Sphagnum Moss Has Been Used for a Thousand Years

Horticulturists have long known the benefits of long-fibered sphagnum moss. With its unique qualities of retaining 20 times its weight in water, twice as absorptive as cotton, and its anti-bacterial sterility, sphagnum moss has become an indispensable gardening tool in the propagation and beautification process.

Sphagnum moss is the organic answer to many gardening and indoor floral projects. Because of its abilities to both absorb and hold 20 times its weight in water and repel bacteria, long fibered sphagnum moss offers one of the best solution to several basic gardening uses and problems. Sphagnum moss is commonly used for the culture of orchids, line hanging baskets and as packing material to protect plant roots during shipping.

Gardeners use it as a soil cover to help retain moisture in potted plants and used for air-layering plant propagation, and as a seed starting medium. Crafters also use it to create decorative arrangements and projects like living wreaths and topiaries.

Since 1932, The Mosser Lee company has been harvesting and processing sphagnum moss from the marshes in Wisconsin. The ecosystem of these marshes is tightly controlled, and the sphagnum moss assists in retaining and holding the structure of the marshes. To protect these marshes, Mosser Lee gently harvests the sphagnum moss by workers in hip boots, who pull the moss, breaking it at the soil line, and prepare the water-laden sphagnum moss for commercial use. The Mosser Lee Company chooses not to dig out the peat as it would kill the propagation process, and these wonderful plants would be lost forever.

Today, Mosser Lee is the largest harvester and fabricator of sphagnum moss long fiber products in North America. The sphagnum moss plant that we harvest is indispensable in the horticulture industry.

Many thanks to: David L Epstein, CEO Mosser Lee Company, www.mosserlee.com