Will Sphagnum as a top layer stop my fertiliser being absorbed?

[rane]

I have a top layer of the moss with organic slow release pellets of fertiliser sitting on top, I'm wondering if the moss would absorb this instead of the plant when I water?

[shibui]

The moss will take some of the nutrients that come from your fertiliser. When I add organic fert to pots with moss I often notice that the moss temporarily dies where the fert pellets touch it but usually grows back as the fert decays.
Most of us enjoy the look of moss so we just allow for a little more fert to be shared between the moss and the tree.

Might be worth uploading as there is a horrible weed that looks a little mosslike and is often found on pots.

[rane]

Thank you Shibu

I ave to plants with moss that ive put on myself (fresh from a packet from bunnings)

1 has it has as a top layer on its own, the second one was for a plant I just repotted, so I put a layer of fresh off that been wetted above the soil and then I put a layer of pebbles. Hoping this will help keep it moist and held the repot stress.

[shibui]

I guess that means you have a layer of sphagnum moss on the soil. I thought maybe you meant live moss to look like grass.
Sphagnum can help retain some extra moisture so many growers use it but I have never bothered.
The sphagnum moss will not interfere with your fertiliser at all.

It is quite late to be repotting trees in Melbourne, except for natives and tropicals. Most temperate species are repotted right at the end of winter.
What trees have you repotted this late in the season?

[rane]

Hi,

Oh is it!? I had a Bougainvillea starter kit arrived today, and I went ahead and repotted it into the pot they supplied! I should have waited, looks like I was too impatient..

That's the plant I put the layer of moss + pebbles over with, and I sprayed a bit of Seasol Gold to help promote growth along with some fertiliser. Is there anything you would recommend to help with the shock?

This was my first ever repotting so I didn't prune much of the roots if any, but as I removed the soil about a third of the roots ended up deattching, it was heavily overgrown in the plastic pot.

[shibui]

Fortunately, not only are bougies very tough customers but they are also tropical species so I would not be surprised to see it come through repot at this time as well or even better than an early season repot.
Loss of a few roots any time of year is OK for most plants.
There are lots of things that are supposed to help with transplant shock but in my experience they are not actually effective. Mostly based on the fact that plants get over transplant and loss of a few roots all by themselves Just make sure the roots do not dry out for a few weeks and not too much direct sun until you see new growth.