Moss?

[Moss terrariums]

Im trying to grow moss but it keeps dying does anyone have any tips?
like:
lighting
moisture level
nutrients

 

[Marck]

Moss usually picks its own locations. Trying to have it grow just where you want it is difficult, but not impossible. There are even moss gardens, such as the famous one in Kyoto, but an exceptional degree of expertise and maintenance is required. Cool, moist, and indirectly brightly lit conditions may be your best bet, but even then success is not assured.

Mosses (Musci) are usually very small plants, though there are cool-tropical species often with leaves (microphylls) only a few cell layers thick. When temperature, moisture, and substrate conditions are to their liking, they will grow lushly, but even slight changes can make mosses die off or go dormant.

First try keeping a piece of locally native moss alive outdoors. It could be growing on soil, rock, wood, or some other substrate. Try moving it to a new location and giving it the same light and moisture conditions. The mineral content and pH of the water could be critical. Try using rainwater if available. See how the moss changes with the seasons. Discover if you are able to keep it lush and green longer than, or even as long as the uncultivated moss nearby.

If you want to grow moss indoors, visit a greenhouse and obtain a piece of moss that does well in that environment. Even still, maintaining the right conditions indoors will be exceptionally difficult.

Growing new moss colonies from spores can also be done. If conditions are right, it will happen without you needing to do anything, but when they are not right, it will be very unlikely to happen.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

wish I could send you ours. we have it in spots about the lawn. it likes shade and rain. I heard buttermilk helps with it. we just killed a bunch on our house roof.

 

[DirtMechanic]

One detail about growing moss is to notice the substrate upon which is is growing. Some moss likes dirt, another type bark and so on. Moss on rocks is different yet. I bought a cheap blender for the buttermilk moss-shake spreading method because the rainy season is best for easy establishment and I like to fill in spots I damaged or where it gets burnt out or scuffed up.