be a cheaper alternative. Not sure if its a sustainable choice. I would think the coco chips would not hold moisture that well.Or coco fibre with a mix of fineness to hold water and enough roughage to not fall out.
Assuming the forst moss is still alive, i doubt it would be cheaper than dead, dried sphagnum moss but ultimately really depends on where abouts you are in the world :)
what if you use Leca pole for hydroponics?
on the moss pole the green thingy stuff is algae? ain't this a problem? do I need to get rid of them?
Hands down, sphagnum moss. Sure, it's pricier but? I'd like to think of it as paying for my peace of mind... 😅
Quick question. Naturally you use GT Foliage Focus. I'm not too sure if you say weakly weekly? I'm thinking I need to experiment with my own fertiliser but I was wondering if you had to do an in between watering (day 4 of 7/mid-week) would you use, not fertilised water or the same solution of water/fertiliser as you do weekly.
Essentially I mean if you water the same plant twice in one week do you use the same water : fertiliser ratio?
Hey, usually i just use water mid-weak and only use a weak dillution once a week :)
Muy buena información. I wish I lived in your city. I would invite you to a cup of coffee.
What fertiliser do you use and are you fertilising the plant or the moss pole?😊
He uses gt foliage focus & waters the pole. He has a whole playlist dedicated to how he sets up & looks after his plants on poles
Have you tried growing plants with a real tree trunk since it is the natural way for ariods to climb in nature?
Yes I grew some on Iron bark but it’s a nightmare once it outgrows it so I wouldn’t do that again :)
Have u try use a cocofiber for the pole .. I alreay try with cocofiber not cocochips for the pole. Abd the resukt is amazing.. I want to send the photo but I don't know how to send it
What kind of support (if any) is your Thai/Albo on the left attached to?
No support for my thai :)
Do you have to use new cuttings or new plants with a moss pole? Or can I use plants that are mature?
If they are already mature then why bother with a moss pole ?:) the idea is that the pole helps you grow your plant to maturity faster
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 very nice.. 🥰
What fertilizer do you use for your aroids?
I use Gt foliage focus :) it’s linked in the description
What about mixing moss with coco chips
А что если, наполнить тотем таким же грунтом, как и в горшке, смешав с мхом?
Hello can you list plant suitable for sphagnum moss pole and list of plant suitable for coco bark moss pole. Sphagnum moss is expensive here .I am starting to plant my monstera adansonii , since it has been my favourite , but In Canada I don't know if I will be able to get huge leaves like you have. Please suggest
The potential of your plants will always be set by the conditions, not the media in the pole. Either can work if the conditions are right :)
Which medium stays moist longer, the moss or the coco chips?
The moss :)
Do you rinse or soak your coco chips before using them?
I don’t but you probably should :)
Just started my moss pole with a mixture moss, dried sugar cane and wooden chips in the middle because I got lots of dried sugar cane so I will update you what will happen.
Hi Isangmarquez please send that promised update. I'm quite vested in the results
The moss pole looks very green. Is that algae buildup, and is that a problem - I hear algae competes with the plant for nutrients and moisture
Yes it’s algae but not harmful :)
You’re so handsome ❤ thanks 😊
Cheers :)
What about trying a blend of cocoa peat and cocoa chips to give yourself a more consistent medium like moss? Looking at the cocoa chips, it could be aesthetically nice if you could find an effective brown medium for the pole. It may look a bit more natural.
You could try but coco peat could be too fine and call through the grid. Suppose depends the grade of coco peat u get :)
👍☕🌏🌱🙏
What type of moss? I am in Australia . Would Spaghum miss work?
Yes that’s what i use :)
where you buy your plastic pots?
Bunnings :)
What about filling a moss pole with coco coir?
Terrible water retention so not really something I’d recommend
How does one find out how a company sources their moss?
I researched the brand & checked on their website :)
@@sydneyplantguy also what kind of sphagnum moss do you prefer? Or what are the different kinds of sphag? I was looking for some regular ol sphagnum moss and got hit with spagnum peat moss, long fiber, long fiber peat, Spanish spagnum, live spagnum, the list goes on and idk what I ended up getting but it smells like Mexico (I have been to Mexico and the scent brought back memories) but this moss dries my hands out as if I was playing in bleach water. i bought it as “premium long fiber sphagnum moss”. Maybe thatd be a good video idea 🤷♀️ idk the smell and the texture the look of it has me worried it was poached and bleached and I don’t want to make that same mistake. But there’s sooo many options online and idk what exactly I’m looking for. 🤷♀️
What about using a mix of half coco chips and half moss?
Yes would totally work :)
I'm testing tree fern in a pole, i still think moss is better 🤣
Have you tried much else with tree fern? I’ve seen some people who like using it to grow seedlings in. Was just curious what benefits it might have over other mediums
@@Wildmuffin9 I've tried growing seedlings and seeds in tree fern but its way slower than moss. I do have a fair amount of anthuriums in tree fern and they are doing well, but in general i think the benefit over moss is its very easy to get off the roots 🤣 i swear there is nothing worse than trying to get roots out of spaggy moss.
@@kadysinger3877 Hahaha, honestly not a bad benefit. Sometimes I can't tell if pulling sphag moss off roots is therapeutic or anxiety inducing... Maybe I'll give fern a go at some point lol
I have been propogating cuttings in fern fibre and its great - so much faster and the roots hold onto the fibre so stay inplace when repotted - so far mostly hoyas but also a few aroids on the go not and looking good - I wondered if a bit of fern fibre in the centre of the moss pole might help with airation? might give it a go. Many thank Jan i have been enjoying your videos and how you are able to share the info so clearly and well - i look forward to seeing more - have some mother grow lights on the way thanks to your recommendation and about to make my first moss pole soon. I am in New Zealand so have good access to both moss and fern fibre.
you think moss coco chips and some rockwool tho keep it wet cant fint any one that tried this you think its Worth a shot? My moss on my melano is dying way to fast so the roots wont atach have a bottle driping in it but dosent keep it moist
From my experience moss has the best water retention. Maybe the problem is that you don’t use enough moss or too much of the moss is exposed to the air or maybe the pole is just in a super dry environment. But you can always try out a different medium … that’s what keep the hobby fun right?:)
@@sydneyplantguy yes! Thats right ill find a way that works in my environment👍👍
Hello, I reviewed ur alternative pole, however do u have a link showing ur followers to make this type pole ??
I don’t make them, i buy them from a company called Grow Vertical :)
The Lecaqueen has a tutorial on utube on how to make these pole
I saw a girl on Tik-Tok make a pole with just using peat moss do you think that's a good idea
why can't peat moss be used?
It’s not good for the environment, you could use coco peat instead but both would be very messy as it’s too fine
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