FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I’ve said this a couple times before, but the best lfsm I’ve ever used has to be the Better Gro Orchid Moss. It’s a little more expensive than other brands, but it’s worth every penny. With the results that I have had used omg Better Gro Orchid Moss, I wouldn’t use any other brand. I’ve used it in the past with Dionaea, Drosera, and Sarracenia, but I’m sure you can use it with all types of carnivorous plants.

I usually buy mine in bulk from the Home Depot website, but I’m sure there are places you can buy them in-person.

What is it that you find better about it exactly? I've only used mid range quality sphagnum not new Zealand stuff or the one you use here. Is it the growth youve seen or water retention etc.

Better Gro is pretty good for its price. Much better than Mosser Lee, which is as good for growing plants in as using wet napkins.

I saw that you e used the better gro orchid moss but have you used the regular long fiber sphagnum moss ? That’s the one I have but not sure if it’ll be just as good as the orchid sphagnum moss?

Better Gro Moss is long fiber sphagnum moss.

I’ve used the Mosser Lee brand before, and within a couple months, there was a layer of green slime growing across the top layer of sphagnum. I’ve never had that problem with Better Gro.
The water retention in the Better Gro moss is like putting a sponge in water. You have to break it up (because it comes out of the package all bunched together due to the packaging), but once you submerge it in water, and knead it a little, the water starts to disappear, as if you had thrown in a Sham-wow.

Overall the moss from Better Gro looks more appealing than other brands, and I’ve been able to reuse their moss several times. Other brands and it’s a one and done, straight to the garbage.

Spagmoss is also a very high-quality product. I've never seen it in local stores, but it's readily available on Amazon and eBay.

And I agree about the Mosser Lee stuff. It's so low-quality that I stopped using it to cover the drain holes in my pots and just threw out the rest of the bag. Never again.

I order from Calcarn/CPN and it works well. May consider getting some sphagmos. I used to use Mosser Lee, but I baked it so I had none of your problems. Mainly used for temperate species. I love peat/perlite. It's so versatile.

does the sphagnum moss have to be organic? or will the “all natural” be ok?

I have never seen or heard of an organic lfsm. Any will work, including the one in the picture.

My problem with both Better-Gro and SuperMoss is that neither will tell you where it was harvested (I've asked). I'm going to assume it's not New Zealand - NZS importers tend to brag about it . Since it's working well for you, I'm guessing it's high quality, 5-star, Chilean or Peruvian sphagnum. I just like to know what I'm buying. And also, not naming the source would allow them to vary the contents without notification. Now that Spagmoss NZS is available again, I'm going to stay with it.

I like to use whatever is economical, which is Better Gro. Easier on the wallet and the money is better suited to more plants.

Any sphag is good if you bake it - I even reuse it! Once it breaks down, it becomes great for VFT's, Sarrs, and temperate pings.

FYI: Awhile back I had contacted Better-Gro and asked where there sphagnum was sourced. I finally got this response: We source our sphagnum moss from a supplier in Chile called Lonquen. They are one of the largest and most well-known exporters of moss in Chile. The moss we import from Lonquen is 100% natural and they use careful harvesting methods to assure the sustainability of the local ecosystem. This moss contains no additives, and no chemicals are added during processing. Because this material is natural, you will find a small percentage of impurities or inert matter related to other plants that grow in the same environment.
So, good stuff.

I've always used the Besgrow Spagmoss myself. I noticed the compressed bricks have less debris than the larger bags that aren't compressed, weird. I'll have to remember better-gro though. Few weeks back I needed some moss for a Nepenthes and virtually every supplier was out. Guess there was a whole thing about a shipment being held at customs or something like that. Was lucky to find some random shop in phoenix to send me some lol. Honestly you can't trust many of the other suppliers on Amazon. They're selling all sorts of crap products and wrong types of moss.