FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Greetings and salutations.

I was curious as to whether or not New Zealand moss could be resused after repotting a plant. Does any know the “life expectancy” of the moss, and if dried out after use could still be a beneficial soil medium?

A more specific example: if a flytrap was potted in the moss for 10-12 months, and it came time (after dormancy) for splitting and repotting, would you throw out the old moss, or could it be dried out and reused at a later time? Perhaps mix it in with new moss?

Have a great day and thanks!
Ric

I reuse mine once, maybe twice. After a repot I will take the old media, soak and rinse it in a strong solution of water and hydrogen peroxide to try and kill all algae, mold, ect., and then dry it outside in the sun on a hot sunny day.

I have noticed though that reused media will break down faster and algae will grow faster once it gets established, so I don't use any reused media in indoor pots due to the lower amount of air flow. But it does work very well for filling the bottom of outdoor pots or if I use just reused media in a pot then I will put a heavy top dressing of silica sand on top to stop algae growth.

[quote="Rammplins"]I reuse mine once, maybe twice. After a repot I will take the old media, soak and rinse it in a strong solution of water and hydrogen peroxide to try and kill all algae, mold, ect., and then dry it outside in the sun on a hot sunny day.

Thank you for the information. May I ask, how much hydrogen peroxide to water ratio do you use?

No problem.

Eh, I cant really tell you a number, I just eyeball it. About a five second pour into 2 gallons of water, less if there is less water, and let it soak for like 2 hours. You might also want to vigorously disturb the media in the bucket every now and then so debris will sink to the bottom.