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
