I've been intrigued by moss all my life, but it's never occurred to me to "plant it" in a garden. After reading this forum and thinking about it, I've decided that it's a must-have for my woodland shade garden. At first, I had thought to gather wild moss from a rock on some land my parents own, but I wanted a slightly larger quantity than I would be comfortable harvesting from there. I just ordered a small quantity (5 sq. ft) from Moss Acres.
According to the site, you need soil acidity at least between 5.0 and 6.0, and a recent test revealed I'm right on the line at just under 6.0. I still wonder whether I should amend the soil somewhat. I've also ordered George Shenck's (sp?) book on moss gardening. I know I did it backwards, but the deadline for planting moss in my area is coming up way too soon.
I'm so excited! I'll be sure to post pics once I get it going.
Getting moss mania!
Great idea Lono!!
Send me your address and I will send you some moss. I hate the stuff. It comes up all over the place around our property. LIZ
Why do you hate it so much LIZ ? Do you not like the looks of it?
LC2sgarden, I just sent you a dmail. I'm sorry I didn't see this earlier! I see that you posted it two days ago, and I just now read it. There are so many forums here, I lose track of where and when I've posted. :)
Lono,
I purchased quite a bit of moss from moss acres this spring and was very happy with the quality. There are a few things that I learned the hard way and thought I would share, first and for most run out and buy a package of the black plastic bird netting and once your moss is planted just lay it down directly on top of the moss (don't fret you can't see it). I suggest this as the birds will pick up your newly laid moss to find the worms and slugs living underneath. If you live in a high wind area the misters are a waste of money. Learn to love weeding with both hands. kt
Very beautiful, runktrun!!
I love the whole setting. Did you use the black netting for these and what are the delicate white flowers in the background ?
That is really beautiful. I love it! Who is the friend helping take the picture?
Runktrun, that's such a lovely picture! Thanks for sharing it, and for sharing your experience. I suppose I should buy the netting, but I was indeed afraid I'd be able to see it. Did you have to treat your ground to make it more acidic? I need to raise the acidity slightly before I plant, but I'd like it to be an organic alternative. I don't know if aluminum sulfate (I think that's what you use) is considered organic.
Of course, I plant to plant some directly on some large rocks I have. For that, my plan is to use acidified cotton burr compost. Do you think that would work?
Thank you everyone for the very kind words.
Lono,
I too was hesitant to use the netting until this past weekend in a very short period of time some cat birds (robins can be a real problem too) came and ripped up, tossed, and shredded every piece of moss. Monday it took me hours to try and replant and repair the damage and in the hour or two I was out buying the netting the birds returned and ripped up the garden all over again. But honestly it is very difficult to see the netting in the shade I will take a photo to show you when it stops raining. I just had my soil tested at the Univ. of Mass and the ph is 4.4 I would strongly consider amending your soil as moisture and acidity seem to be the primary criteria for success. I do not believe moss is as sensitive to acidity/alkalinity as lichens are but during a recent work shop on lichens I learned that not all lichens will grow on all rocks as rocks leach different levels of acidity. Examples of different stone/lichen compatibility are very evident in grave yards ( I decided that I would never want a grave .stone with pink over tones where yellow/gold lichens grow blechhh). I am not sure that an acidic mulch would acidify your soil enough, the fellow at Moss Acres seems to be very approachable I would consider contacting him for advice on your ph.
Bonitin,
Those little white flowers are Leucanthemum vulgare (oxeye daisy), they are very common and for me have become quite a pest, as a matter of fact that entire mound/berm is actually kitchen garbage (flatware, cups, plates, bowls, ect) left behind by the Navy after WWII. It is over grown with every invasive species in my area and it has become quite a problem being so close to the moss garden. I don’t want to take away from Lono’s thread and will post about that another time.
Cpartsshick,
My friend is Basil he is always at my side and somehow worms his way into most photo’s I try to take of plants. Don’t let his cute face fool you his latest trick this year is to tip toe over to the neighbors when I am not looking steal a toy, tip toe back and bury it some where in one of my gardens. I have unearthed at least a dozen dolls and stuffed animals…..yes I have become that neighbor folks love to hate and write scathing threads about. kt
Photo of red moss Doubtful Sound new Zealand
Oh, I loved the Basil story! I have a sneaky dog, too, so I understand. My dog once smuggled the medicated eye drops he hated so much outside in his mouth, and then buried them. When I uncovered the hole (I had watched his subterfuge from a window), I found his toenail clippers, which I had "lost" a few days before. LOL!
wow!! that is really impressive!! What a wealth!
Basil is very funny, Lono, your dog too. Aren't they wonderful.
I have a choc lab, who also gets into pictures. He is wondering what is so wonderful and usually steps on the flower I want to take a picture of. My dog buries squirrels. DH found 3 in one shallow grave of peastone by our basement walkout. The smell was horrid.
Lono,
I have been sharing your dog story with anyone who will listen and after a quick chuckle the unanimous response has been that you have one very smart dog. One elderly woman who over heard me telling a friend about your sneaky pup got such a kick out of it that I am certain it made her whole day.
cpartschick,
I am thinking you may need to purchase a hunting licence for your chocolate lab!!!
I have enjoyed this thread very much for so many reasons. The pictures are exquisite and the information priceless. I posted a thread awhile ago about my own moss turning brown and I believe now that it's dying (I could just bawl I spent so much time placing it!) Hopefully I've been given some tools here to try again.
Perhaps I most enjoyed the pup stories. Oh Lord! I used to hurry to throw Aldo's findings on the burn pile in hopes that no one would see the remnants of their (insert ANYthing here) laying in shreds in my yard. I couldn't even offer to make it right with the owners 'cause I never knew where the yard ornament, (toy, firewood, gardening tool, basket, shoe,.....again, this slot can be filled with pretty much anything imaginable) came from. I really couldn't see myself going door-to-door asking, "hey by any chance are you missing a pair of jeans from your clothes line?" so I just hid the evidence as fast as I could. LOL @ being the neighbor the neighbors love to hate. Thankfully my neighbors have learned to love Aldo and thankfully he has learned to leave other peoples belongings alone....
.....Well he still has a fondness for balls, but everybody on the block knows it. So I say if they leave 'em outside they're just askin' for it. :-P
Aldo looks like a very alert statue in that pic. lol. He's gorgeous!
Runktrun, I'm glad Shadow's story brightened some people's day! I could write a book about the funny/ sneaky things he's done. He's very loyal and (mostly) obedient, but so smart and shifty. I think subterfuge and deception take a lot of intelligence-- and he has it in spades.
And Lala-Jane: Aldo is just beautiful! It's good that he learned to leave belongings alone, but at least you got some good stories to tell in the process. He looks like a swimming dog. Was he about to dive into the water in that pic?
I just planted my first bits of dried moss yesterday. I still have some in reserve, but I want to see if I've soured the soil enough, chosen the right spot, etc. Does anyone know how long it should take for me to see whether the moss is growing/ thriving?
Lono please keep us updated on your moss. We are getting some much needed rain right now and unless it's my imagination (which it very well could be) mine is looking better today. I really love the look of it and if this doesn't make it I'm going to need all the pointers I can get to try again.
There is nothing in this world that Aldo loves more than swimming. That's my parents pond in that picture and when I pick up his leash he knows that's where we're going. He gets so excited I have a hard time snapping it on him for all his wiggling and tail wagging!
Moss report:
So far, so good. My two test patches look amazingly natural for something that was just "plopped in" a few days ago! I put one at the curved base of a tree, and the other on a rock with a depression. It's still slightly browned, but I don't think it's dying. Of course, I'd really have no way to tell, never having grown moss before, LOL.
I've watered each day, but right now we have a nice little rain that will hopefully give it what it needs, and we're supposed to get rain often during this next week.
Lono,
I did this by accident, but I like the way it looks.
This is the story of the moss covered railroad tie. Several years back, I gathered moss in March because it was nice and green. I thought my husband could use it for a booth he was working on at a big Home and Garden show. Well, he didn't use it so it sat down in the woods on this railroad tie in a plastic planting tray. The kind of tray that has an open web pattern on the bottom. It sat there quit happy for about a year till I planted it back in the woods.
Fastforward about two more years and this is what the railroad tie looks like now.
I brush it off and pull an occasional plant out of it, but it's easy to maintain.
Isn't that something?
That railroad tie is beautiful! Sometimes the best "ideas" happen by accident, don't they?
My moss isn't doing too well, unfortunately. It's not dying, but it's not thriving either. I'm glad I did some test patches. I'm keeping the rest of the moss dried in a box, and I plan to attempt some new moss plantings when things cool down a bit. I have my eye on several likely spots for it.
Lonno I'm still holding out hope with mine too. I'm hoping that it's just gone dormant because of this hot dry weather we're experiencing.
Deb that is incredible, it looks like lush carpeting! Can I have it? LOL
More moss by accident. I had read and apparently it's true that moss like compacted soil.
My husband drove his tractor back and forth with heavy loads into the woods alot and these moss pathways showed up. They are starting to give way now to other plants, but for years it seemed to be just moss.
I had moss growing in a spot and I am hoping they will come back after I get the irises planted. I didn't notice them til I started digging otherwise I would have figured out another spot for them.