MOSS GARDENING:
Moss gardening was first recorded in Japan. The writings of Zen Buddhist Monks who lived as far back as a thousand years ago express an appreciation of the mosses that grew in their temple gardens. This practice became an art form in Japan which continues to this day.
Growing Moss Carpets:
A moss carpet planted by a gardener may not be as self-sufficient as a moss carpet growing in the wild. If you want a moss carpet - consider the following before you collect; first consider whether or not your local climate is to the liking of carpet mosses. These are creatures of coolness, rain dew and fog. Most are inhabitants of the shady forest that rain and high humidity sustain. The kinds that grow extensively in sunshine are mostly in moist regions. A climate supporting forests is likely the most to have success with carpet moss.
There are 5 methods that I am aware of for growing a moss carpet, which is considerably more effort than growing moss in containers. There is one more for growing moss in containers (Method 6).
Method One:
Waiting for the moss to fall from the sky (seriously).
This may require some faith and patience, but when the moss comes, it will be exactly the type that nature intended.
To prepare ground for your anticipated moss carpet, weed and rake smooth. Place ornamental rocks, shrubbery, wood or ferns to complete the garden picture. A dusting of powdered sulfur over the soil (2-1/2 pounds to 100 square feet) will help encourage the arrival of moss. A pH reading of 5.5 is ideal. You can also dust the ground with powdered skim milk or aluminum sulfate, or sprinkle it with rhododendron fertilizer to increase soil acidity. If the weather is dry and breezy, lightly hose the material into the ground.
Although I am not one who believes in chemical killers of any type, it has been established that these poisons can work as well as a fertilizer for the establishment of mosses. This is because the soil has been cleared of competing plants, allowing the mosses to come into the barren ground fast and early.
With the ground prepared and while your moss begins to grow, occasionally weed and remove any debris.
Within two years you should have areas of mossy green. Within 5, the area should be covered. If you do not see the beginnings in the early years, nature has disapproved of this area of ground for mosses.
Method Two:
Establishing a moss carpet by encouraging mosses already present in a weakening grass lawn, coupled with the weeding out of the grass. There are places in some cases, where grass is just the wrong plant. These are usually the places where moss will grow. These are the so-called weed mosses, but when promoted can make beautiful ground covers. Acidity of soil is encouraging to moss and detrimental to grass. Using the above-mentioned list of acidifying chemicals, prepare and groom the ground. Keep it weeded and raked clean of tree leaves and other smothering debris.
Shade is usually the place where the decline of grass and the advance of moss may take place to such a degree that a fed-up lawn keeper decides to become a moss gardener!
Method Three:
This is the method of the instant carpet. A small area of ground, perhaps along a shady wall or fence, can be mossed at once if the gardener has access to woods from which mosses can be taken legally. Find moss locally where climate and conditions suit your location. Soil, lighting and moisture conditions as similar as possible to the native habitat will produce best. A sandy, humus soil suits all sorts of carpet forming woodland mosses. Soil acidity can be altered if necessary (Method One).
In the first year a planted moss carpet will need watering when rain fails or when the surface begins to go dry. By their second summer, the mosses should be well enough established to withstand dryness. You can plant them on prepared ground with edges touching.
Method Four:
This is the method of planting moss sods at intervals. All the same preparation as mentioned in the other methods should be followed.
In digging mosses, use a spade or butcher knife with a long blade that is sturdy. Dig sods at least the size of an outstretched hand. With a deeply rooted moss take about a 2”-3”depth of native earth.
In digging wild moss, the gardener frankly violates Nature. To make amends, scoop up a handful of plant debris and use it to fill the hole where the moss was. It should regenerate.
Plant the sods approximately one foot apart, measuring from the center of each. You should have ground cover in 2-3 years.
Method Five:
This is the method of growing moss carpet from crumbled fragments. Unfortunately, only a few mosses can be grown this way. I am naming these as they are the likely ones to be successful: Eucobryum, Racomitrium and Dicranoweisia.
Collect moss when crumbly dry in summer. Rub the plant through a screen and scatter the bits over a nursery flat filled to a depth of 1-1/2 inches with a mixture of sand and peat moss in equal portions. Place in an exposed location and keep watered. It will probably take a year for the moss to cover the flat.
*A fun idea: Many kinds of mosses can be grown from branch cuttings inserted in peat moss and sand (keep misted).
Method Six:
Bonsai, Dish and Container Mosses
1. Sowing
If moist when collected, spread out to dry indoors on newspaper. If not used soon after drying store (some store indefinitely). You will need:
- A screen with a mesh of about 1/4-1/8 inch through which to rub the moss
- A nursery flat or shallow boxes with holes for drainage, or for smaller amounts a couple of flowerpots
- A moistened rooting medium, such as a mixture of sphagnum peat moss and sand
- An empty jar or something to flatten the soil in its containers
- Enough cheesecloth to cover the soil
If you are doing this outdoors, the best time to sow moss fragments is at the beginning of a cool, rainy season. Spread the soil to a depth of 1-1/4 inches, after compression. Flatten and lightly compress the soil with a jar or piece of wood. Spread a single thickness of cheesecloth (available at fabric stores) smoothly on top of the soil and secure the edges by poking it down into the soil along the inner edges of the container. Give cheesecloth and soil a final flattening. There should be total contact between the two. Scatter the pulverized dry moss over the cheesecloth. A peppering as thick as that of sesame seeds on a bun would not be too thick. Place the container in part sun, you may also keep in a cold frame, a cool, well-ventilated green house or on a sunny indoor windowsill (as long as you can open the window occasionally so the moss can receive a certain amount of weather). Water the moss gently, preferably with a mist bottle. The cheesecloth helps prevent scattering of the moss during watering those sensitive first weeks before rooting takes hold.
Within a year’s time or less, the moss will become dense and durable enough to lift as a green sheet ready for planting. Cut the moss to size, whether for Bonsai, trough or dish garden, and press into soil. For a Bonsai slope, secure the moss with toothpicks, the flat type, bent into a V shape.
If you are doing this process and have a cool greenhouse, you can scatter the pulverized moss directly into containers, water gently and wait. If the dusting of dry moss is thick enough there won’t be a long wait. At first watering, the moss will green up instantly and soon become a carpet.
2. Slurrying
Slurrying is a process to fragment and propagate bonsai/container mosses that do not break up easily into bits. It works for some and not others, but is worth a try with any. You should start with a piece of moss at least the size of a pancake, a large jar with a lid, a few blobs of specially made mud, and a kitchen blender. Start by placing in a jar a pound of finely-particled leaf mold, or acidic garden loam, or decently-aged barnyard manure. Fill jar 2/3 full with water, screw on lid and shake well. Wait for solids to settle and floatables to rise. Pour off the flotsam with all the murky water, keeping back the muddy material at the bottom.
Next, stuff the moss, thoroughly moist, into a blender. Add about a cup of the mud after carefully separating it from any pebbles. Since the rocks settle to the bottom of the jar, avoid them by using a spoon and not digging too deeply into the mud in the jar. Blend the moss and mud briefly. The mixture should be pourable but not too thin - like pancake batter. If necessary, add water and blend again.
Now the moss/mud mixture can be spread thinly on the soil of a planted bonsai tree or other container planting. Keep gently watered and it will soon grow and cover.