Cold climate moss and things

[It's Kev]

So I found this moss and I liked it coz it’s longer and hairier than what I can get at home. Now, I’d like to know, can I make this grow at home?
I’m zone 10, and this I’m guessing is like 7, about, I think.
Also, lichen, do we want it? Can one make it grow on a rock or does it only grow where it naturally occurs?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

You can try, but it's very difficult to grow a certain type of lychen because they're heavily influenced by substrate composition and air quality.
Moss is easier but still it's pretty hard to get it to grow where you want it to grow, because it demands a proper substrate as well as micro environment.
If you don't try, you'll never know for sure.

 

[It's Kev]

You can try, but it's very difficult to grow a certain type of lychen because they're heavily influenced by substrate composition and air quality.
Moss is easier but still it's pretty hard to get it to grow where you want it to grow, because it demands a proper substrate as well as micro environment.
If you don't try, you'll never know for sure.

I’ll have a look and see what I find tomorrow, but apparently we’re going to like 4000+meters, I have no idea what I’m gonna find, but I know it’s not air. I’m still recovering from covid and today was at 3000m (it’s like a whole shit ton of feet for Americans) and I was wheezing like a heavy smoker

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Did you survive the hike?
I don't think moss cares a lot about altitude. I have a couple plants that are supposed to grow at high altitude and perform terrible in the lowlands but I haven't seen them do anything weird in the past decade or so. So I think mosses would do just fine as well.

 

[BrightsideB]

View attachment 468018
So I found this moss and I liked it coz it’s longer and hairier than what I can get at home. Now, I’d like to know, can I make this grow at home?
I’m zone 10, and this I’m guessing is like 7, about, I think.
Also, lichen, do we want it? Can one make it grow on a rock or does it only grow where it naturally occurs?

Take the substrate it is growing on and it will have a way better chance at survival and acclimating. Leave some behind though to continue growing in it’s habitat. That’s what I do when I collect moss.

 

[It's Kev]

Did you survive the hike?
I don't think moss cares a lot about altitude. I have a couple plants that are supposed to grow at high altitude and perform terrible in the lowlands but I haven't seen them do anything weird in the past decade or so. So I think mosses would do just fine as well.

Yes I did, but it wasn’t much of a hike, just bus trips to chase the highest peaks in the area. I bagged a few small pieces of moss, but later on there wasn’t much life to be found because it’s apparently the same height as some aircraft fly at


@BrightsideB after I posted this thread all the lichen disappeared and couldn’t find any

 

[Adamski77]

Yes I did, but it wasn’t much of a hike, just bus trips to chase the highest peaks in the area. I bagged a few small pieces of moss, but later on there wasn’t much life to be found because it’s apparently the same height as some aircraft fly at
View attachment 468387

@BrightsideB after I posted this thread all the lichen disappeared and couldn’t find any

5000 is a solid altitude my friend... I'm aiming Tibet in 2023 as they started to release us here

 

[It's Kev]

5000 is a solid altitude my friend... I'm aiming Tibet in 2023 as they started to release us here

My wife was in Tibet a year or 2 ago, but she’s Chinese so she could travel a lot more freely. And she went in summer. I’m kinda keen to check out Everest base camp one day, but I’ll probably go to the Nepal side.

 

[Gabler]

As I understand it, mosses don’t go dormant due to the cold because of the antifreeze they produce inside each cell. They care more about humidity than temperature. My mosses actually grow better in winter than summer, because they stay wetter for longer in the cold and in the shade. That remains true in spite of the recent 8°F cold snap here in Zone 7. The mosses are still lush, green, and actively growing. I doubt they would grow well in perpetual heat unless it was perpetually humid and rainy. They definitely enjoy the cold part of the year.

 

[HorseloverFat]

3000m (it’s like a whole shit ton of feet for Americans)

He he! It's a fairly easy conversion equation.

But that is high.... My town isn't "low" at between 650-800 feet (that's barely any meters for non-americans( )

That looks like an amazing hiking experience... I am super jealous.