Moss poles can provide easy support for tropical climbing plants. However, these plants love humidity and there are some things you can do to keep a moss pole moist for these plants.
To keep a moss pole moist, a water source must be used to supply water to the pole over a period of time. This can be done by using a wicking or a continuous drip system. Additionally, maintaining environmental conditions such as heat, wind, and humidity will also help in keeping the pole moist for longer periods.
In this article, I will outline the different methods that I have personally used to keep my moss pole moist when caring for my Monstera Adansonaii and other climbing plants.
Check out this cost-effective moss pole Amazon which is neat and will help vines climb and not take away from their beauty.
How To Keep a Moss Pole Moist?
You can see our detailed article to get a better understanding of how to effectively use a moss pole for your plants, which also explains the types of poles, how long they last, and how to make your very own.
Moss poles are great products for houseplants that climb via clinging aerial roots. It’s important to moist your moss pole regularly depending on the humidity requirements of the plants growing in your garden.
Now the question is which approach can you use to keep a moss pole moist all the time.
I know there are different approaches to keep a moss pole moist for their moisture-loving plants but there are some that I have personally tried over the years.
Here are the things I have tried that can help you keep your moss pole moist:
1. Use a Wicking System
For the proper and healthy growth of the plant in the pot, it is important to keep the optimal ratio of the soil, water, and air.
The most common recommendation for indoor plants is regular but moderate watering and a wicking system for watering fulfills these requirements.
You can use a wicking system to keep a moss pole moist. A Wick watering system is a method of watering that uses a synthetic string for absorbing water and feeding it up to the plant.
By using a wick watering system the plants will have permanently well-moisturized roots, a strong and developed root system, abundant leaves, and fast growth of plants.
Check out these cheap but very effective wicking cords that I have used. You can find it on Amazon by clicking here!
2. Use a Bottle With 1 or 2 Fine Holes at the Top For Slow Drip
You can keep your moss pole slightly wet with the simple device that you have in your home. For this method, all you need is a plastic bottle and tape or a piece of wire.
Follow these steps to make an automatic watering system:
- Find a plastic bottle. You can use 1.5 liter, 2 liter, or even bigger bottles depending on the size of your moss pole.
- Heat the needle on a flame and then you just put it in the cap.
- Three to four holes should be enough.
- Fill the bottle with water and put the caps on the bottle.
- Next, tie the water-filled bottle to the top of the moss pole.
- Try to put it safely in place.
- Tighten it with a piece of tape or a piece of wire if you have. It depends on what you have available.
Control the External Environment To Keep The Pole Moist
For the healthy growth of plants, external environmental conditions such as wind, heat from sunlight and humidity have a big role to play when it comes to regulating the moisture content of a moss pole.
These external environmental factors work together to keep the moss pole moist. You can try different strategies to help the moss pole to retain more moisture.
I will outline some strategies that have worked well with my climbing plants.
3. Keep Your Moss Pole in a Cool Area Out of The Direct Sunlight
Sunlight is significant for plants to live. Without sunlight, plants are unable to run the process of photosynthesis and without photosynthesis, they cannot prepare their food.
However, the heat of the sun can evaporate the water from every type of plant surface.
If you place your plants with the moss pole in a cool area that is out of direct sunlight, it will help your moss pole to retain the moisture.
You can also keep your plants in rooms where fans and air conditioners are available.
Try to find a shady corner in your home where you can keep the plant pots with moss poles.
A place in which a sun line meets with a shade line would be the most suitable for your plants. Because sunlight is also necessary for plants’ growth and health.
4. Use a Humidifier
The amount of water vapor that is held in the air is called humidity. If you are growing tropical plants indoors, you need to provide them with a little extra humidity.
A humidifier heats the water until it evaporates into the air and water vapor then is released from the humidifier.
Humidifiers can help to maintain the moisture within the moss pole for long periods of time. If you are growing a lot of plants using moss pole support, you can use a humidifier to keep them moist.
I have written a detailed article on how to mist plants which will help you understand misting and humidity.
NOTE: If you are using humidifiers inside the house, you mustnot put them next to wooden furniture. High humidity and water vapors can seep into and damage the wood used to make the furniture.
The Geniani portable humidifier from Amazon provides the ideal environmental humidity for healthy plant growth. It's cost-effective and has over 35000 ratings.
5. Keep The Moss Pole in a Less Windy Area
Wind can do a large number of damages to your plants if you are not ready to deal with it. Being prepared for the windy areas can help your plants to develop quickly without stress.
If you have longer plants, the chance of being harmed by the wind is greater than the shorter plants. The tall plants will struggle more in the winds Especially when leggy plants use poles for support.
Moisture can easily evaporate out of a moss pole if it stays in a windy place. Keeping them in a less windy area can help the moss pole to stay moisturized for a longer time.
Therefore, it is recommended to keep the taller and fragile plants like climbing plants in a less windy area.
By doing so, the moisture content of the moss pole will be able to stay high for longer periods.
What Does a Moss Pole Do?
Long story short, moss poles play a crucial role in growing healthy and longer climbing plants.
- Plant leaves will grow bigger and brighter with a moss pole.
- Moss poles will give support to the growth of aerial roots of such plants.
- Moss poles will help the climbing plants to get extra sunlight by growing in the upward direction.
Moss poles help the plants in many ways. The plants with weak stems when growing in the natural home use the main woody stem of the trees for support.
The aerial roots of such plants will grow upward along the trunks to get the extra light and moisture from the environment.
When climbing plants like the Money plant, Monstera, and philodendrons are grown in pots, they need an artificial environment that resembles their natural environment.
Moss poles are what provide these fragile plants firm support.
Did you know that you can create your own cost-effective moss poles? Check out our article on moss pole alternatives which gives 5 easy ways that you can create cost-effective support poles for your plants.
Why Should a Moss Pole Remain Moist?
In addition to giving firm support to the plant, Moss poles also provide moisture to the plants.
The aerial roots of the plants will get attached to the moss pole and they will get nutrients and water from them.
Therefore, it is important to keep watering the moss pole to keep moist.
If your moss pole remains moist all the time there will be sufficient humidity for your plants to take in and let out water for their biological processes.
Plants like aroids will grow rapidly in a humid environment.
But, if the plants that do not like the extra humidity are growing in your garden then it is preferable not to moist the moss pole all the time.
Not every plant in your garden demands high humidity.
Some plants even prefer to have very low humidity. Too much moisture can also result in fungal diseases.
Generally, it is recommended to use a moss pole made from peat Moss so that it can also provide micronutrients to your plant.
The Takeaway
Moss poles provide firm support and moisture to the fragile climbing plants.
To keep the moss pole moist all the time, you can use a range of methods such as a wicking system and water bottle.
To maintain the moss pole moisture, place it in a cool, humid area or out of direct sunlight. You can also maintain the moss pole moisture with a humidifier.
However, keep in mind that too much humidity or moisture can also form mold spores and damage your plants.
