How To Create an Indoor Moss Pole

Table of Contents

• What is an Indoor Moss Pole?
• Materials & Tools for Indoor Moss Poles
• How to Make an Indoor Moss Pole?
  • Reinforcing an Indoor Moss Pole for Heavy Plants
  • Extending a Moss Pole
• Indoor Moss Pole – The Wrap-up
• FAQ

Have you been looking for the best indoor moss pole to support your indoor plants? Maybe for your pothos, monstera, philodendron, or other climbing plants? This article’s purpose is to inform you how you can make a phenomenal high-quality indoor moss pole that is better and cheaper than any you will find on the market.

What is an Indoor Moss Pole?

The function of a moss pole is to mimic a plant’s natural growing environment by creating a surface that is easy for the plant to affix to and by providing a medium that contains micronutrients. Moss poles allow for root attachment which strengthens the plant (and makes for a more attractive growth habit).

Materials & Tools for Indoor Moss Poles

• 1/2″ 19-gauge PVC coated hardwire mesh (either 2 ft x 5 ft, 3 ft x 5 ft, or any other size that you can find.)
• Vigoro 100 ft. Plastic Coated Wire Twist with Cutter
• Sphagnum Moss
• Optional: Vigoro Plastic Coated Stakes (4 ft or 6 ft)
• Pair of scissors, wire cutters, or pruning shears.

How to Make an Indoor Moss Pole?

1. Soak your sphagnum in water. The amount of sphagnum moss needed depends on how big your moss pole is, so keep that in mind to ensure you don’t have a bunch of wet sphagnum moss leftover! You only need to soak it for a minute or two, but you can leave it soaking until you are ready to use it. If you run out of moistened moss as you’re working, you can easily and quickly soak more.
2. Bend the hardwire mesh into a cylinder. You can make the diameter as big or small as you want, but it becomes harder to make small diameter ones. It is advised to make it about 8 ½ inches in circumference, which is very comfortable to form with your hands.
3. Cut the hardwire mesh. Use a pair of wire cutters, scissors, or pruners to cut your piece of mesh for the pole.
4. Form the hardwired mesh into an open cylinder. Allow enough room for the next step, where you add your sphagnum moss.
5. Fill the cylinder with pre-moistened sphagnum moss. Squeeze any excess water out of your sphagnum moss and start filling your entire cylinder with the moss. You’ll want to add a good amount so that the moss is snug when you close your cylinder.
6. Stitch up the cylinder with the plastic-coated wire twist. Now it’s time to “sew” up your cylinder and finish your project! Grab your roll of plastic-coated wire twist and start at one end of the cylinder. Don’t cut the wire twist until you tie a couple of knots together to close the cylinder. Hold the long end of the wire roll to help with tightening. After you have added a couple of knots and closed the cylinder, you can cut the wire, but you want both pieces of wire on either end of the knot to be about 3 inches long or so. Continue adding these stitches about every 6 inches or until your cylinder is complete! You are leaving longer twists attached to the pole for the future when you may need to reinforce your moss pole for a heavier plant.
7. Re-pot your plant of choice and add the moss pole. Lastly, place the moss pole at the bottom of an empty pot. Place the plant next and tie the plant against the moss pole. And finally, fill in with your potting mix! Next, cut more plastic-coated wire twists to secure your plant’s stems to the moss pole. If there is an aerial root growing on your plant, secure it right below so that the root can grow into the moss.

Reinforcing an Indoor Moss Pole for Heavy Plants

You can reinforce your moss pole for more strength if you have a heavier plant. Use a plastic-coated stake to secure the moss pole, and then you can use the leftover ties you attached to the moss pole when you first stitched it up to tie the stake.  You can get a plastic-coated 4 ft stake or a 6 ft stake.

You can add the plastic-coated stake in the beginning or insert it later and then simply twist the plastic-coated twists that you already have on the moss pole. Reinforcing the moss pole with a stake is also helpful if you extend your moss pole. At some point, your plant will reach the top of your moss pole. Once this happens, you can cut the plant if it extends beyond the height of the rod, or you can extend your moss pole. It is the same as what you already did when you made your original moss pole, except this time, you will be working vertically on top of the original moss pole.

Extending a Moss Pole

1. Measure the circumference of your existing moss pole that you want to extend.
2. Measure this exact amount on your roll of hardware mesh and cut it.
3. Form it into a loose cylinder shape just like you did before.
4. Wrap the cylinder around the top of the existing moss pole. You will want to overlap about 3 squares or so. Use your plastic coated wire twist to secure the new cylinder all around the perimeter.
5. Start packing moist sphagnum moss down into the new cylinder. Make sure that it is packed well at the bottom, where the old moss pole meets the new cylinder.
6. As you fill the cylinder, use your plastic coated wire twist to stitch the cylinder together every 6 inches or so until you reach the top.
7. When you are done, go back to where the old moss pole and the new pole you just attached meet. Add more plastic-coated wire twists to reinforce this area if needed.
8. If needed, add one of the plastic-coated support stakes and secure it tightly against the moss pole with the plastic-coated twists.

Indoor Moss Pole – The Wrap-up

An indoor moss pole is relatively simple to make but can create a beautiful vertical garden for your indoor decor. This article covers the basics of creating an indoor moss pole, but you can alter some instructions to help make the moss pole a bit more personalized to your liking.

FAQ