Moss decoration on top of substrate?
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BrightsideB
Omono
I’ve tried growing fern moss inside in it’s own pot and it almost died so I put it back outside. It’s hard to manage. Unless you set up an aqua scape or terrarium it’s hard indoors. I think some types of moss may be better suited for indoors it would take some research.
ShimpakuBonsai
Chumono
What kind of trees are those?
Because most trees are best to keep outside (and moss will grow easily).
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Moss is a temporary part of bonsai. Focus on the tree, not the moss. Trying to save the moss will likely kill the tree. Moss happens when it finds the right conditions (indoors isn't a great place for anything plantwise).
FWIW- those spectacular bonsai you see with lush moss growing around their trunks?--probably photos of trees being prepared for bonsai shows/photo shoots. Moss is used as dressing for trees in those conditions. It is applied like turf a month or less prior to shows in Japan. It is NOT grown on the soil surface all the time. It is removed after the show is over...
FWIW- those spectacular bonsai you see with lush moss growing around their trunks?--probably photos of trees being prepared for bonsai shows/photo shoots. Moss is used as dressing for trees in those conditions. It is applied like turf a month or less prior to shows in Japan. It is NOT grown on the soil surface all the time. It is removed after the show is over...
Colorado
Masterpiece
Well, that is your opinion, but many bonsai professionals would disagree. Just the other day the Pacific Bonsai Museum made a post about the benefits of moss on the surface of the substrate.
Similarly, Ryan Neil teaches his method of intentionally facilitating moss growth on the surface of the substrate for the same reasons.
I have never understood the idea of leaving the surface unprotected… (1) it looks terrible and (2) the top of the container will dry out way faster than the bottom of the container. Moss looks better and also facilitates a more even distribution of moisture inside the container.
“Trying to save the moss will likely kill the tree” …. Nonsense!
I have a Chinese Elm and a Fukien Tea tree. We get severe frosts here right into May. (Yorkshire UK)
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
It is NOT my opinion. It is fact. Ryan N. is hardly "proof" of much of anything. His practices are not really all that mainstream (unless you count all the fan boys who think he can do no wrong).Do you have OTHER (of the "many bonsai professionals) that agree with Ryan? Assuming what works in the Pacific Northwest for a guy who works with trees native to that region is silly and certainly not the norm for most of the rest of the continent --or globe.
And yeah, trying to save moss inside, on a beginner tree IS likely to kill it.
I'm hardly a fan of the "traditional" Japanese approach to bonsai, but understand the reality of beginner's basic questions with an honest answer.
I almost posted a pic of fake grass instead of R.F.
I suggest you scrape off the moss you want to save and put it outside against a north foundation wall until spring when you can get your trees back outside. Next winter leave the Elm outside. It can take your weather. Not this year tho.
Should be your profile pic brother
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
I agree. I'm not knocking Ryan - but Ryan lives in a temperate rain forest. It is almost impossible to keep moss alive on a soil surface in Southern California (unless you soften your water and mist frequently), and though conditions are better in NC, I get a little moss growth (depending on the soil) but definitely not the blankets of moss Ryan shows in his videos.
I am very confident in my ability to keep moss alive indoors: (1) in a sealed jar or (2) in a closed terrarium. My daughter keeps geckos in rain forest like conditions (in a terrarium) and she has no problem growing moss. However generally speaking a human HVAC living environment is much too dry.
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Wires_Guy_wires
Imperial Masterpiece
I read a translated japanese article about soil layers and I saw a lot of fine dust being put on the top layer to get good surface root growth.
My pots full of fungi love the moss and the root growth is real good.
I'm keeping the moss and protect it.
It provides good conditions and when it dies it's great organic fertilizer in the sense that it's mostly carbon and water.
Also, it seems to spread the water more evenly, reaching dry spots underneath leaning trunks. Less effort for me with similar results. I'm game.
My pots full of fungi love the moss and the root growth is real good.
I'm keeping the moss and protect it.
It provides good conditions and when it dies it's great organic fertilizer in the sense that it's mostly carbon and water.
Also, it seems to spread the water more evenly, reaching dry spots underneath leaning trunks. Less effort for me with similar results. I'm game.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
And FWIW, growing in moss is not a new idea. It's over 30 years old. Brian Batchelder, a bonsaiist who had a 13-part series on PBS showcasing his work inthe 1990s did it long before Ryan was done playing with building blocks (NewDirections in Bonsai, if you're interested). Thing was, he was working in Florida, with tropical plants. It worked for that specific environment and with the plants he was using. Translated to temperate growing zones and trees, however, things didn't work very well.
A footnote--Batchelder died from sporotrichosis, a chronic infection (of his lungs) from inhaling sphagnum moss spores over the years he did this.
A footnote--Batchelder died from sporotrichosis, a chronic infection (of his lungs) from inhaling sphagnum moss spores over the years he did this.
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