A package that arrived in September 2023 changed my plant hobby forever!
I had spotted moss poles on Instagram (Plantstagram 😄) and wanted to give them a try, so I ordered my first poles and sphagnum moss from PlantScraper in the Czech Republic. Back then, all I could find in Finland were coco coir poles. Until then, I had been supporting my Monsteras with wooden sticks 😅
In the beginning, I had more enthusiasm than skill, naturally. One plant after another got a moss pole! 😂
At first, I didn’t realise the pole needed to reach all the way to the bottom of the pot, so some of my early setups were rather wobbly constructions. Over time, I learned a few tricks that made all the difference.
Here’s what I’ve learned along the way:
🌿 Stability is everything!!! Place the moss pole firmly against the bottom of the pot, with the back of the pole resting against the inside wall. This makes the whole setup much more stable.
🌿 Fill the bottom with substrate. I now fill the pole with Aroid-mix to about the depth of the pot before adding the sphagnum moss. This gives the pole even more stability.
🌿 Size matters! Choosing the right pole size was a bit of guesswork in the beginning. I have to admit, I let the price guide my choices and ended up buying poles that were too small. These days, every Monstera gets an XL pole. They produce aerial roots like there’s no tomorrow, so I prefer to give them plenty of room to climb!
🌿 Watering is a learning curve. Back then, drip systems weren’t available, so I watered very generously 🫤 I even took my plants into the shower quite often, making absolutely sure that both the moss and the potting mix were thoroughly soaked 🤭 Nowadays, I take care of keeping the leaves dust-free not by spraying them in the shower, but by wiping them with microfiber gloves. It’s wonderfully therapeutic too 💚
And let’s just say a few plants lost their roots in the pot and carried on growing using only the roots inside the moss pole. Oops… I’m sorry, little ones 😘
These days, I’m much more careful! I keep the sphagnum moss moist, not soaking wet, and make sure the Aroid mix in the pot has had time to dry out before giving the plant a more thorough watering. I also fertilise with Hesi HousePlant Elixir almost every time I water. Monsteras growing in good light are hungry little things!
Three years later, I’ve become quite a confident moss pole grower, if I may say so myself 💚 I know I’m doing something right when I look at my Monsteras growing with their moss poles and see the leaves getting bigger with every new leaf! ☺️
One last tip if you’re worried about stability!
PlantScraper sells anchors and specially designed pots to solve exactly this problem. The anchor attaches to the pot, and the moss pole attaches to the anchor, creating an incredibly sturdy setup 👏🏻
And here’s the best part: as your plant grows and climbs, you can lift the entire setup by the pole itself. Yes, really! That’s how sturdy it is. 🤩
Looking back, it’s amazing how much I’ve learned since that first package arrived. What started as a little experiment has become an essential part of how I grow my Monsteras 🤩
And naturally, there are still more plants waiting for their poles… Because apparently, my plant collection has no intention of slowing down 😂💚 I might just need a bigger home 🤭