FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Supermoss is the only brand of LFSM that I have, and I was wondering if it's actually any good as a potting medium for VFTs.

I recently picked up another Venus Fly Trap and am determined to not have this one wilt again ;v;... Last time I repot it either too early (a day or three after buying), but I have some suspicion that the LFSM I was using for it could have had anything to do with it as well, as the way it wilted looked reminiscent of mineral burn (Turned yellow, then black, then a very crispy brown). I used a different potting medium for my first set of VFTs, and it worked very well, but I bought Supermoss due to quantity alone (The initial potting medium provided only a small amount for each container).

I read from older forums that Supermoss might not be good as potting medium, but I wonder if that's still true. If not, what should I use it for instead (I have far too much of it ^^;)?

If it turns out to be no good for carnivores, it'll still work just fine for other plants. Orchids will generally tolerate some amount of fertilizer or minerals fine, and any terrestrial houseplant that wants sphagnum in its substrate for extra water retention won't mind.

I've used Supermoss a lot, but only for a top-dressing on the soil. None of my plants had any issues with it, and seeds germinated and grew well in that moss.

SuperMoss is mentioned in this thread. Others seem to point to it being a good choice.

post413942.html#p413942

However upon further digging I've found the product listing on Amazon has an option for "fertilizer" or simply "Sphagnum". It's possible then that you got stuff with added fertilizer.

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Moss-59834 ... r=8-3&th=1

Like what ChefDean says, the ingredients should be listed on the package somewhere.

MikeB wrote: ↑Fri Mar 15, 2024 3:36 am I've used Supermoss a lot, but only for a top-dressing on the soil. None of my plants had any issues with it, and seeds germinated and grew well in that moss.

Ahhh good to know! I have many orchids, at least one of which probably needs a report sometime soon...

Update: So far I haven't seen any indicators on the packaging nor Supermoss' own listing that they use additives, however I've mostly seen it advertised more as a water retaining topping, and that seems to be the main use for it as well. Makes me curious about using it for my orchids when I inevitably have to repot them...

I do have another unrelated question, though. Is it okay to put distilled water in a glass plant mister? I have a plant mister that I've only barely used because I've heard that distilled water will leech nutrients out of it, or worse damage the glass.

If you're using Supermoss just make sure you get their actual Sphagnum moss. They have another product called Mountain Moss that's also labeled as Sphagnum, but it's clearly not.

A while back I tried to do a deep dive into SuperMoss, looking for a possible replacement for Spagmoss, which had gotten pricey and sticky. Long story short, I tried a small bag and had no problem with it. But the Customer Service guy couldn't get the owners to admit where it came from. Which I find very suspicious. So it might be decent quality NZ or Chilean or maybe they package whatever they get their hands on and the quality might differ from month to month. Caveat emptor, I guess.

SuperMoss is Chilean sphagnum.

MikeB wrote: ↑Sat Mar 23, 2024 2:45 am SuperMoss is Chilean sphagnum.

Good to know! I like and use Andean sphagnum. How were you able to find that out? I still can't find anything on the website. The closest I could find is "Harvested on regulated federal lands by permit only". Are you simply able to recognize the Andean species by sight? The SuperMoss sample that I had certainly looked different from the NZ species.

I saw a post in another forum where the OP managed to get SuperMoss to admit that their sphagnum comes from Chile.

Peru is another up-and-coming source for sphagnum. People in the highlands are making a much better living growing and harvesting sphagnum moss.

The magical moss helping women in rural Peru to become entrepreneurs
https://www.positive.news/society/the-m ... epreneurs/

Andean moss is great quality. SuperMoss should be proudly displaying the origin on their packaging instead of making it such a deep, dark, secret. And making people like me suspicious of their business practices.