Ground up moss or not?

[NeedlesAndLeaves]

So I am still trying the best way to grow and keep moss on the soil.
I grounded up moss and added it to the soil without succes. Planted parts of moss on the soil but they did not last. After that I mixed grounded (wet) spagnum with grounded (dried) moss and sprinkled it on the soil, with only minor succes.
The soil in the pots is mostly akadama, pumice and lava mix.

I live in the Netherlands so the weather is mostly bad enough to grow moss on your own car.

Any thoughts or ideas on the matter?
Tnx Jasper

 

[damiano68]

Ciao, scrivo dall'Italia
Ho lo stesso problema per via della posizione del mio balcone ma non mi faccio questo problema, è vero che il muschio aiuta a mantenere la superficie fresca ma.... Non potrai mai valutare correttamente il substrato e si rischia di creare carenza idrica come l'eccesso (più pericoloso).
È preferibile coltivare il muschio in cassetta e posizionarlo nel vaso solo quando deve essere esposto in una mostra, subito dopo il rimontaggio.
Quando il muschio è persistente sopra il vaso in modo naturale potrebbe essere un eccesso di umidità e questo non è buono per esempio nelle conifere.

 

[NeedlesAndLeaves]

Ciao, scrivo dall'Italia
Ho lo stesso problema per via della posizione del mio balcone ma non mi faccio questo problema, è vero che il muschio aiuta a mantenere la superficie fresca ma.... Non potrai mai valutare correttamente il substrato e si rischia di creare carenza idrica come l'eccesso (più pericoloso).
È preferibile coltivare il muschio in cassetta e posizionarlo nel vaso solo quando deve essere esposto in una mostra, subito dopo il rimontaggio.
Quando il muschio è persistente sopra il vaso in modo naturale potrebbe essere un eccesso di umidità e questo non è buono per esempio nelle conifere.

Even though I love the country, my Italian is not so good

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Your best bet is to look for moss growing on the street or other hard surfaces. I collect it from where it grows on my asphalt driveway and transplant on my inorganic soil. Seems to do well. Here are a couple of photos:

 

[RODERLO]

I’ve had succes keeping moss alive, even indoors, by first adding a layer of muck before adding the moss. I created the muck simply by mixing water and potting soil (potgrond) until it becomes basically mud.

I put that on top of my bonsai substrate, and then press my moss into it. It will create a moisture retentive layer which stays wet much longer than the bonsai substrate itself.
Because the roots of the moss attach itself to this layer of muck, you don’t have to be afraid that it will mix with your substrate of wash down into it when watering.

In fact this exact process is often used for stone plantings where you need the moss to hold the substrate in place.

Just my two cents.
Greetings from another Jasper from The Netherlands.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

BTW, if your soil is very coarse you might benefit from having a thin layer of ground sphagnum on top before adding the moss layer. Otherwise the moss may dry out.

 

[Michigan Tree Murderer]

Even though I love the country, my Italian is not so good

Translation from our Google overlord.

Hello, I am writing from Italy.
I have the same problem because of the position of my balcony but I don't worry about it, it is true that moss helps to keep the surface fresh but.... You will never be able to correctly evaluate the substrate and you risk creating a lack of water as well as excess (more dangerous).
It is preferable to grow the moss in a box and place it in the vase only when it has to be displayed in an exhibition, immediately after reassembly.
When the moss is persistent above the vase in a natural way it could be an excess of humidity and this is not good for example in conifers.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Growing moss - When moss is dried and ground up and spread on media, timing and watering practice is everything. Early spring and mid fall are really good times. But out here the summer is dry and we have a harder time greening up moss. Likely places that are more humid and rain a often during the summer would be easier.

Even if one uses Yamagoke and properly packs it into the media, mountain moss has issues greening up during Puget Sound summer. But as soon as we get into fall, moss greens up and thickens pretty fast.

Watering - Have moss on all species of trees, absolutely, most nice and thick. Some with succulents with the moss, absolutely no issue. One has to learn how to water with moss on the media. It’s just that simple.

But not a person who worries about perfect watering technique. Used to worry about exact watering technique, but the secret is actually having quality media that’s in good shape, using good horticultural practice, and understanding each tree in one’s collection. It takes awhile, but can be learned with experience.

Of course this is merely my opinion.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Paradox]

I get moss growing on my pots all by itself just from getting watered every day.

It's a pain in the arse. It grows on top of the soil, up the trunks. I remove it once or twice a year from the soil and it just grows back.

Getting it off the trunks on some species can be very hard without damaging the bark. I spray the trunks with vinegar to kill it and pick it off with tweezers.

I wouldn’t put moss on pot intentionally unless I was showing the tree.

 

[NeedlesAndLeaves]

I’ve had succes keeping moss alive, even indoors, by first adding a layer of muck before adding the moss. I created the muck simply by mixing water and potting soil (potgrond) until it becomes basically mud.

I put that on top of my bonsai substrate, and then press my moss into it. It will create a moisture retentive layer which stays wet much longer than the bonsai substrate itself.
Because the roots of the moss attach itself to this layer of muck, you don’t have to be afraid that it will mix with your substrate of wash down into it when watering.

In fact this exact process is often used for stone plantings where you need the moss to hold the substrate in place.

Just my two cents.
Greetings from another Jasper from The Netherlands.

What’s in the name! I Will give that a try. I guess the muck will act the same as spagnum in this case?

 

[NeedlesAndLeaves]

Growing moss - When moss is dried and ground up and spread on media, timing and watering practice is everything. Early spring and mid fall are really good times. But out here the summer is dry and we have a harder time greening up moss. Likely places that are more humid and rain a often during the summer would be easier.

Even if one uses Yamagoke and properly packs it into the media, mountain moss has issues greening up during Puget Sound summer. But as soon as we get into fall, moss greens up and thickens pretty fast.

Watering - Have moss on all species of trees, absolutely, most nice and thick. Some with succulents with the moss, absolutely no issue. One has to learn how to water with moss on the media. It’s just that simple.

But not a person who worries about perfect watering technique. Used to worry about exact watering technique, but the secret is actually having quality media that’s in good shape, using good horticultural practice, and understanding each tree in one’s collection. It takes awhile, but can be learned with experience.

Of course this is merely my opinion.

Cheers
DSD sends

Tnx for your response. Is there a difference between using dried or fresh moss when using it grounded?
I used it in combination with spagnum to improve the chance of growing or at least keep it moist.
Ryan Neil made a video on it so I was bit disappointed of the succes I had with it

 

[damiano68]

Traduzione del nostro signore di Google.

Salve, scritto dall'Italia.
Ho lo stesso problema per la posizione del mio balcone ma non mi preoccupo, è vero che il muschio aiuta a mantenere fresca la superficie ma.... non riuscirai mai a valutare correttamente il substrato e rischierai di creare sia una mancanza d'acqua che un eccesso (più pericoloso).
È preferibile coltivare il muschio in una scatola e riporlo nel vaso solo quando deve essere esposto in una mostra, subito dopo averlo rimontato.
Quando il muschio persiste sopra il vaso in modo naturale potrebbe verificarsi un eccesso di umidità e questo non va bene ad esempio nelle conifere.

Che strano, leggo tutto in italiano automaticamente senza tradurre....

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

live in the Netherlands

Look for the pillow moss / kussentjesmos with a greyish hue. You can find it on roof tops, parking lots and other concrete spaces.
Push those pillows down into the soil so they make good contact with the soil.
Do this in the end of summer, and in spring you probably have a good moss culture going.

The key I found is that the soil needs to be full of fungal life, as soon as that is the case, the moss will show up and stay on its own.

 

[mkg]

The Moss family is composed of more than 10.000 species. You can't reduce them to one. It would be like applying the need in water and light of one fern to all ferns.
You need to observe the moss living around you and pick the ones living in the same conditions to thoses they would expérience in your pot. Some need a lot of water, some don't, some live full Sun, other in dark environnement.
Moss is a truly amazing living organism and Moss 101 is a very instructive youtube vidéo if you want to know more about it.

 

[NeedlesAndLeaves]

The Moss family is composed of more than 10.000 species. You can't reduce them to one. It's like applying the need in water and light of one fern to all ferns.
You need to observe the moss living around you and pick the ones living in the conditions closer to thoses they would expérience in your pot. Some need a lot of water, some don't, some live full Sun, other in dark environnement.
Moss is a truly amazing living organism and Moss 101 is a very instructive youtube vidéo if you want to know more about it.

I have a look at that, thank you!

 

[NeedlesAndLeaves]

Che strano, leggo tutto in italiano automaticamente senza tradurre....

Probably a language setting somewhere?
Your posts are in Italian ( at my device at least).
I am absolutely sure I can’t write a complete line in Italian though

 

[RODERLO]

What’s in the name! I Will give that a try. I guess the muck will act the same as spagnum in this case?

Yes indeed, but it does seem to be more effective.

Here is an indoor ficus with moss applied on a layer of muck. The substrate is a pumice and akadama, so pretty open. I water this maybe once every three days and the room temp is 25 deg C.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Probably a language setting somewhere?
Your posts are in Italian ( at my device at least).
I am absolutely sure I can’t write a complete line in Italian though

Select the text by highlighting it. Then right click on it. You should get the option "translate text to English":

 

[Bonsai Nut]

We should probably write an article about the use of moss in bonsai I think of it as two different questions: (1) can you grow moss (at all) and (2) should you grow moss on your bonsai.

As in many cases, it often comes down to where you live, and your local conditions - particularly the water you have available, and your humidity and sun exposure. In places like the Pacific Northwest, with high humidity, high rainfall (soft, acidic water), and many cloudy days, it is almost impossible NOT to grow moss on your trees. However the same can not be said for Phoenix, AZ, where trying to grow moss on your soil surfaces would likely be an exercise in frustration, due to the low humidity, intense sun, and hard, alkaline water.

Then there is the question of whether it is good (for the health of your trees) to have the soil surface covered with moss - particularly if you find yourself supplementing your soil with organic material in order to do so. You may find that a moss covering keeps your soil too wet, or keeps the bark of the tree too wet - causing health or aesthetic problems.

Many people get around these issues by growing trays of moss separately, so that they can provide perfect moss-growing conditions, and they place pads of moss on trees when they show them. You may find that the optimal conditions for growing moss (at your location) are different than the optimal conditions for growing your trees. Additionally, you may be able to provide special care (like watering moss with distilled water) that would be impractical on a larger scale (for example, if you water your bonsai garden with hard, alkaline water from your municipality). Finally, it is a good method to dial in your own moss "best practices" without having to do so on the soil surface of one of your bonsai trees. If you can't grow moss on separate containers, it is not very likely you would ever be successful doing so on the soil of your trees.

 

[damiano68]

Seleziona il testo evidenziandolo. Poi cliccaci sopra con il tasto destro. Dovresti ottenere l'opzione "traduci testo in inglese":

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