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Container Gardening

growing moss

11 years ago

I collected a bit of moss that had been growing outside last evening. It had been growing in sandy substrate all season.

Has anyone who's collected moss have any advice for me? I laid it down on some gritty mix in a shallow dish & misted.

Antoinette

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Comments (10)

penfold2
11 years ago
You'd probably get more responses if you posted this on the Moss, Ferns & Cryptogams forum, but I'll give it a shot. Gritty mix is probably not the best choice for moss. Mosses don't have roots, so you don't have to worry much about soil porosity. But that also means that mosses need moisture at the soil surface. They're not capable of pulling it up from below the surface. So you want something that will wick water, keeping the surface damp. I use straight Turface because it's clean and easy to work with, but peat or topsoil may work as well. Another method used by some is to lay down a piece or two of felt (like from a craft store). I tried it and found that it dried out too quickly for me. You can also use clear plastic containers, like those used for berries and other foods, to keep humidity up and prevent moss from drying out so quickly.

You may also want to check out the Moss Grower's Handbook. I should read through it again myself now that I have a little more experience.

-Chris
hookilau
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the info. It didn't even occur to me that there was a forum for just moss =) I just grabbed it on a whim & didn't even realize it might be different than any other plant.

Antoinette
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Thanks for the link, it was informative and gave some detailed info on the subject. I am tempted to try it once. Hope everything goes well.
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If your pavers are in full sun, you need to find moss that will grow in sunny dry conditions. If you notice city sidewalks where the sun beats down everyday you will often see moss growing in the cracks. That is the kind you want. I don't know if anybody sells that kind, you might have to find some in an area that you can get permission to dig. You can also take slices of the the moss you already have and move them to areas you want it to grow. Just remove all rocks and debris and press it firmly to firm, bare soil and mist occasionally until it begins to spread. Full sun moss spreads slowly, so have patience! It is correct that Roundup will kill weeds in moss, just be careful to get Roundup that is not enhanced with additives because that WILL kill moss. You need plain glyphosate. Other weed killers will usually damage or kill moss. I know this from experience, having used Spectracide on a small area of my moss lawn as an experiment. It never did recover and I had to transplant moss from another area to fill in. Nashonii, Don't be mislead that moss needs a lot of water. Native mosses only get watered when it rains, and they can be lush and beautiful. You can kill them with too much water. If your native moss lawn or area is getting too dry, it will just go dormant, or you can mist it once a week or so. I see you are in the Ozarks like me, and our native mosses don't need a lot of moisture. They have been growing like crazy with all the rain we've had lately, but they will do fine in the summer without it. Just look around in the woods, parks, everywhere it grows wild and you will see how well it does. If you have moss but want more, you can take small pieces or divots and transplant them where you want them to spread (kind of like a hair transplant, haha). It fills in quickly. Or you can put bits of moss in a blender with some buttermilk or beer (not light) and spread it around where you want it, on rocks or bare soil. It's a little slower that way than direct transplanting but it does work. The key to getting most wild mosses started is bare, firm soil. If you mulch paths or areas where you want it to grow, it won't. It also won't get started on disburbed soil. The spores need a firm soil to grown on. And they don't need fertilized. Lime will kill most of them as they like acid soil, so if you lime your lawn, your moss will go away. John P just keep killing the grass out or pulling it, and the moss will spread on its own. I have had a moss lawn for about 25 years now, and I love it! There is no disadvantage to moss everywhere, in fact it makes a great ground cover under shady plants as it conserves moisture and shades the soil. If you look at pictures of Japanese gardens, you will see that there is little soil exposed, it is usually completely covered with lush mosses. Sometimes if I want more moss, I go to a local greenhouse/nursery where it grows like crazy and becomes a nuisance, and they scrape it off every spring. They are glad for me to scoop some of it up. I also try to rescue it from areas slated to be bulldozed for new buildings.
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I do not believe it is a moss. Perhaps a liverwort? But if your outside air is hot and dry then spraying it a few times a day will not be very successful. You will need to keep the plants out of the wind and sun, in shade on the coolest part of your property. You will need quality water, such as reverse osmosis water or collected rain water. And instead of spraying it you should be watering it at least in the early morning and in the late afternoon, and perhaps in midday if the plant looks wilted. The water should be kept in the shade and be cool to touch. Use a watering can with a fine rose (the nozzle part).
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Perhaps the easiest moss species to grow inside a house is Sphagnum. It does not look anything like the little green carpet you may be imagining but it is a bryophyte and it can be grown in a cup of distilled water under good light and probably sitting on a moisture tray. The various species that form carpets vary so widely you would need to know what genus it is in order to do justice to it. Most available on eBay from the Pacific Northwest would need cool temperatures year round and high humidity. This you could do by growing in an uncovered aquarium in containers that you can move outside if you wish. These should be misted lightly daily. Those on eBay that come from the eastern US probably would tolerate regular house temps except during winter when they would need to be kept cold. Again grow in containers that can be moved outside. These could handle drier air but twice a week misting with distilled water is recommended. For all growing in a container is best. I believe that for the low growing mosses that a shallow container is best. Put a layer of felt in the bottom of the container and then use only river sand. No fertilizers of any kind, except for a very diluted fish emulsion (15%) which I think might be safe for most. For the taller species such as Polystichum a shallow pot again with a felt layer in the bottom of the pot covered with a half inch of river sand and the moss set down inside the pot to grow. Please keep in mind my recommendations are of a generalized nature. Mosses are unique and some quite exacting in their culture. But they are also tenacious and survive in places you would expect to find them, such as on rusting vehicles!! Good luck.This is a moss species from the state of Georgia. As with all my mosses I grew this species outside and it received about 4 hours of sun and was shaded the rest of the time. I watered it with reverse osmosis water daily either with overhead soaking or spraying. During harsh windy days I sprayed often. A beautiful plant. Unfortunately I got sick several years ago with pneumonia and was so incapacitated for two months that I was not able to care for them as needed and lost almost all of my moss collection. But I have the photos!!
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meyermike_1micha
11 years ago
Besides the wondeful advice that Chris gave you, I too grow Moss on rocks and the such with a small layer of peat and newspaper.

One thing to remember too is that no moss does well in hot sun. So what I do is look for an area that will not expose it to hot day sun and also I find places under shrubs, trees, bushes, along my pond, anywhere you feel will tsay moist quite a while. In fact, if not exposed to sun, it can even be grown on rocks without any soil at all.

I think Josh is an expert in this regards and you will find him there at the Moss forum. He got me started..:-)

Mike
hookilau
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the tips =) I'll check out the moss forum to see what's what. The moss I collected has been living btw the bluestone on my patio for the last season. It had about .25" of it's own sandy grit so the bunch I collected is basically planted, I just crammed the pieces into a shallow dish & misted. Well, I'm off to the moss forum -_0
{{gwi:51302}}
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
11 years ago
Some moss DOES grow in full sun, Mike. I have a friend with a very large nursery op. I've collected moss growing on hard-packed clay cart paths in full sun where it's kept moist by the overhead irrigation system (other types of moss, too) and pureed it in water (blender). I then mix it with 1-2 cups of milk or a cup of yogurt + a can of beer in a 2 gal sprinkling can & pour it over Turface fines on cookie sheets. Keeping the Turface moist soon results in sheets of moss. You can grow it on untreated lumber that way, too, if you can keep it moist. Aged wood is best.

Al
meyermike_1micha
11 years ago
My goodness Al!!

I thought you were almost going to say you make a frap of it until I read further! lol

Ok...Now seriously,that is great to know. I think I'll give that a try too. You know Josh and I feel about Moss. It looks so beautiful in the landscape it it's righful place.

By the way, hope you are doing good these days:0)

Mike
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
11 years ago
Just as Al explained - I use this mixture to 'paint' on rocks/pots/garden statuary to give it aged look.
Use paintbrush or just smear it on, and make sure to keep damp. Soon your object will look much older, like from old English garden.

Rina
hookilau
Original Author
11 years ago
Clip! Now I know what to do with my turface (& turface substitute) fines. The stuff stuck to the moss pieces looks like really fine sand. I hope I can keep this stuff going through the cold months. I have the trays (3 small plastic bonsai drip trays) under lights. I figure since it grew in full sun, these weak florescents won't hurt 'em much, even if it did, I could collect more next season.

Al, I'd like to use pieces of this to decorate the soil on a few plants, and maybe even in a shallow dish by itself. The velvety green texture is soooo pretty =>
meyermike_1micha
11 years ago
Hey Hookilau,

I actually have a couple of plants with moss on the top. You are right and I love it.
I'll take a pic tomorrow for you :)
chloeasha
11 years ago
Antoinette-- I'm about to do the same thing as you :) Our apartment complex is forever trying to kill the miss that grows in the parking lot cracks. I plan on collecting it and stuffing it into post on my balcony. It faces north, so I think it should be fine as long as I can keep it moist enough.

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