Thanks for resurrecting this thread. It is very informative. The presence of moss growing on the surface of a potted plant may or may not be something to be concerned about. I think it depends on the kind of plant you are growing and the kind of culture you are providing the plant. Generally the moss must be well irrigated as well as having the necessary humidity and temperatures needed for it to survive. Most plants that do not require copious amount of aeration to the roots, such as orchids, may be at risk of root loss since the moss would tend to serve as an indicator of soil decomposition. A careful look at your plant roots should be the rule when growing with a dense moss growth. Even with orchids there are some that do quite well with the dense moss, Dendrobium cuthbertsonii for example. The best rule is to know the cultural needs of the plants you are growing and be able to make a determination that the presence of a dense moss growth is a plus or a minus in your cultivation.

Actually I'm kind of feeling bad. The whole toilet bowl idea may be someone elses pride. Even if a whimsical joke. And Im wondering if I could say what I'm typing to that persons face personally. And not feel the hurt I might cause. But I did get a good laugh : ) To add constructively to the thread one pet peeve of mine? Neighbors or homeowners in a community hiring Landscapers to do renovations requiring the disposal of old shrubs and perennials. Seeing them chainsawd and chipped, buried by heavy machinery. I mean that is horrible. I never looked at it that way until I started the process of donating a Japanese Garden to a local community business. Here I am wondering why the rootstock cant be shared by community members who are financially unable to afford such plants. Here I am wondering how Im going to pull this off with no money of mine to spare. So I must resort to finding recycled plants. For the first time in my life. Ive always spent other people money. Now I have to come up with ideas so as not to loose face and make the Japanese Garden a reality. I wont accept a penny more from the place Im building it. The whole idea is about community service. Giving something that is a passion for free. I have a passion so its easy. The rest is patience. I hate evil plant killers :) Let youre fellow citizens have a chance to adopt a plant before you send it to a tragic death.... People!!! Especially at the hand of Monster Landscape Contractors who arent even willing to keep the plant for themselves to use on another project.Sometimes the completion date requires dispossal of ornamentals not in the design rather than re salvaging. Maybe the local town Gardening Committee will use those ornamentals. Making the town plan of beautification financially feasible. Ive never heard of such a thing but sounds like a good idea. So many homes are stripped of old growth ornamentals that have overgrown the original space. To be lost forever. I sometimes to the embarrassment of myself will stop at such a job and ask for all the root stock still alive.. Many trades men will look at me askance. Like Im crazy and should know better than to ask such a question. Giving that tough guy attitude. Like get the hell off of my job you jackass. I can see it in their eyes. And in truth I hate that feeling. Its hard for me to swallow. I must look like an amatuer doing such things. So in reality I'm doing this rarely. Driving my dump truck to the sites who are kinder. I might get something. Knowing one particular customer of mine who is low on money would appreciate these plants. Giving that customer back for the opportunity they provided earlier. To work on their property when they had money to spend. Maybe sounds old fashioned but I like my customers to be happy. I want them to have dreams fulfilled just as I want mine. Business sometimes corrupts that process of brotherhood. No one could put the value of driving onto a customers property with a huge Rhody salvaged from being destroyed. Its a priceless moment. And what did it cost me. Maybe 20 dollars in gas. A few hours labor. But what I get in return is priceless. Compassion from the person Im thinking about. We see eachother as equalls. Something money can not buy. And when you get used to this way of thinking you never expect anything in return. The whole idea was just do it. Its the right thing to do. For no real reason but it just feels right. I dont need books to know this. Its the same act as when a baby hands over the food for you to take a bite. Isnt it awesome to see a young child offer food that was almost going into the mouth hesitate. Then look at you and put the food in youre mouth intead! Its human nature to share. Sometimes I think how cruel it must be to see ornamentals a neighbor could never afford but truly desire and watch that tree discarded like trash. The owner of such ornamentals never asking fellow neighbors if they would like to have it. I guess most people believe in not sharing and rather see material things in the garbage before theyd ever concede to the principle of giving without hesitation. That was good. I feel better! Japanese Gardening has made me think differently. To give and help the community you are a member of is the goal. Finding every opportunity to make a community come together with little things. Not on the rare occasion. But on a daily bases. Its easy. I like what Im saying and will try harder to do so. This is what makes me feel like a boulder resisting the rivers current. Finding wieght in my doings. Even if the community is too complex to understand I feel rooted to living out one aspect of being a member. Feeling like you belong. Not just driving to the local store for groceries and back home. But stopping along that daily circle to do one small thing. No matter how little. Like someone you see going to the mailbox every morning while leaving for work. Saying to that person.. "Hey Ill have Peony roots by the end of the day. Only a few. Ill leave you some tomorrow morning." At least its a start. And after a few years you can see that act of giving grow into a smile on each others face every time you cross that persons path leaving for work in the morning. Nobody said this means becoming nosey or involved with strangers. Its just one simple way to say hello. Next time we see each other we can smile and wave hello instead of me driving by like a sardine in a car. Gardening is probably the easiest way for a community to come together. Every home has something to offer. Dont throw ornamentals away.

New organic way is to understand each rose rather than blindly spray it with Bayer like ARS recommends. In my alkaline clay with pH near 8, roses grafted on Dr.Huey are quite healthy ... Dr. Huey's root secret plenty of acid to release potassium from rock-hard clay. Saw the neighbor with Angel Face (grafted on Dr. Huey), tons of blooms, and 100% healthy for many years. But multiflora-rootstock is a blackspot-fest in my alkaline clay. Multiflora-rootstock doesn't secret enough acid to un-lock potassium in my hard-mineral-clay. Wimpy own-roots that don't secret enough acid isn't best for my heavy clay. I had a Kordes rose, Deep Purple as own-root which was 100% healthy in loamy & slightly acidic potting soil .. but broke out in blackspots when I put in my hard clay. New organic way is to understand that each rose is different in its need for different minerals. Dave and Deb Boyd, zone 5a, noted that Double Delight and Oklahoma have a higher need for iron. True, I put red-lava-rock (high in potassium & iron) on Double Delight, and it blooms lots. But red-lava-rock was a disaster for Betty White .. its white petals turned brown at the edges. New organic way is to understand that roses like a STABLE environment FOR HEALTH. 1) Stable moisture: After more than a week of no rain, I peeled off 2 inch. of alfalfa hay, in full sun ... the soil is soaking wet underneath, with tons of earthworm. I peeled off grass-clippings as mulch, decent moisture, but less than alfalfa hay. The driest spot is under 2 inch of wood-chips, and it was in shade !! Zero earthworms, soil is bone-dry like the wood-chips above. 2) Fluffy and loamy: I put various additives in many holes in October. Dug those holes today, June 29 .. that's after 9 months. The holes stuffed with leaves are moist and fluffy like chocolate cake. The holes stuffed with crack-corn (high magnesium) was fluffy at first, but corn's stickiness and high-magnesium glued up with my clay into concrete. The holes stuffed with woodchips is really dry and glued up with clay like concrete. The holes stuffed with alfalfa hay is soaking wet, but gluey & compact, due to alfalfa's high-magnesium & calcium. The holes with alkaline clay broken up with coarse sand and gypsum is very fluffy, lots of earthworm. 3) Stable pH: Clay has the best buffers (hard-minerals) to neutralize acidic rain. But loamy soil, like potting soil in my pots .. cannot buffer the acid in my fermented alfalfa-tea, nor too much acidic rain. I have to top my pots with alfalfa pellets and pea-gravel for their buffering capacity. Alfalfa at pH 5.8 is high in magnesium and calcium. Pea-gravel has pH of over 9, high in calcium & magnesium & potassium.

Just went out to check all my leaves. The disease-resistant roses with glossy foliage all have 7-leafets: Kordes Flower Carpet, Pat Austin and Tchaikovsky. Kordes Flower Carpet doesn't have mildew in shade, but Knock-out (5-leaflet) has mildew. Other DISEASE-RESISTANT with 7-leaflets: William Shakespeare 2000, Duchess de Rohan, Excellenz von Schubert, Annie L. McDowell, Blue Mist, Poseidon, Cloudert Soupert, and Crown Princess Mag. ... all have leaves in set of 7. These can take wet soil well, like multiflora rose thriving in wet lands. But the blackspot-prone roses: Comte de Chambord and hybrid teas have leaves in set of 5, and much larger & round leaves. These prefer well-drained soil, and tend to blackspot with prolonged wetness & acidic rain. Multiflora-leaves are clearly a set of 7, see below pic: http://na.fs.fed.us/spfo/invasiveplants/factsheets/pdf/multiflora-rose.pdf "Each multiflora leaf as 5 to 11 one inch-long oval leaflets with toothed margins. The undersides of the leaflets have tiny hairs and are paler than the upper surface. The base of each leaf stalk has a characteristic stipule (green, leafy structure) with hairs or a comb-like fringe along its margins. Flowers. As indicated by its scientific name Rosa multiflora, this plant has abundant, showy clusters of flowers which typically are white, though sometimes slightly pink." Below is Austin rose William Morris, which did terrible in slightly acidic wet & peaty potting soil, then finally died when I put in my wet clay made acidic with cracked corn. Note the leaves are in a set of 5, which means it prefer well-drained & loamy soil, and CANNOT take acid & wetness like those of set-7 leaves. Folks complain about WM being stingy and rust-fungal-prone. The drought-tolerant & disease-resistant Rugosa has rounder leaves in set of 9, plus very bristly canes full of thistles, see below: