How to Grow Moss on a Stone
Gardeners often see moss as a nuisance to eliminate with various herbicides. However, moss can serve as an attractive addition to a garden. Moss grows well on various surfaces, including stone. You need to spend some time and effort to establish moss, but it requires little maintenance after the initial period. You can grow moss on rocks, stone plant containers, and stone sculptures in your garden.
Collect moss from your yard or buy it from a garden center.
Dump 1 to 1 1/2 cups of moss into a blender, and add 2 cups of yogurt or buttermilk. Blend the mixture until you get a thick slurry. The yogurt or buttermilk provides an acidic environment to encourage moss growth and allows the mixture to stick to stone surfaces.
- Gardeners often see moss as a nuisance to eliminate with various herbicides.
- The yogurt or buttermilk provides an acidic environment to encourage moss growth and allows the mixture to stick to stone surfaces.
Pick up some of the moss mixture with a paintbrush, and apply it to your stone.
Place the stone into a plastic bag to provide a moist environment ideal for moss growth. If the stone is too big to insert into a plastic bag, cover it with a sheet of plastic.
Place the stone in a cool, shady area for 10 to 14 days. The moss will start growing on the stone.
Grow Moss
When many people think of moss, they visualize a dense, green, carpet-like ground cover, and while that's a good description of one type of moss, there are many others, and some may surprise you. Mosses are plants, even though they don't have many of the features associated with plants, including roots, fruit and flowers. They can also reproduce asexually by simply breaking apart into pieces that can grow independently. Moss can grow on rocks, logs and even roof shingles. Shifting sand or gravel is not a good substrate, because it can shift and disrupt the rhizoids. Generally, moss prefers a smooth substrate, so if you're planting it on the ground, you'll want to fill deep depressions to create a continuous surface to which the rhizoids can cling. Common haircap is an example. Pleurocarps, such as common fern moss (Thuidium delicatulum), send out horizontal shoots, and the archegonia are on the tips of those shoots. Acrocarps and pleurocarps grow at different rates and have different moisture requirements. They can also tolerate constant moisture, whereas acrocarps must dry out periodically to prevent rotting. Planting" moss usually doesn't involve any digging or soil preparation. Press it down firmly and spray it with water. Remember that acrocarps must dry out between waterings to prevent rot. You can plant moss on vertical surfaces, such as a wall, or on statues or other garden features by making a moss solution in a bucket or in your blender. Keep the moss moist by spraying it every day until it gets established and starts to grow vigorously.
- When many people think of moss, they visualize a dense, green, carpet-like ground cover, and while that's a good description of one type of moss, there are many others, and some may surprise you.
- Generally, moss prefers a smooth substrate, so if you're planting it on the ground, you'll want to fill deep depressions to create a continuous surface to which the rhizoids can cling.
Grow Moss
When many people think of moss, they visualize a dense, green, carpet-like ground cover, and while that's a good description of one type of moss, there are many others, and some may surprise you. Mosses are plants, even though they don't have many of the features associated with plants, including roots, fruit and flowers. They can also reproduce asexually by simply breaking apart into pieces that can grow independently. Moss can grow on rocks, logs and even roof shingles. Shifting sand or gravel is not a good substrate, because it can shift and disrupt the rhizoids. Generally, moss prefers a smooth substrate, so if you're planting it on the ground, you'll want to fill deep depressions to create a continuous surface to which the rhizoids can cling. Common haircap is an example. Pleurocarps, such as common fern moss (Thuidium delicatulum), send out horizontal shoots, and the archegonia are on the tips of those shoots. Acrocarps and pleurocarps grow at different rates and have different moisture requirements. They can also tolerate constant moisture, whereas acrocarps must dry out periodically to prevent rotting. Planting" moss usually doesn't involve any digging or soil preparation. Press it down firmly and spray it with water. Remember that acrocarps must dry out between waterings to prevent rot. You can plant moss on vertical surfaces, such as a wall, or on statues or other garden features by making a moss solution in a bucket or in your blender. Keep the moss moist by spraying it every day until it gets established and starts to grow vigorously.
- When many people think of moss, they visualize a dense, green, carpet-like ground cover, and while that's a good description of one type of moss, there are many others, and some may surprise you.
- Generally, moss prefers a smooth substrate, so if you're planting it on the ground, you'll want to fill deep depressions to create a continuous surface to which the rhizoids can cling.
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References
- Weekend Gardener; Antique Your Pots and Add Fall Flowering Plants; Hilary Rinaldi
- Oregon State University: Establishing Mosses in Gardens
- Moss and Stone Gardens: How to Grow Moss
- Oregon State University: Basic Moss Biology
- Woodland Trust: Types of Moss in the UK: What They Are and Where to Find Them
- Moss and Stone Gardens: How to Grow Moss
- Oregon State University: Basic Moss Biology
- Woodland Trust: Types of Moss in the UK: What They Are and Where to Find Them
Writer Bio
Edriaan Koening began writing professionally in 2005, while studying toward her Bachelor of Arts in media and communications at the University of Melbourne. She has since written for several magazines and websites. Koening also holds a Master of Commerce in funds management and accounting from the University of New South Wales.
