Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
What do you think about using Scotch/Irish moss as ground cover for big BCs that are not dunked? I tried regular moss but they don't thrive.
Scotch / Irish moss as ground cover for BCs?
- Thread starter Cajunrider
- Start date
Wires_Guy_wires
Imperial Masterpiece
Big nope.
You can't see where the trees roots end and the "moss" roots start at some point.
I've been collecting moss and throwing it in pots for about 6 years now and I've found just one or two types that take hold, of about the 40 or so I tried. I suggest you keep trying as well.
You can't see where the trees roots end and the "moss" roots start at some point.
I've been collecting moss and throwing it in pots for about 6 years now and I've found just one or two types that take hold, of about the 40 or so I tried. I suggest you keep trying as well.
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Thank you!
I saw some threads in the past discouraging Scotch moss for azalia but thought it may be suitable for the big BCs. If it has aggressive roots I don't want it.
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Hate that stuff.
Wires_Guy_wires
Imperial Masterpiece
It does, once it gets a good hold, it will form a dense mat of roots and plantlets (by lack of a better term).
It makes repotting a hellish job and even if the competition of plants in pots is factored out, it still is problematic stuff in the sense that at some point.. You don't know which root is which.
I've been fooled once by thinking one of my pines had an early start and a huge amount of white feeder roots, so it was destined for a repot. After picking all the irish moss out, I was left with just a couple pine root dangly danglies, telling me that the pot was full of everything but pine roots.
GGB
Masterpiece
It will stick around in your garden FOREVER. I know you already got your answer but I have to add to the list of "no"s. I won't even buy a tree if I see that stuff in the pot
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
It is very difficult to get rid of once it gets established.
cishepard
Shohin
Scotch and Irish moss are not real mosses, they are flowering evergreen perennials:
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/irish-and-scotch-moss-sagina-subulata-and-arenaria-verna/#:~:text=Irish and Scotch moss are,Caryophyllaceae) that superficially resemble moss.
So they have much deeper root systems than true mosses.
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/irish-and-scotch-moss-sagina-subulata-and-arenaria-verna/#:~:text=Irish and Scotch moss are,Caryophyllaceae) that superficially resemble moss.
So they have much deeper root systems than true mosses.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Horrible idea. Irish and Scotch moss are extremely invasive, deep rooted and persistent. They choke off water and fertilizers from the tree's roots. They grow dense mats in a couple of weeks or less if left unattended. You will regret using this stuff as once you plant it in one pot, it will show up EVERYWHERE, including in your yard.
Russ1
Yamadori
I agree, it will become a PIA and jumps to every pot and tree...
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
Ok ok. I give up
I saw them at the garden center and thought they were cute.
I saw them at the garden center and thought they were cute.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Racoons are cute too, but they're a menace when they're not where they're supposed to be, like in your yard or worse, inside your roof (speaking from experience). FWIW, garden centers sell sagina (Irish moss) because it can be used as a tough,walkable ground cover in pathways to fill in between pavers and stones. It can also be used in stone and trough gardens. Other than those (And I wouldn't even use it that way either) uses, it's junkOk ok. I give up
I saw them at the garden center and thought they were cute.
namnhi
Masterpiece
I have some Uncle. Want me to save them for you?Ok ok. I give up
I saw them at the garden center and thought they were cute.
They flower and set seeds in the pots. Any little cuttings will start a new plant too.Can you post a photo when you get a chance? Is it green in summer where you are?I have some Uncle. Want me to save them for you?
cishepard
Shohin
I have a walkway of Scotch moss - it spreads fast and stays green year round here in the PacNW.
Srt8madness
Omono
Pac NW but with a pickup truck still, my kind of people
PaulH
Omono
one of the two nastiest weeds in your bonsai, Irish mos and oxalis corniculata. kill them on sight!
