# Cleaning Sphagnum Moss



## asturianu (Jul 23, 2005)

How do you guys steralize sphagnum moss so that you can use it again and get it humid?


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## Brotherly Monkey (Jul 20, 2010)

asturianu said:


> How do you guys steralize sphagnum moss so that you can use it again and get it humid?


if it's old, and previously used, you should just toss it out


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## stemcellular (Jun 26, 2008)

asturianu said:


> How do you guys steralize sphagnum moss so that you can use it again and get it humid?


Yeah, not worth the effort. You can find nice spag (the high grade stuff) for little $ at home depot.


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## Azurel (Aug 5, 2010)

stemcellular said:


> Yeah, not worth the effort. You can find nice spag (the high grade stuff) for little $ at home depot.


What section bro? Out door garden center?


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## stemcellular (Jun 26, 2008)

yeah, at least outside Boston. It's what I use. $5 for what is normally $10 or more via vendors.


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## fieldnstream (Sep 11, 2009)

Yeah its with the orchid bark..... American Orchid Society brand or something like that. It's Chilean so its not quite as nice as the NZ stuff but not bad and is only like $5 at HD and $4.50 at Lowes for 500g I think.


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## littlefrog (Sep 13, 2005)

There are many grades of sphagnum moss and you always get exactly what you pay for...

The cheap stuff has its uses, but it is not going to last as long or be as 'fluffy' as a higher grade. It probably works as a component in mixes (chopped) or as a base layer in a vivarium. We use 5A moss for the really expensive orchids, and 3A for most of the rest. I don't think the cheap stuff gets anywhere close to 3A. Inexpensive moss also tends to have more sticks and debris.

Regardless of what grade you use, I recommend thoroughly hydrating it before use. If you don't get it wet enough, it just doesn't work right. I take a brick of moss and set it in a large water container (5 gallon bucket usually). Fill the bucket about half way with water and let the moss sit at least overnight. Dump out the remaining water, squeeze out most of the remainder from the moss, and 'fluff' the moss.


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## Brotherly Monkey (Jul 20, 2010)

I have two bales of some Wisconsin SM, that I bought last year, that looks like it would make some low grade filler for a rat nest. After getting burnt on that deal I decided to finally break down and buy a bale of high quality spag, and was blown away with the difference compared to the stuff I usually used(what ever they carried at lowes)


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## fieldnstream (Sep 11, 2009)

Lowes and HD have some really cheap american stuff (like $3 for a big bag) that looks/feels like shredded palm fronds, horrible and useless. The chilean stuff is actually pretty good, obviously not as good as the really nice NZ stuff, but it works for me. It does have some twigs and a few leaves (dwarf Fagus I think), but its relatively cheap, soft, and holds up really well.


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