HOW LONG DOES A MOSS POLE LAST ? - let's talk long-term use of a Moss Pole

[@DasKaddelchen]

Although I don't have a single moss pole I know everything about them watching your videos 😂🤣 I just love to see your beautiful plants 🌿🪴🌱

[@sydneyplantguy]

Haha well sounds like it’s about time to get one :)

[@merielangharad977]

me too, lol

[@MinhHNguyen]

I bought moss pole made from water pipes just for convenience reason. After several years watching your video, I finally decided it's time for me to make my own. My gratitude to you.

[@sydneyplantguy]

Happy growing :)

[@CarinaKeKz]

That is such a great topic that hasn't been discussed much yet. I'm happy that you can share some long-term experience!

[@KayBX]

I agree ❤❤

[@sydneyplantguy]

Proof is in the pudding after all :) thank you!

[@JanePolcovar]

You do such an amazing, educational service for us plant people with your “over time” videos and discussions. So much thought and planning surely goes into bringing us this useful content, so thank you so much !!!

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thank you :) glad they are valuable :)

[@dillonkentworth6718]

I totally agree. So many plant KZbinrs are like “ok we’ll see how it goes!” And then we don’t get the answer to the question yet and forget about it.

[@chrisbuys6271]

Haha. So happy to see you also tilt your pots backwards with a little help.

[@ushaach]

The topic made me sit up and listen.....never heard anybody talk about it...and its so imp to know what we are in for long term.... appreciate you sharing your experience after you have tried and tested...valuable. The birdsound❤.

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thank you:)

[@HappyPlants123]

I love putting perlite in the middle of my moss pole so when I water it, the perlite light absorbs the water and it slowly releases it into the moss!

[@BotanicCloud]

It didn't even crossed my mind that the moss could decompose 😂 well, thank you for that! Really appreciate your videos.

[@valiaudet3415]

Likely compress from the watering too

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thanks :) It's something I got asked a lot actually but never really experienced all too many issues with it myself :)

[@villettemaynor975]

I really love the way you explain/teach about your techniques. Because of you, I now have 14 plants on moss poles. Thank you for enlightening me❤

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thank you :) happy growing!!

[@mookinbabysealfurmittens]

It's always really great to see that living proof - and which is something we get a lot on this channel! Fantastic stuff! Cheers!

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thank you :)

[@scottfletcher1956]

There are a few issues Ive noticed being in the PNW/Washington State US. I have issues with mold after about a year. I have used a few additives when watering the pole and so I’m ruling those out this year. I did not use bunnings moss, I used spagmoss. I think where your from I.e. your growing conditions has a big impact on overall pole longevity. I used 2 different types of moss, one off brand, and spagmoss. Both types of moss have the same issue. I will say both poles created monster plants, HUGE!!! poles are the way to go for larger leaf size. I’ll grow on poles forever, Ty Jan!!!! Love the video as always.

[@tim_meister]

I will usually try to get some springtails to colonize the moss and that helps with the mold. More often than not, a certain type of native springtail will show up in the moss and soil eventually, but you can get them from online and seed the moss with them.

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thanks :) maybe try improving the airflow to see if that helps with the mold :)

[@finnmoth9116]

Your videos are always very informative and really interesting to watch! I got my first moss poles just a week ago for my adansonii variegata and syngonium albo since I didn't feel so intimidated by them anymore thanks to you. Great video as always! ❤

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thank you:)

[@robynisrael1015]

Hi Jan, Still going through your playlist... 🌴🌴🌴🌴🌴

[@wendy-lynneachterberg-bena2795]

Love this “proof is in the pudding and gut feeling “ needs to be on a tshirt.😂

[@sydneyplantguy]

haha yes ! :D

[@crooxys]

With your query regarding: 15:08 - It looks like because your stem was on the opposite side of your moss pole and being covered by the foliage the node spacing was less pronounced than the other side where it was exposed to the consistent grow light. Stems photosynthesise as well 😊

[@sydneyplantguy]

Makes sense :) thanks !:)

[@letsclimb5828]

I loved hearing the birds singing in the background

[@sydneyplantguy]

Sydney has such a great mix of urban living but still so much nature around !!

[@vessyhus]

Thank you for another great video. Because of you I have 7 moss poles now and my baby philodendrons, monsteras and pothos are doing great. Also, you put Ernestii and Sodiroi on my "must have" list, from the first time you put them in front of a camera. Slow climbers are exactly what I'm looking for (space is an issue, as you you know yourself). So I hope for some spotlight/update on the Ernestii and the Ring of fire as well (I'm on the fence about this one). Have a great day and happy growing🌱😃

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thanks :)

[@Yambataller]

The singing of the birds is beautiful:)

[@TheErvdoggie]

Jan! It's always soo nice watching your videos and hanging out while you chat about the current topic as you do your thing.. It's super-awesome to know we have some options for our "slow" climbers--especially the lights and the likely impact it has on the distance of inter-nodal spacing and the display side. Thanks for always putting out amazing content. I learn something each time I catch up on your vlog. Thanks!

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thank you so much :)

[@lelethalm2030]

Really informative as always! And a gorgeous sodiroi 😊 Also i'd really be interested in the different life-spans of your leaves, if you ever want to talk about it.

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thank you:) suppose thatbis super situational - season, pests, conditions, consistency of care & the specimen itself would heavily impact that … sooo i feel like it might be hard to turn that into some valuable information but I’ll think about it :)

[@lelethalm2030]

@@sydneyplantguy true true... I suppose that really depends on many factors.. it's just that I see your plants and wouldn't believe that they ever drop leaves haha

[@candied.crabapples]

Had no idea the sodiroi could get that big! wow! I’ve seen other people also mix in coco coir and tree fern fiber into the moss poles to retain moisture longer.

[@ericaeschenbacher4921]

So many good nuggets of info here, thank you! Ooh! Soderoi might like that skylight up in your storage area ? And I can't help but think of that guy from France when I see an empty stair railing like yours. If there's a way to provide light, that would look so cool! ( Hey Brad, chillin behind you) 😻

[@sydneyplantguy]

Haha yes during winter i wanna work on lighting up that staircase !! :D

[@ConnieP92]

A nice summary and good to know our moss is good for the long haul! And thanks for showing me how my tiny Sodiroi will look in about 3 years 😆

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thanks :)

[@asverma93]

❤ good info as always

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thank you:)

Hello, top instructions, thank you and your videos are sooo helpful! Is there a video, where you specifically say what you do with the bottom cutting? What to do with the cuts etc.? I saw the monstera Chop & Cut, where you could have around 5 cuts, would youl later put them each in their own pot & moss pole if you were to keep them? Thank you!

[@sydneyplantguy]

Hey, yes I have many videos around that topic :) even one specifically on the monstera u mentioned where I pot them all up individually :) most of the bottom parts get passed on to friends :)

[@valiaudet3415]

The coated mesh is still in good condition, too 🎉🎉🎉

[@sydneyplantguy]

It is :)

[@torquess454]

I got a baby Sodiroi in the fall last year, it’s REALLY taking its time growing

[@sydneyplantguy]

It’s a slow grower but matures fairly quickly :)

[@Liam-ko4zk]

I have a quick question as I am considering to get a moss pole for my Monstera, do you need to replace the moss over the three years? Because as time passes I think the moss will rot and thus damage the plant?

[@sydneyplantguy]

No

[@Liam-ko4zk]

@@sydneyplantguy thank you so much

[@msch4726]

❤ thank you! Happy days! A new video🎉

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thanks :)

[@patrickvanpraet5487]

Hi jan as per usual great video again! I wanted to ask you do you use silica for any of your plants? Specifically for the variegated ones? And what the reason is why you do or don't? Just wondering if i should now that im getting my first monstera albo... thanks and congrats on the full time title now and 2nd channel! Ive subscribed already and eager to see what comes up next over there!

[@sydneyplantguy]

Hey :) I haven’t felt the need to use it with my plants butbhave heard good things :) I might give it a try myself actually :)

[@patrickvanpraet5487]

@@sydneyplantguy I've ordered some in with my foliage focus and will give it a go as well 👌 thanks 😊

[@sydneyplantguy]

Happy growing :)

[@IslandfriendsOz]

I do understand that as you chop and extend the plant is getting a new pole essentially but what about the original plant & Moss Pole? Does the moss in that eventually break down and cause the plant to be put out to pasture'?

[@sydneyplantguy]

By the rime the pole breaks down the plant would just be an empty stem, so u’d propagate it & take advantage of the roots within the pole before the breaking down would ever be a concern :)

[@Plantcrazelise]

Great and informative video 😊 Beautiful Sodiroi! Sometimes I wish the Philodendrons wouldn't grow so wide 🤔😂

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thanks :)

[@judithkrmrs8533]

Compared to my Sodiroi on a simple garden stake in a south facing window: I bought it 8 months ago and it produced 6 leaves in that time. But they decreased in size from 22 to 18 cm. Average internodal spacing is constantly around 14 cm (!!) and the length of the padeos between 24 and 20 cm.

[@sydneyplantguy]

interesting !! conditions certainly influence the growth much more than I initially expected :)

[@robynfisher4455]

Good info thanks Jan. 💚 Many of my poles are shrivelling up. Don't have your optimal conditions in Adel, so growth is slower. I wondered if Im not packing them tightly enough to begin with? If they're not ready to extend for a while, would it be worth opening them up and adding more?

[@sydneyplantguy]

Sounds like you might be quite conservative when you fill them and the moss compresses over time rather than decomposes. Maybe try a little more :) mmmm I never opened up a pole in hindsight but why not :)

[@belindajames3541]

That is one ab fab philodendron Jan. I always come to you for everything moss pole! When making moss poles, can you understuff / overstuff a moss pole?

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thanks :) yes you can - too much & it will get quite heavy , too little and there isn't much moss to absorb the water in the first place. A healthy medium :)

[@TheGracieday]

i don't know if you've answered this before but what do you do when the roots have completely taken over the moss pole? do you propagate them? cause how would you put it back on a new pole?

[@sydneyplantguy]

I have a couple of videos around upgrading a smaller pole to a bigger one in my Moss Pole Playlist:)

[@visakaweerasinghe4236]

Thanks for good explanation .you explained it very well. If you talk more longer we can listen it happily. Where I live we can't find any moss😔so Iam thinking about coco core. I don't know it will work.

[@sydneyplantguy]

Coco chips, bark or tree fern fibre could be a good alternative :)!

[@visakaweerasinghe4236]

Thank you so much for replying and your advice, I love to see your videos 👍👌⚘️⚘️

[@mspolkadotpink]

Hi Jan, what do you do with the bottom part of the plant after your chop?

[@sydneyplantguy]

It will re-shoot so I pass it on to a friend :)

[@chrisbuys6271]

Do you think the quality of sphagnum moss matters enough to consider, taking into account the fertilizer used?

[@sydneyplantguy]

Yes for sure!! Quality of any of the products you use matters :)

[@KayBX]

Thank you so much for making this video Jan ❤❤. I’ve started using sphagnum moss poles mid end of last year as well. I’m using the Brunnings brand from Bunnings, do you think that is okay?

[@valiaudet3415]

It's the best, Jan says. From NZ so environmentally friendly harvested. Xxxxx

[@sydneyplantguy]

Yes that’s the one I use :)

[@KayBX]

@@sydneyplantguy oh I did not know that New Zealand harvested LOL. Goes to show that I should read what are use more 😝.

[@KayBX]

@@valiaudet3415 thanks. I’ve used it for almost the year and I legit did not know that it came from NZ 🤦🏽‍♀️. I really should start reading more I think…

[@PurpleMonkeyWaffle]

Hey Sidney! Would it be a good/bad idea to use chicken manure fertilizer in the moss pole? I use it for my plants and they LOVE it!!

[@sydneyplantguy]

Mmm it sounds like it would be a bad idea, especially indoors! … but not that i’ve ever tried …

[@PurpleMonkeyWaffle]

I’m starting some monsters lachleriana veriagated cuttings on a pole soon so I might just have to give it a try! The stuff I use is for indoor so im hoping the moss doesn’t get negatively affected. Well see!! Thanks for the reply!

[@heatherstephens9295]

Thank Jan 👍👍

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thanks for watching :)

[@robinferdinandsen7122]

i'm only just starting out with moss poles so pardon the potentially silly question 😅 what do you do with the lower half of the plant after the chop? if i give it away to friends will it need a moss pole change?

[@sydneyplantguy]

I give them away & don’t change the moss :)

[@robinferdinandsen7122]

@sydneyplantguy thanks. I'll do the same then. when i get to my first chop that is 😆

[@ericab.9578]

What do you do if the moss pole starts to get mold?

[@pflanzenmama7633]

👍 Sehr informativ! Hier in Deutschland fangen meine ältesten Moosstäbe an zu schimmeln, aber komischerweise auch nicht alle…🤷‍♀ Ich hab noch nicht rausgefunden, woran das liegt. vielleicht zu kalt, oder zu wenig Luftzirkulation oder auch am zu viel Leitungswasser… Keine Ahnung.?🙃 oder kann es möglicherweise daran liegen, wie viele Wurzeln Wasser aus den Stäben saugen, damit sie nicht zu lange feucht sind? Grüße aus Deutschland.

[@sydneyplantguy]

Danke :) wahrscheinlich zu kalt + lack of airflow :)

[@krystalfarley4858]

Will you be at the collector plant fair this weekend with AJ?

[@sydneyplantguy]

It's next weekend :) but yes I'll be there on Saturday :)

[@tammydillon3360]

I have watched many videos on moss poles but the one thing that I continue to wonder about is the sphagam moss that grows on trees. I live in Florida where the moss is easily available in my backyard and just about everywhere. Can I use this vs buying it? It seems like a waste of money to buy something that is hanging in my backyard.

[@sydneyplantguy]

U sure can :) just be careful not to bring in bugs with it :)

[@lindaedwards4632]

I never thought of moss poles possibly having a life span 🤔🇨🇦

[@sydneyplantguy]

I never did until I got asked SOOO MANY times about it ... it does make sense though.... we sometimes repot just to freshen up the substrate ... same could apply to the pole:)

[@judyperkins4509]

Hi your garden stake , plastic from Bunnings ?I am about to have my first extension after 3 months 😀

[@valiaudet3415]

Wow, good for you. I can't wait to do that too xxxxx

[@sydneyplantguy]

I think they are plastic coated metal stakes.... the ones you buy for tomatoes usually :)

[@kristiemowry3267]

The node length is all determined by the amount of light the plant is getting isn't it. My Vericosum is getting light from 3 directions and is growing up very slowly even though its leaves are quite big. I also have a subhastatum that had short internodal spaces until I moved the light source further away. Also, I think the UV light from the sun decomposes the moss quicker than grow lights do. This is just my observations and second hand knowledge throw in.

[@sydneyplantguy]

It's usually a combination of light & maturity :) and of course it's also in the plants DNA :)

[@_bert]

You were saying? 😍☺️

[@ashleyguillen4594]

Im worried about getting root rot from always watering the moss pole how do i avoid that?

[@sydneyplantguy]

Use less volume of water so no excess drains into the pot :)

[@zeferinoarroyo7673]

Good information 😮😊😮

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thanks:)

[@carolstuff]

The moss pole seems fine after 3 yrs, but the plant needs its own room.

[@sydneyplantguy]

Haha pretty much :D

[@fayvoyiatsis2660]

Thanks 🙏 😊😊😊

[@sydneyplantguy]

You're welcome :)

[@0_yprh]

Today I made my 1st pole. I couldn't resist to put some barks...🤔Later I was thinking it could generate fungus...Btw, a moss pole is very expensive.

[@sydneyplantguy]

you can definitely use bark :)

[@kathleenlewis1954]

Fabulous

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thanks :)

[@eduardoLcaetano]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@melissaafkrichardson9204]

I think the space between nodes is larger with less light. Maybe the light is now not as full spectrum 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@sydneyplantguy]

It’s further away than before :)

[@ellencnixon]

💜💜

[@sauceokay]

The answer is basically if it ain't broke don't fix it 😂

[@sydneyplantguy]

Exactly !!!

[@amandak4695]

💚🌿

[@Maximillieeee]

💙💙💙💙💙

[@MeAndMyPokok]

🌿💚🌱

[@СветланаОбухова-ъ9ц]

👍👍👍💚💚💚🌿🌿🌿

[@vladmarkov2998]

Sphagnum has no roots . Mosses do not have flowers, roots or a conducting system, but over a period of time they may develop small root outgrowths called rhizoids. So technically it can grow. This plant is an autotroph, not a heterotroph. Therefore, the answer to the question of how peat sphagnum moss feeds is unambiguous - through photosynthesis, synthesizing organic matter from inorganic matter (water and carbon dioxide). It can absorb and retain carbon dioxide and moisture, the mass of which can exceed the mass of dry sphagnum by 12 to 25 times, depending on its biological species.

[@sydneyplantguy]

Thank you!! Great info

[@pamr9373]

It's unlikely that your fertiliser would be of any benefit to the moss itself, Jan. Fertilising live moss would kill it, so the dead moss is unlikely to directly benefit from it.

[@sydneyplantguy]

Makes sense :)

[@virginiamartinez391]

😻😻🌿😻😻

[@TedSaga-oe2eq]

The Spaghnum moss from Bunnings is NO longer New Zealand Spaghnum moss.. NO New Zealand Spaghnum Moss in Australia now.. Except on Ebay.. It is Chilean Spaghnum moss .. That grows ferns in your Moss poles! & full of sticks& leaves & dark & dreadful moss! Also decomposes more & the gap happens sooner.

[@sydneyplantguy]

Mm i just bought a bag last week 🤷🏻‍♂️ maybe not all bunnings’ stock the same ?!

[@TedSaga-oe2eq]

@@sydneyplantguy You maay wanna stock up, if it has writing on the back New Zealand Spaghnum moss 🙏🤩 Although they do use the " Premium Chilean moss in Brunnings moss.. I cant believe so many ferns growing in my poles 😂

[@sharonburton9663]

I've heard horror stories of mold, and algae?

[@sydneyplantguy]

Mm don’t believe everything you hear :) people like to exaggerate! If you keep airflow up mould should not be an issue & algae is not harmful to the plant :)

[@pudik2008]

💚🪴🌿👍🏼👌🏻 Natalie

[@andyandbee]

You said it had lost leaves but not enough for a chop and extend, why not? 💚🪴🐝

[@sydneyplantguy]

Because I'd really just chop off 10-15cm of pole but it loses a lot of roots as a result. So not worth it