MOSS - Who uses what kind?

[Hump]

Nuts,

I've searched on this site for info but couldn't find much. I'm looking to add moss to some maples, and I keep coming across Kyoto moss spores. Is this the best? I purchased a regular bag of sheet and sphmagnum moss at Walmart, but I began to think there's probably different types. This stuff is really dry, and when I look at nice bonsai in pictures it's usually more green.

Leading me to ask for advice. What do you guys/gals use?

Thanks,

 

[Wulfskaar]

I recently inquired about moss and the reply I kept getting was that it's endemic. They told me to go out and scrape some up outside. But I live in a dry area, so I resisted, knowing I couldn't find any. Well, a few weeks ago I was surprised to find a decent amount in a shady part of my yard near the sprinklers.

So... there are many types of moss, but the best bet would be to try finding some that already grows readily in your area.

 

[Deleted member 32750]

I have had 0 luck getting the Kyoto moss to spread from spores. I've noticed that in the past few weeks all of a sudden I'm seeing moss on some of my trees and the funny thing is, it's appearing on my trees in full sun in 80-90 degree NC June weather. I've been a little shocked by that.

But I've heard that if you shred sphagnum moss and shred a little of the green sheet moss, or really any collected moss, that it will help propagate it better. I haven't tried this but I want to try for myself eventually. I may even try shredding Sphagnum and adding the Kyoto spores and see if that helps them spread on the soil.

 

[BobbyLane]

just find some moss that grows in sun, you can find it in car parks, garden shed roofs etc. you can mix a little with sphagnum moss and it will grow better that way when you top dress your soil. its worked for me in the past.

 

[Kanorin]

Agree with advice to collect some locally. Keep in mind that moss that is naturally growing in mostly shade will not survive in a pot that gets full sun (and maybe vice versa). There are many different species of moss that tolerate sun and moisture content differently. Try a couple different kinds and see what survives!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Use what you can find in your neighborhood, especially that stuff growing on concrete in some sunshine. Scrape it off with a spatula. I have relocated bunches of it to my yard so I can “harvest” it when I need it. No need to buy moss.

 

[Rivka]

From my many years of loving moss (goes back way longer than my bonsai life. There is two general catagories of moss that we talk about collecting and gardening with, one that send out little feather edges and spreads readily and usally is on wood and in moister areas and one that grows much tighter mounds and is very slow to recover from disturbance, often tends to be rock and stone and seemingly can go thru dry cycles.
Understand that moss grows where it likes to grow, so don’t expect to change its environment too much without it hating you.

 

[Forsoothe!]

This might help...