Growing moss

[ericst11]

I might just take a hike today and see what i can find . But the web has so much its almost confusing ,all differant ways and differant opinions, but ithink its like any other plants get the info and see what works for you but i do like the info i;m getting so keep it coming. i'll post a pick of the moss i get today and how i'm going to start it. before putting it in my terrarium,and making sure its bug free does anyone have any input on cleaning natural moss from the woods.

[Ray]

For a while, I stocked living moss collected - "farmed" actually - in private forest land in North Carolina. I have some growing on an EcoWeb mount in my greenhouse, and it works quite well.

One of the problems with using collected moss is that it MUST be tight against the contours of the substrate, or it will not "grab hold" and grow well. Another is the potential introduction of bugs and pathogens from the wild. The moss slurries - whether the "milkshake" or do-it-yourself, overcome the former.

"help" - no problem. I have actually used both, and the Moss Milkshake gets established faster and more uniformly, but there is nothing to say your idea cannot be done.

[kavanaru]

Originally Posted by help

sorry to say this ray, because it might deter someone from buying from you. (no hard feelings?)

but, if you have moss that grows in the woods or around your house, you can put it in the blender with beer or milk, beer works better. and then use that like you would a moss milk shake

IMPORTANT: avoid using moss growing on the ground as it may contain slug/snail's eggs... There is a well know "miniature-Grower" in Germany, who grows moss (the way Help has described, but uses ONLY mosses growing on trees (after bad experience and some plants lost after using ground moss and the little snails eating the roots)

[ericst11]

how about first using a plastic egg creat cover for fluorescent lights with out the lights and laying sphagnum moss down and misting it till its really moist then laying a layer of live moss on top till it gets ahold to make like a mat of moss then you can put it anywhere would this work i don't know but maybe i'll give it a try.

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[Ray]

I tried that in an old fish tank:

Layer of sphagnum, covered by a layer of moss, with a small portion used to sow a bit of the moss milkshake. Overhead light - T5 x 48".

Both grew, but the sown moss actually grew better in the long run. It may have been related to the particular species used.

[Aussie42]

You might want to give some thought to the kind of moss. Sphagnum is fairly tall. Attached is a pic of a moss I collected growing in an old ice cream container. It's a nice and very low-growing, kind of creeping variety (name unknown) that would probably take well to a mount. If you can find something similar, it may be ideal.

Propagation - I grabbed a chunk of moss, poked some holes in an ice cream container, added 2 inches of store-bought bonsai potting mix (very useful stuff). Just add moss, pressing down so it has good contact with the soil. Then chuck it on a shelf with the orchids (outdoors year-round in my climate) and forget about it. This one is vigorous. And a bit different to the common moss growing naturally in the back yard and some of my pots. It gets watered about every two days.

I haven't had snail problems but you could always quarantine it for a while. Occasionally I pull off chunks and put in other containers (hence the hole in the moss in picture, I've just started another container). That's a staghorn - Platycerium superbum - growing near the hole that'll need mounting soon. I grow them from spore and threw some spore in just for fun. One came up, or rather one wasn't out-competed by the moss. Lots may have come up but were buried in a sea of moss.

I've had an easy time with my moss experiments. I also grow sphagnum and used to grow the common moss in trays. I'm not doing anything in particular with it, I just love the look of the stuff.

Cheers,
Aus.

[ericst11]

That stuff looks great. i'll have to try that .I like the staghorn to.

[Brotherly Monkey]

Originally Posted by ericst11

I was woundering if anyone has messed with growing moss on mounts so to mount orchids to to keep them moist is it possible and would it work ? You'd think in nature its a common thing.If so where can you get it so you could grow it.

Boom~!!!


http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/bbs/Resources/Fletcher.pdf

[gnathaniel]

Thanks for the link, Monkey, that's a great guide!

--Nat

[thakshila smith]

People are interested on this topic. That is fine. Some moss grow on tree trunk those are limited growth because limited space.
But in paddy fields they grow in bulks/yards. If you can find soggy soil this is very easy.
They need only moisture.
but we are adviced only to put wood charcoal or coconut fibers. I think it is due to the high rain fall and drainage purpose.
I love this moss which we can find many many varieties.