Make your own moss pole in 4 steps

JUST A FEW HANDY TIPS

How to make a moss pole?

For real climbing plants like the Monstera, a moss pole can be useful. Not only will the houseplant grow faster and higher, but also the leaves the plant produces will grow bigger. The reason for this? Most houseplants are climbing plants by nature, and become very happy from a moss pole.

With a moss pole you let your plant think that they can climb the heights just like in nature. Make a moss pole yourself? A simple task! This can be done in 4 simple steps.

What do you need to make a moss pole?

To make a moss pole you only need three real ‘ingredients’. Although you may not have these essentials at home. It can be especially difficult to find suitable moss. You probably already have the remaining supplies at home. What do you need? Well the following is handy to have at hand:

Supplies

A branch, stick or tube
Sphagnum moss
Rope
Sharp knife
Scissors
Plant sprayer or water pollinator

What are the advantages of a moss pole?

As you can read in the intro, a large part of the houseplants are climbing plants. Climbing plants cling to trees in nature so they can grow even bigger. In most living rooms plants do not have this possibility. 😉

The biggest advantage of a moss pole is that a houseplant feels like in nature again. And in that nature such a plant grows much bigger, higher and stronger. This will usually happen as soon as you install a moss pole next to your houseplant. The leaves become bigger than the plant has ever had!

A moss pole also makes it easier to keep your plant in line. Especially the Monstera does have a hand in growing loose. With a moss stick you ‘push’ the plant in one direction, allowing it to climb up and grow. So no more proliferation!

Making a moss pole in 4 steps

1. Collecting sticks and branches

To make a moss pole, the most important part is the pole itself. To start with you will first look for a suitable stick, branch or tube with the length that is ideal for you. This depends mainly on the size of the houseplant. You can also get a tube from the DIY store and have it made to measure. The moss pole will be as big as you would like it to be.

2. Loosening moss

Have you collected all the necessities? Then it’s time to weave the moss around the pole. It’s best to take all the moss out of the plastic bag. Do this carefully so you don’t break the moss! Let an assistant hold the stick, or put the stick between some stones. As long as the stick is up! It doesn’t matter how you do it.

3. Divide and tie up

Place all the moss you have on the bottom of the pole, and pull it gently upwards. By using all the moss at once, the moss stays connected to each other. This works easier than with loose pieces of moss. Then cut three loose pieces of rope of about 15 cm. One of the pieces of rope you wrap around the stick and tie. You can now wrap the rest of the rope criss-cross around the stick. Repeat this for all three pieces of rope.

4. Locations

As soon as the moss pole is ready you can add it to your plant. The most convenient is to dig out the plant. In this way you prevent the moss stick from piercing the roots of the plant. Place the moss pole between the plant with a rotating movement.

Moss pole extension

Has your houseplant outgrown the moss cane a little? You can easily extend the moss pole. First of all, look for another stick, tube or branch. Ideally, the tube should be longer than the moss pole you already have with the plant. Also wrap this stick well in the moss.

It’s best to press the stick into the soil of the plant, and attach it to the current moss pole. This is done by tying the new moss pole with rope to the current moss pole.

As soon as the moss is really outgrown it’s best to remove it and choose a completely new moss pole.

Growing and blooming

With such a moss pole your houseplant will grow even faster and above all fuller and bigger. Will the plant get too big? Then you can choose between two options:

Prune the houseplant and make cuttings of it.
You can replace the moss cane with a larger moss cane.

The cutting is perhaps the easiest option! Renewing the moss cane is necessary in the end, but can be quite a job. The houseplant will probably grow around the moss pole. This applies to both roots and the plant itself. Removing the moss cane is therefore a careful job. The best way to do this is by repotting the houseplant yourself.