DIY Moss Poles: A Fun Way To Display Climbing Plants
Moss poles are suddenly flying off the shelves at garden centers as more people discover how amazing they are for growing climbing plants. If you’ve encountered nothing but “sold out” signs, or if you’d like to save some cash and get crafty, you can make your own DIY moss poles with simple materials.
What’s So Awesome About These DIY Moss Poles?
In their natural habitat, climbing plants typically climb up other larger plants, like trees. That’s why they tend to prefer indirect sunlight—they’re used to being underneath a leafy, tropical tree canopy. A moss pole mimics this; it provides structure, texture, and natural fiber just like a tree trunk, allowing your climbing plants to get a better grip and spread more vigorously.
On top of providing structural support, the moss pole is a nutrient source for plants with aerial roots, such as Monstera deliciosa. Contact between the moss and the roots can actually coax your plant into sprouting bigger, more mature leaves. And when you’re growing Monstera, it’s all about those big, beautiful leaves!
What Plants Need A Moss Pole?
In addition to our major fave mentioned above, the Monstera deliciosa, there are plenty of other gorgeous climbing plants you can grow on a moss pole, including:
- Swiss Cheese Vine (Monstera adansonii)
- Syngonium “White Butterfly” (Syngonium podophyllum)
- English Ivy (Hedera helix)
- Mini Monstera (Rhaphidophora tetrasperma)
- Wax Plant (Hoya carnosa)
- Heart Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron cordatum)
- Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)
How to Make a DIY Moss Pole
To make a moss pole for indoor climbing plants, you’ll need to gather the following supplies:
- A thick wooden dowel, PVC pipe, or another sturdy material that could be used as a pole. The correct length and width depends on the size of your plant—keep in mind, you want your pole to be tall enough for your plant to grow up for quite a while. For a Monstera, you’ll want your pole to be at least a foot taller than your plant.
- Strong string, twine, or fishing line
- Sphagnum moss
- A large bin to fill with water
- Rubber gloves
Directions:
- Place your moss in the bin and fill it up with enough water to submerge the moss. Let it soak for 20 minutes.
- Take your string and tie it tightly and securely around the very top of the pole.
- Put on your rubber gloves to protect your hands from getting poked, and pull out a big handful of moss from the bin. Ring out as much moisture as you can so it’s no longer dripping, but still damp.
- Pull apart the moss and spread it, so it becomes a flat layer, like a piece of fabric material, around ½ –1 inch thick. Starting at the top, wrap the flat layers of moss around the pole, and then tightly wrap the string around the moss to hold it in place.
- Keep adding more and more moss all along the pole, twisting and tying the string as you go to keep everything held together.
- Leave about 8–12 inches of the bottom of your pole exposed so it can be inserted into your plant’s pot. Tie the end of your string around the last bit of moss, so it’s all held together, and snip off the excess.
- Carefully dig a hole in the pot of your climbing plant. You want it to be big enough to accommodate the pole, but you don’t want to disturb the roots or injure the plant.
- Ease the pole in the hole, and carefully press the soil around it to secure it in place.
- Start to train the vines of your climbing plant up the pole!
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