I assume the site is
Cox Nature (link). I disagree with every reply in this thread. Cox Nature is selling exactly the right way for a one-man shop.
Firstly, he is not poaching endangered species from the wild (most sphagnum species are endangered). Instead, he grows sustainably in a small shop grow setup. He sells the heads because he saves the bodies to grow new heads, and he ships internationally. The heads have the highest growth rate per gram, which saves on shipping costs.
He has actually identified the species he is selling. There are hundreds of sphagnum species, each with different properties. Many species are not good for growing carnivorous plants in, especially the fast growing species because they grow over the carnivorous plant and are the least rot resistant species. Cox sells many different species.
Most live sphagnum on the net is poached from nature. A horrible thing to participate in, considering these are endangered species. A few other shops sustainably grow their own, but do not identify the species they sell, and only sell “red” or “green” sphagnum. There are hundreds of red species and hundreds of green species.
Surprisingly, quality comes with a price. I bought 16 distinct species from Cox a year ago. Here are the before and after:
Before: sphagnum heads 57948676-EB88-403B-B731-F42A1A7C3A52.jpeg (3.52 MiB) Viewed 4175 times
After: a 3D patchwork quilt of colorful moss 329FF09A-F201-4439-9A20-B4805E119B8A.jpeg (3.2 MiB) Viewed 4175 times
I can recommend Cox Nature.
Quality over quantity.
Sustainability over poaching.