In their natural habitat the plant would use tree trunks and branches to climb! Moss poles can act as a substitute and provide much needed support for climbing plants.
Training the plant to climb is simple and can be done using the pins shown below or check out this PLANT VELCRO it works great too. Once the plant is trained you should only need to train it 2 maybe 3 times a year to keep new growth looking good. For this post I’ll begin training one of my newest monsteras, the slitepecana.
What You Will Need
Of course you’ll need a moss pole! I do plan on eventually making my own but in the meantime these are my favorite poles. You can find these on Amazon MOSS POLES
These moss poles are great because they can be extended and come with pins.
PREPARE YOUR MOSS POLE
To prepare your moss pole you’ll want to soak it in water to rehydrate the moss. I usually allow mine to soak for 15 minutes or so.
Adding your moss pole to your planter/pot
One of the mistakes I made when I staked my first few plants was not ensuring the pole touched the soil. You want to make sure your pot is large/deep enough so that the pole itself is in contact with the soil. This is going to help you when it comes to keeping the pole moist. The metal stakes pictured should be completely buried in your pot.
In the photo below you can see an aerial root. These roots are searching for something (the moss pole lol) to climb to help support the plant. What I like to do is take the stems/vines with the aerial roots and carefully wrap them around the moss pole, using the pins to secure them.
That’s it!
It really is that simple!
Tip: You’ll want to periodically hydrate your moss (I use a misting bottle) but, don’t stress yourself out trying to keep the moss constantly moist. Here is the thing, it is true the aerial roots are drawn to the moisture but they are also just searching for something to grab on to for support. Basically its a win either way 💁🏾
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