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iivy08

rehydrating moss? Help please!

iivy08
14 years ago

So i just started making a terrarium. And since it's winter time, there's no moss for me. And then I heard that you could rehydrate moss from craft stores. So that's what I did. I took a piece of moss and soaked it in water for a day. Now it looks a lot greener. Then while looking at it under the microscope i saw these little black-ish green-ish caps on the tips of my moss that were about the size of a large grain of table salt. They kind of look like buds or growth spots. Does it mean my moss is alive? sick? Or just Dead? could someone please help me?

Comments (5)

  • iivy08
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    by the way if anyone needs it, i don't know the species of moss but if someone can tell me how to (I'm new here) put a picture on this forum i have some good ones of the moss and those weird cap things on it

  • terrestrial_man
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Are your images elsewhere on the net?
    If not then use the PHOTO GALLERY-GARDEN GALLERY LINK above to the link to post your images
    THEN
    use img src="
    the link to your image ">
    to post image into thread

  • sterlingjbadon
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    First. If the moss is getting greener that is a good sign. Keep it misted and in good light. I will impart some possibly bad news. If the moss you bought ever was sterilized it is dead and the greenish color might be an enhancement just because it got wet. The good news is I have done the same thing with moss bought for an orchid and it was sphagnum moss that sprouted. The nodes on the top of moss once contained spores and still might. I once sold Moss Spore kits on eBay and have moved into a townhouse and no longer have the space to keep up with the orders. Moss is easy to grow. If you find some moss even in the cold outside it will come back to life! My favorite is the stuff you can "ALWAYS"! find in the cracks of the sidewalk. Although Moss does not have roots and is said to get nutrients from the air; I say good moss soil matters. The type of soil moss is attached to
    is fine sand and decomposing organic matter. It is acidic. Dry powdered peat moss is a good item to use as soil. Fine sand is very expensive. I use to sift cheap play-box sand with a very fine screen to get the sand dust. Moss also needs its organic binders to help hold the soil together. Decomposing pine bark works great. It needs to be ground fine. Clay dug from the ground is a great item to use. Sand,Peat moss,Clay and Sand. Moss needs air movement for growth. I use to grow lots of moss mixing just peat moss with clay from the ground, place it on top of a pot of bonsai soil, sprinkle chopped moss(dry moss is easier to chop up) over it (moss grows from chopped pieces) ,then tying a piece of cheese cloth over the top. I use to have moss grow in sheets! The finer you can mist the water the better. Keeping it moist with out soaking the moss is the trick. I used mister on timers. Moss needs quality light! Filtered light is good but in the wild moss does see the sun light. It just grows in areas that the light is filtered so it gets the right amount each day. Moss also grows where the moisture is. Cracks in the walkways are always damp in between. There are many types of moss. Some like it wetter and other like to dry out in-between watering. Some like more clay in the soil, some like lots of sand. I have a box of dry moss in my basement that has been dry for several years. It grows every time I pull a piece out each year and place it in my bonsai pots. The squirrels keep stealing it! I just collect more when it runs down. Just don't let your dry moss get very hot. That kills it. 65 deg F is good. try to keep it below 80 deg F. If you stored moss in a condition to grow mold, it will be consumed by rot. I hope this info helps. Moss is my favorite plant on the planet. Just remember moss grows where most plants won't. The reason is poor soil conditions. NO nutrients. Most times the topsoil is missing and only clay remains. Clay has a high nutrient count but is to dense and stays to wet for most plants. Clay gives good root type anchors for the moss to hold on to. Remember Moss does not have real roots! Not the way most plants do. If you buy KOYOTO moss spores off eBay they might help you. It is very pricey for some dry clay and chopped moss pieces. People also sell fresh pieces like I once did. I have also seen "LIVING MOSS FOR BONSAI" on Amazon. I posted a moss picture from amazon. It is only an idea. I do not know the seller. There are lots of sellers on the internet. Let me know how things turn out for you. GOOD LUCK.

    Here is a link that might be useful: EXAMPLE

  • Rocky Drozd
    7 years ago

    Spanish Moss is actually NOT moss. It's in a subspecies of the bromiliad family known as tillandsia, commonly known as "air plants". They are epiphytes (grows on host plants), so putting them on any kind of soil or substrate will kill the plant.

    From my own knowledge of how the Tillandsia species grow, there is no resuscitation capabilities... Tillandsiaso reproduce by the "mother plant" sprouting "pups" in between its leaves, this continues for about 5 years, then the mother plant dies, surrounded by its pups, which grow attached to it, it as the host plant.

  • debbyabq
    7 years ago

    While Sterling's post above is quite old, it is terrific! Makes me want to go scoop up some moss on the north side of my apartment complex.

    Anyone interested in Spanish "Moss", Tillandsias or bromeliads can check http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/bromeliad/ a forum on this website.

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