Sphagnum moss is a branched monoecious plant, representative of white mosses.
Distributed in the taiga, in the tundra, in marshlands.
Did you know? The greatest number of sphagnum grows in the temperate climate zone of the northern hemisphere of the Earth, the greatest diversity is in South America.
Sphagnum moss - what is it
Peat moss is a bog plant from which peat is formed. Every year, spore perennials grow at the top, dying off at the bottom. It is easy to answer how peat moss eats sphagnum. The plant absorbs water, photosynthesizes, forms organic matter from water and oxygen. On the stem and leaves are water-saving cells, surrounded by dark green photosynthesizing cells, combined into a single network. The peat moss has a leg and a spore box. It is sphagnum that plays an important role in bogging forests and turning lakes into swamps. Where sphagnum moss grows (most often coniferous or broad-leaved forests), humidity is increased.
Useful properties of moss for indoor plants
Sphagnum moss has been widely used in gardening and floriculture due to a wide range of valuable properties. Flower growers are interested in what substances sphagnum contains. Peat moss contains phenol-like substances, triterpene compounds, sugars, salts, pectins. Moss prevents the appearance of pus in wounds, it is often used as a dressing material that does not need sterilization before use.
Did you know? It has a huge suction ability, it even surpasses cotton wool.
Useful properties of moss - perfectly passes air, resists to bacteria, has disinfecting and antifungal effect.
How to apply sphagnum moss in home gardening
The use of sphagnum moss in gardening will help to avoid many problems with the soil. It is necessary to cut the moss and add it to the substrate, which will loosen the soil, increase its moisture capacity, form the desired structure. It will also pick up accumulated water after watering, giving back to the roots. Sphagnum moss is a branched perennial. and understand what a plant is can pereuvlazhit ground.
Important! Sphagnum increases the acidity of the soil, in a mixture its volume should not exceed 10%.
Sphagnum moss is very useful for indoor plants. Having covered the moss pot, you can maintain the correct level of moisture around the crown, but do not keep constantly on the soil surface, so as not to provoke the death of the roots. A mixture of 1 part of leafy land, fertile garden soil, river sand and chopped sphagnum will suit for senpoly. Gloxinia will benefit from a mixture of Vermion, charcoal, 1 teaspoon of dolomite flour and a handful of minced sphagnum with the addition of perlite or vermiculite.
Orchids will thank the owner for a mixture of pine bark, charcoal and finely chopped fern roots. Down you need to put a large rough bark, on top - medium size. Try to keep the substrate under the base of the rhizome, but not completely overlap it. Sphagnum moss may not have the expected effect without knowing how to use it. Before use, sphagnum mosses must be scalded, brought to room temperature, pressed and left in a closed plastic bag for several days.
How to prepare peat moss
Remembering where sphagnum lives, you should think about choosing the right place. The best place to collect moss is in close proximity to trees, where he has the least amount of wateriness, the moorland is not suitable. There are several ways to collect moss: either completely remove it from the roots, which will entail further thorough cleaning, but the volume of raw material harvested will be greater, or cutting off the upper part with a knife, but the resulting material will be several times smaller. You can collect and fold peat moss in bunches. Harvesting sphagnum need to manually.
Moss is selectively harvested by some trenches up to 30 m wide, leaving intact gaps between them, which gives the moss the opportunity to recover in the collection areas. It will be possible to repeat the preparation after 7–10 years. Preparation is carried out in dry sunny warm weather. in the period from May to September.
Important! Ready harvested sphagnum must be completely dried, have a gray-green shade; it should not contain dead parts of rhizome.
