The other day walking through the forest on my surroundings, in the middle of the regular landscape with its regular mosses, found a particular spot where sphagnum moss was filling the surface for around a square meters. I felt like a found a hidden treasure and made me think if I even should touch that, you know, for our bonsai purposes.
Also remembered Ryan mentioning on a stream that Sphagnum moss is one of the less sustainable goods on their practice, and it would worth exploring alternatives.
But apart from the moisture retention capacity, does it has any other characteristics that makes it so special? like any natural enzyme or hormone on its own that makes it so good for root health and propagation? Any known science behind that?
It has the ability to exchange hydrogen ions for nutrients from the nutrient poor soils
As a growing medium it comes down to the particle or fiber size. Water holding capacity, air porosity and bulk density are determined by the particle or fiber size of the moss.
The coarser the fiber, the greater the air porosity of a growing medium.
The finer the fiber, the higher the water holding capacity and the greater the bulk density in a growing medium.