) can anybody suggest a living substitute for the moss? I tend to use stones at the moment, but to be truthfull am not crazy about the look.Most of my trees are young.
Moss substitute
I am finding it impossible to keep moss alive, its just too dry here. I water my trees by submersing the pots , Daily if need be, with the occasional top water. I am tired of tring to keep moss alive (In a year or ten, when I consieveably have a tree worth it, maybe? ) can anybody suggest a living substitute for the moss? I tend to use stones at the moment, but to be truthfull am not crazy about the look.
Most of my trees are young.
) can anybody suggest a living substitute for the moss? I tend to use stones at the moment, but to be truthfull am not crazy about the look.Most of my trees are young.
Hey Paddles,I am finding it impossible to keep moss alive, its just too dry here.
Yes, As you no doubt well understand Your trees requirements and what the moss needs [wrt watering] are fundamentally different, If you were watering enough to keep your moss alive, Then your trees would suffer root rot for certain, Especially your conifers.
Often you will see photos of world class trees with the lush chunks of moss postitioned all over them. The vast majority of the time that moss was placed there just prior to the show or photo session. It does not live there full time as it inhibits aeration of the soil, and limits watering effectiveness.
It is a common misconception brought about by the common practice of 'dressing the tree up' for the show or picture.
It is not their standard living conditions.
That being said some professional bonsai artists do keep moss on some of their trees with two key differences. They [generally] are in less arid conditions and using far less water retentive soil components than you.
I water my trees by submersing the pots , Daily if need be,
Then don't, Why work so hard to provide competition for your trees?I am tired of tring to keep moss alive (In a year or ten, when I consieveably have a tree worth it, maybe?
I prefer to have no competition for water in a pot with my tree.
I understand you like the look but do consider the things you are risking trying to achieve it. Perhaps you have something inorganic available to you that could be used as an attractive top dressing?
Anything alive IMO is just in competition w/ the tree.
Moss itself is easy to cultivate. [But to provide it with the conditions required to continue would be detrimental to your trees IMO.]
Often moss spores are cultivated on a brick [which stays moist via wicking] sitting in a shallow tray of water.
More about moss[url=https://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/bbs/Learning/whatis.htm#/url]here.[/url]
I am not a huge proponent of moss as you can tell
, Mostly I am trying to prevent it 'round here.ynot
Last edited by ynot on Sat Oct 07, 2006 3:32 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Gnome
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Paddles,
While I largely agree with what Ynot has already said, there is another aspect of moss that he has not touched on. Not all moss is the same. This may seem obvious but if you are trying to cultivate moss that you collected from a moist shady location you will, as you noted, find it difficult to sustain it in your pots. If you were able to, I would suspect that your soil mix, watering practices or both, were incorrect.
There are other species that are more suitable to your needs. I recently found some moss growing in a gravelly open area, little more than a parking lot really. This species grows in small mounded clumps and has a very short neat appearance.
[url=https://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moss1tz9.jpg][img]https://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7962/moss1tz9.th.jpg[/img][/url]
I collected one clump just to see how it will fare in one of my pots. It only occupies about 5% of one of my training pots so I don't fear any competition issues, it's more of a companion planting. By the way, note the texture of the soil.
In looking around my home today I also located a similar variety growing among the large gravel in the driveway and on a railroad tie. If it can grow in these conditions I feel certain that you too can locate an appropriate species.
[url=https://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moss3yp8.jpg][img]https://img216.imageshack.us/img216/2718/moss3yp8.th.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moss2fm2.jpg][img]https://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3192/moss2fm2.th.jpg[/img][/url]
Should you locate something that you can use don't go overboard for the reasons that Ynot has stated.
Norm
While I largely agree with what Ynot has already said, there is another aspect of moss that he has not touched on. Not all moss is the same. This may seem obvious but if you are trying to cultivate moss that you collected from a moist shady location you will, as you noted, find it difficult to sustain it in your pots. If you were able to, I would suspect that your soil mix, watering practices or both, were incorrect.
There are other species that are more suitable to your needs. I recently found some moss growing in a gravelly open area, little more than a parking lot really. This species grows in small mounded clumps and has a very short neat appearance.
[url=https://img209.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moss1tz9.jpg][img]https://img209.imageshack.us/img209/7962/moss1tz9.th.jpg[/img][/url]
I collected one clump just to see how it will fare in one of my pots. It only occupies about 5% of one of my training pots so I don't fear any competition issues, it's more of a companion planting. By the way, note the texture of the soil.
In looking around my home today I also located a similar variety growing among the large gravel in the driveway and on a railroad tie. If it can grow in these conditions I feel certain that you too can locate an appropriate species.
[url=https://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moss3yp8.jpg][img]https://img216.imageshack.us/img216/2718/moss3yp8.th.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=moss2fm2.jpg][img]https://img216.imageshack.us/img216/3192/moss2fm2.th.jpg[/img][/url]
Should you locate something that you can use don't go overboard for the reasons that Ynot has stated.
Norm
A very good point made there about the adaptability of moss.
With 20,000 varieties living in conditions from deserts and streams to the antarctic, There's bound to be something native that will work.
Thank you Gnome for addressing a point I managed to completely ignore...
.
It also occurs to me that as you just went 'soil shopping'
, The water retention of your soil may be about to change a bit [a bit less].
Also do consider misting the moss to help it out a bit.
ynot
With 20,000 varieties living in conditions from deserts and streams to the antarctic, There's bound to be something native that will work.
Thank you Gnome for addressing a point I managed to completely ignore...
.It also occurs to me that as you just went 'soil shopping'
, The water retention of your soil may be about to change a bit [a bit less].Also do consider misting the moss to help it out a bit.
ynot
OOPS!Gnome wrote:Ynot,Sorry, I don't follow this.It also occurs to me that as you just went 'soil shopping'
Norm
Norm,
I apologise, I see how you could easily think that was a reply to you.
Actually, That was a ref to something Paddles said in her [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=18685#18685/url]fert thread.[/url]
ynotPaddles wrote:Oh, and over the weekend, I'm going to buy some top quality bonsai mix (Going to the big smoke :shocked: : Very Happy : ) and take a photo, so you can see what we have (Or should use when we have money0