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Sphagnum Comparison

GrowinOld

Not Growing Up!
I had heard about the differences between the usual Wisconsin long-fibered Sphagnum moss and that imported from New Zealand or Chile. While I had never had anything but Wisconsin grown available in years past, I had recently seen the stuff from Chile and was curious.It was obviously more expensive than I had ever paid before, but it looked nice, fluffy and besides, I couldn't find anything at any of the local nurseries for some reason, so this was better than nothing. My thanks to whoever suggested finding small bags at Home Depot, however it was too late anyway.

Being a long time grower of CP's, I was used to the dark, dry moss that over the years seemed to have suffered quality problems along with everything else. The 4 cu. ft. bale of compressed/packed moss now came quite loose and looked shabby compared to what I used to buy years ago.

Having spent the money on the bale of Chilean Sphagnum moss, I decided to compare the two to see which was the better deal. I too out a sample of each type and looked at the individual pieces. The Wisc. Moss looked anorexic compared to the Chilean, and was quite broken up into small pieces.
Packages....
51.jpg

Wisconsin on the left / Chilean on the right

A Handful of Wisconsin Sphagnum (RIGHT) and of Chilean Sphagnum (LEFT)
31.jpg


Loose packed Wisconsin
53.jpg

Compressed packaged Chilean
57.jpg


Dry Moss (Wisc on left, Chilean on the right)
61.jpg


I decided to wet both samples to see if that made a difference. As sphagnum swells with water, the Chilean moss grew like live caterpillars! The Wisconsin moss swelled slightly, and laid there like something long dead and long in storage.

Wet Moss (Wisconsin on the left, Chilean on the right)
75.jpg


By the time I wetted and used what I needed, I found that the small bale of moss from Chile filled my needs and I even had some left over. It was soaking wet but still light and fluffy, filling the pots nicely. The Wisconsin moss I filled a pot with looked prematurely decayed and deteriorated. I am sure the Chilean moss will last a longer time before needing replacing, and as it turns out, for the end volume equivalent, is well worth the price. At least to me it has proved itself, and is in fact the better deal. As someone who needs the best deal I can find, while the Wisconsin moss will hold me in a pinch, the quality of the Chilean moss has certainly out-shined the competition. Funny, it reminds me of the Wisconsin bales of sphagnum I used to buy long ago!

Good luck and good growing everyone!
Hope this info has helped those interested and wondering.

Paul
 
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well, it was the opposite for me, the order that is.
i had the good quality moss first, it was nice and blond that puff up once i added water and looked nice in no time.
then after like 4 months, i ran out and found the mosser lee and bought it.
it was dark, small, dead looking, and it was already puff up so there was very little. there was a bunch of leaves and roots. when i washed it, there was a bunch of Sandy things in there. i had to take my time to remove the roots and leaves. once in water, it didnt look as if it puffed up at all, it just stayed like that, but wet..... i would certainly recommend the better quality ones. but it depends i guess...
 
The Mosser Lee stuff varies from batch to batch. You just have to dig through them to find good stuff:

P1260089.jpg

P1260090.jpg
 
the one i got was all dark and has alot of junk inside, i guess i wasnt looking hard enough
 
I had heard about the differences between the usual Wisconsin long-fibered Sphagnum moss and that imported from New Zealand or Chile. While I had never had anything but Wisconsin grown available in years past, I had recently seen the stuff from Chile and was curious.It was obviously more expensive than I had ever paid before, but it looked nice, fluffy and besides, I couldn't find anything at any of the local nurseries for some reason, so this was better than nothing. My thanks to whoever suggested finding small bags at Home Depot, however it was too late anyway.

Being a long time grower of CP's, I was used to the dark, dry moss that over the years seemed to have suffered quality problems along with everything else. The 4 cu. ft. bale of compressed/packed moss now came quite loose and looked shabby compared to what I used to buy years ago.

Having spent the money on the bale of Chilean Sphagnum moss, I decided to compare the two to see which was the better deal. I too out a sample of each type and looked at the individual pieces. The Wisc. Moss looked anorexic compared to the Chilean, and was quite broken up into small pieces.
Packages....

I decided to wet both samples to see if that made a difference. As sphagnum swells with water, the Chilean moss grew like live caterpillars! The Wisconsin moss swelled slightly, and laid there like something long dead and long in storage.


By the time I wetted and used what I needed, I found that the small bale of moss from Chile filled my needs and I even had some left over. It was soaking wet but still light and fluffy, filling the pots nicely. The Wisconsin moss I filled a pot with looked prematurely decayed and deteriorated. I am sure the Chilean moss will last a longer time before needing replacing, and as it turns out, for the end volume equivalent, is well worth the price. At least to me it has proved itself, and is in fact the better deal. As someone who needs the best deal I can find, while the Wisconsin moss will hold me in a pinch, the quality of the Chilean moss has certainly out-shined the competition. Funny, it reminds me of the Wisconsin bales of sphagnum I used to buy long ago!

Good luck and good growing everyone!
Hope this info has helped those interested and wondering.

Paul

You should also keep in mind that there are well over three hundred (hovering at 350 or so) different species of Sphagnum of different texture, color, and size -- and it is likely that any number of suppliers will offer whatever they have on hand. Here is a brief list of just a few varieties:

Sphagnum affine
Sphagnum antarense
Sphagnum apiculatum
Sphagnum auriculatum
Sphagnum balticum
Sphagnum capillifolium
Sphagnum compactum
Sphagnum cuspidatum
Sphagnum cuspidatulum
Sphagnum cymbifolium
Sphagnum efibrillosum
Sphagnum fallax
Sphagnum fuscum
Sphagnum girgensohnii
Sphagnum junghuhnianum
Sphagnum leucobryoides
Sphagnum luzonense
Sphagnum magellanicum
Sphagnum majus
Sphagnum molle
Sphagnum novo-caledoniae
Sphagnum novo-guineense
Sphagnum palustre
Sphagnum papillosum
Sphagnum perichaetiale
Sphagnum platyphyllum
Sphagnum riparium
Sphagnum robinsonii
Sphagnum rubellum
Sphagnum russowii
Sphagnum sericeum
Sphagnum squarrosum
Sphagnum strictum
Sphagnum subnitens
Sphagnum subsecundum
Sphagnum warnstorfii
, and so on . . .
 
the one i got was all dark and has alot of junk inside, i guess i wasnt looking hard enough


Absolutely! A couple years ago it really didn't matter which package to choose.

Now the ones I buy have yellow strips of plastic, roots, and sunflower seeds in them! :nono:
 
lol talking about sphagnum i went outside to look at the sphagnums i got, i have 2 type. some skinny one and a fat one. kinda weired, they grow upward o_o... i never knew... i thought they grew sideway to make a mat or something. i just cut the live sphagnum from the top and place it down right next to it.


and when you say there's hundreds of type of sphagnum, who took the time to name them all? o_o dont most of them look pretty much the same?

is there a dark sphagnum and a light sphagnum?
 
lol talking about sphagnum i went outside to look at the sphagnums i got, i have 2 type. some skinny one and a fat one. kinda weired, they grow upward o_o... i never knew... i thought they grew sideway to make a mat or something. i just cut the live sphagnum from the top and place it down right next to it.


and when you say there's hundreds of type of sphagnum, who took the time to name them all? o_o dont most of them look pretty much the same?

is there a dark sphagnum and a light sphagnum?

A whole host of anal-retentive botanists came up with the list and they probably differentiate them based upon the fruiting bodies of the mosses, among other things too colossally mind-numbingly-boring to mention.

In terms of lighter or darker Sphagnum, there are variations in colour -- both live and dried. The bale of NZ Sphagnum I have is particularly light in color and the variations also extend to the live pots with some light and dark green, yellow-green and even patches of some red sphagnum for good measure . . .
 
damn, i want some red.
 
  • #10
There's lots of red sphagnum in bogs around here, it's weird, it looks totally the colour of something that has expired but it's growing nonetheless
 
  • #11
Heck. I bet my pot of Drosera adelae would be a whole lot happier in the Chilean stuff. I bought some Chilean today just to try to grow some moss. I've only ever used Mosser Lee in my mixes. I think that's about to change. It's a shame I have a bag and a half of Mosser Lee left....
 
  • #12
I went to Lowes looking for Sphag, and found bales of each. I had to ask where the moss was, and the clerk was surprised at my reaction when I found both.
"What's the difference?"
"Well, ones great stuff, and the other's cr@p."

I then proceeded to show her all the sticks, mud and garbage in the ML bag. It was fun!
 
  • #13
Actually, the Mosser Lee sphagnum moss USED to look pretty close to what the Chilean
Sphagnum looks like today! (Not quite as good, and not as "light" in color, however
heavy, "meaty" and thick and tightly packed!)
But then, that was WAAYYYY Back about 40 years ago!

So I can only suggest we enjoy it while we can. We may see history repeat itself!
Sad situation!
When I have it, I use up the Mosser in the bottoms of the pots, and keep the nice stuff for
the tops and the "nicer" plants I have.
 
  • #14
In all my years I've never found Mosser Lee that was comparable in any way to the quality NZ or Chilean stuff as far as cleanliness, fluffiness, and even ability to return to life. I had a lotta things germinate from Mosser Lee but sphagnum was never one of them that I can recall! lol

Def if you're trying to start a culture of live sphag go with the Orchid Moss or other nice imported stuff.
 
  • #15
The Mosser-Lee batches I have come alive all the time. A nice spikey golden and deep red-brown moss. Here's my Drosera rotundifolia 'Charles Darwin' in Mosser-Lee stuff, even though I trimmed it down to keep it from over growing the plant.
P2210018.jpg
 
  • #16
and when you say there's hundreds of type of sphagnum, who took the time to name them all? o_o dont most of them look pretty much the same?
Sounds like something my father said about 'round' sundews and common Neps.....

Different strokes .....
 
  • #17
and when you say there's hundreds of type of sphagnum, who took the time to name them all? o_o dont most of them look pretty much the same?

You can say the same about bacteria. If you ever get a nasty infection be glad that somebody took the time to identify the different species and strains.
 
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