Moss propagation

[Backwardsvg]

I have what I believe is silver thread moss. Seems to grow in full sun and is a very short compact moss. I collected a bit and want to now have it continue to grow.

Does anyone have any good ways to propagate it? I’ve heard like a buttermilk slurry and spraying that as well as a few others. But I thought maybe a bonsai person has some expertise in it. Thanks!

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Get a large flat tray and cover it with bonsai soil. Place moss on the bonsai soil. Place tray with moss in a spot that gets the preferrable sun for the moss. Water it as if it were a tree. Use organic ferts, no high nitrogen chemical ferts. Wait.

Moss spreads rather easily once established. Ill be propagating some of my own next year.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

I just wire brushed some crappy moss off of some bark.
Ugh.....wet....ugly....must go.

 

[Kadebe]

You also could let the moss dry out, shred it with your sieve and mix it with shredded sphagnum. Spread it out on a tray with bonsai soil.

 

[Shibui]

You'll need just the right spot for the moss to spread. Easy enough when everything is as it likes but if not it just goes backward and disappears.
I've found the silver one more difficult to establish and definitely slower to spread. It appears to like drier conditions.
I've never had any luck with the milk or yoghurt or with the dry, sieve and mix with soil, moss or anything else. Transplant patches is the only way I've managed to establish moss.

Good luck.

 

[Backwardsvg]

I've found the silver one more difficult to establish and definitely slower to spread. It appears to like drier conditions.

Have you noticed that it does well in full sun?

I am trying to find a good short compact moss that does well in sun and heat

 

[Shibui]

Have you noticed that it does well in full sun?

Absolutely. The silver ones down here are found in sunnier and drier places and do far better on pines and olives which I water less than maples.

 

[rockm]

Have you noticed that it does well in full sun?

I am trying to find a good short compact moss that does well in sun and heat

I am a moss skeptic...BUT the best places to look for "silver" moss (Bryum Argenteum) is in spots that are well drained, but retain moisture and that get large doses of sunlight, like between sidewalk pavers, the margins of parking lots, etc. Those locations tend to be extremely sunny, but they also tend to remain a bit moist-particularly after rains. Moss has no roots. It relies on moist, but well-drained soil.

You grow the particular species of moss replicating the environments you collect them from. You can grow bryum species by placing a brick with some finer topsoil (spread like peanut butter on bread) on a brick. Place the brick (s) in a shallow pan of water, water must come only halfway up the side of the brick. Place the container in a spot that gets morning sun for four or five hours. make sure the water doesn't dry up completely. Wait....and wait...and wait. The moss will probably begin to cover the brick, as the moisture wicks up the brick into the topsoil...

FWIW, like many moss species, the silver moss is mostly unstable on bonsai soil. Without a top soil dressing, bonsai soil tends to drain far too quickly and dry out to quickly to sustain it for any extended time. Trying to maintain the moss can come at the expense of the tree it's growing on.

 

[sorce]

I've never had a "cutting" fail.

"Division" is possible but spreading thereafter isn't guaranteed, or more accurately, is dependent on the surrounding medium.

I think the medium is most important, I've found the best spread over pumice.

Yogurt or buttermilk is a gimmick IMO.

Sorce

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I've read and heard that moss loves beer.
Worth a try.

 

[Wulfskaar]

I took a few scrapings from my yard a couple months ago and put into a pot with a couple other things. It's beginning to spread a bit. I just keep this particular moss in shade and give it a lot of water.