Have you walked by potted plants at the grocery store where succulents and moss are in the same pot?
It’s definitely a strange combination, but can succulents grow in moss?
Succulents can grow in moss, but that doesn’t mean they should. This pairing completely defies nature; one plant needs lots of frequent watering, and the other needs drought with the occasional watering.
Why You Shouldn’t
Succulents and moss live in very different climates, and they’d never exist together in nature.
Succulents are used to full sun, heat, dry soil and the occasional rain.
Because of their environment, they hold onto water for long periods of time until the next time there’s rain, and they don’t like having wet roots.
Moss, however, you’ve probably seen when walking through forests. They grow in the shade, under trees, and in soil that holds a lot of water.
Moss dries out quickly and needs plenty of water to rehydrate.
As you can see, they are complete opposites.
The Main Reason: When you plant succulents in moss, the balance between watering enough for the moss and overwatering for the succulents is why these aren’t a good match.
Why Do People Do It Anyway?
With that being said, there are still a lot of people who plant succulents in moss.
Keep in mind that the people who plant succulents in moss only expect both pants to live for about a year.
If you want both plants to live longer, plant them both in soil.
Potting arrangements
Moss is used as a filler between plants, and to cover the soil in potting arrangements.
It adds just a little bit of fluffy greenery to complete the look, giving it a professional finish.
Technically the succulents are planted in the soil, and not in the moss which is why you might see a lot of potted plants with moss.
Soilless Planting
Can you even plant something if you don’t have soil?
Absolutely. You just need something to hold onto the plants.
In this case, sphagnum moss is used to hold plants in places where you might not be able to put soil.
If you’re looking at vertical wall planters, the weight of soil might be too much for your walls, and you could use moss instead.
Watch Out: Moss is also used in terrariums. Be careful with succulents in terrariums though. Most succulents like dry heat and terrariums can be very humid.
Form Building and Wreaths
Taking soilless planting one step further, moss can be used in form building, or live wreaths.
This is a common craft for people who love DIY projects and gardening, as it joins the two together:
- You’ll need a wire frame or wreath frame, wire, moss, and your succulents. For smaller projects, put the moss in the frame and wrap the wire around the frame to keep the moss inside.
- Then fill any spaces with succulents.
- Succulent moss balls look amazing.For the centre, wrap wool into a ball the size of how big you want your decoration to be.
- Then tuck moss into the strands of wool to hold it in place, and then add your succulents where you’d like. Fill all the spaces so you can’t see the wool anymore.
For much larger projects, fill the space in the frame with soil, and then add your succulents and fill any gaps with moss.
There’s no use spending hours, or even days creating a beautiful succulent topiary, only for the succulents to die fairly quickly.
How to Water Succulents Growing in Moss?
Moss is tricky to water.
It initially repels water, so you’ll need to water it, let it sit, and water it again. If it’s still not completely wet you might need to repeat the process.
Your succulents and moss must be in something that has very good drainage.
With all that watering to wet the moss, the roots on the succulents are going to drown if that water can’t leave.
For the benefit of your succulents, it’s better to let the moss dry out a little bit between waterings than to keep it moist.
Quick Tip: Moss will do better at bouncing back from too little water than a succulent will be at bouncing back from overwatering.
Final Thoughts
There you have it. Succulents can grow in moss, but because they are complete opposites, you won’t see this in nature.
You’re playing a risky game if you decide to try this at home.
There’s not much point in planting succulents in moss unless you’re working on a display that can’t use soil.
Live wreaths look amazing on front doors, and succulent moss balls make beautiful decor pieces.
