Moss top dressing

[cmeg1]

It seems top dressing my pots is essential for keeping my trees happy ,especially with my bonsai soil.
I could not find much moss around ,so I resorted to buying it live from Amazon.Appalachian Emporium ,to be exact.I purchased quite a lot so I could mix 50/50 with orchid spahgnum and spread onto flats.
Luckily I have a leaf shredder which made short work of it all.
I have one flat of all shorter fiber moss ,which seemed to grow nice.I like it!
So ,I wanted to keep it separate from the other mosses.
The other mosses are more long fibers,but they may look quite cool in early stages of growth.
I have six flats of mixed long fiber mosses.
I put them in the grow bed and will just keep moist and see what happens.
May just cultivate this continually if all goes as planned because I can use it for the walkway in the yard too

 

[Adamantium]

Keep us updated!

 

[Crizzi Questions]

How long does it usually take before you see the moss growing nicely?

 

[cmeg1]

How long does it usually take before you see the moss growing nicely?

Here is a nice blog post
https://crataegus.com/2012/07/05/the-moss-myth/
Really trying this for the first time.Is essential for my trees with good bonsai soil.

 

[Crizzi Questions]

I collected the moss growing in my yard from shady and sunny sites and placed it in 2 of my pots with my pre bonsai plants. I collected with a flat spatula and left the sandy/soil it was growing on intact. I’ve been spraying it 3 times a day until it’s more established. I’m not expecting it all to live since some were growing in shade. Assuming some lives and establishes itself... Will it spread and grow?
I think it looks lovely. We had record high temperatures the past two days and the top of the soil has not dried out. So I already see how it would be beneficial.

 

[cmeg1]

I collected the moss growing in my yard from shady and sunny sites and placed it in 2 of my pots with my pre bonsai plants. I collected with a flat spatula and left the sandy/soil it was growing on intact. I’ve been spraying it 3 times a day until it’s more established. I’m not expecting it all to live since some were growing in shade. Assuming some lives and establishes itself... Will it spread and grow? View attachment 194408View attachment 194409View attachment 194410View attachment 194411
I think it looks lovely. We had record high temperatures the past two days and the top of the soil has not dried out. So I already see how it would be beneficial.

Looks good! It is definitely a big help.As long as it is moist it stays alive,most of the time I reckon.I am not an expert though.
I have found it usually grows longer and longer instead of growing out.
It depends what it is growing on.
I shredded some low growing moss a couple years ago and put it on potting soil(which I try not to use any more) and it totally covered soil in two weeks.
Some moss is definitely more aggressive than others,sometimes too aggressive.
Here is a picture of the tree I had a couple years ago...the first time I shredded moss.It really took off.Spreads much better in Spring.It was lush and very uniform a short time after this photo.

 

[Crizzi Questions]

Thank you Cmeg1 that is helpful.
I’m trying to do things as thrift as I can right now. Moss is free in my yard and beneficial too. Can’t beat that.

 

[artao]

Since this thread is already here ............
So I gathered up some local sphagnum when I grabbed a juniperus horizontalis (which, it turned out, had NO trunk structure and is totally unsuitable for bonsai. As such, I planted it in our apartment's flower bed and am hoping it will survive there) I crumbled up the sphagnum pretty good to bring the tree home, and since THAT tree no longer needs it, I crumbled it up a bunch more and put it over the top of the soil of my small (~9.5 inches tall) yamadori juniperus virginiana.
Seeing as the sphagnum was green and alive, I'm assuming it'll grow in the pot now. If I'm mistaken, I'll go back and gather some fresh sphagnum and NOT crumble it up
BTW, I'm a noob. The red cedar is my first tree.
Thanks!