I've always advocated using live Sphagnum as much as possible and to grow your own. I've pontificated on the point several times in the past.
If you have established colonies of Sphagnum why bother going the long route and germinating more spores? Simply give the colonies a "haircut" and snip off the top 1/4-1/2" of live growth and toss it into a small tub or empty pot and keep it wet with adequate lighting. Repeat as often as you want the old stuff to grow out.
In a shorter time than messing around with dried stuff you'll have more Sphagnum than you know what to do with.
I find that it is more a matter of having enough live sphagnum on hand for a given task that has me both cannibalizing from other pots, expanding my supply of live material on a regular basis, and often starting another batch from dried moss (what is a paltry six weeks of no effort when dealing with plants which, in some cases, can take ten years to fully mature?). I use the live sphagnum not only as a top-dressing but as a primary ingredient of most compost mixes and in fairly large pots.
In the end, I have the luxury of using both methods, but the point of the initial thread was aimed at someone who was just beginning and who potentially had only the dried moss at hand . . .
Last edited: