Types of Moss, the good, bad & the ugly

[whfarro]

I know there are many types of moss. And many species we call moss that aren't even technically moss. A recall seeing a post here or on a blog years ago that discussed the types of moss and if they were good to use as a top dressing when showing bonsai. It discussed how some were invasive, others had lower, tighter foliage etc.
To me the moss pictured here is bad because I believe it does push down some roots and can be invasive whereas the moss I collect in my walkways is ideal as it is low, tight, rolls up easily with a scraper.

So what are the good, bad and the ugly types of moss.

 

[sorce]

Hey feller!

Lacking the flowering tips, that doesn't look like that bad Irish Moss. But I can't tell tell.

I think I got one moss that'll get outcompeted by others. Everything else lives fine, well, and safe, indoors and out, in any light, with an afternoon moss spritzer, and hell that's just to keep it nice.

I believe moss needs patience like bonsai, only wetter.

Lotta myths and half truths out there. Most.

Sorce

 

[Bnana]

Moss doesn't have roots or flowers, that's all of them.
The plant called Irish moss is a bad choice in the English name, it has nothing to do with moss.
I do not think this is a clubmoss (also not a moss, English is rubbish) but it is hard to see the details.

There are 12000 moss species so tips about how to treat moss is as accurate as tips how to treat a plant (without saying which species).
Collect local in spots similar to where you'll use it, that's your best bet.

 

[whfarro]

Hey feller!

Lacking the flowering tips, that doesn't look like that bad Irish Moss. But I can't tell tell.

I think I got one moss that'll get outcompeted by others. Everything else lives fine, well, and safe, indoors and out, in any light, with an afternoon moss spritzer, and hell that's just to keep it nice.

I believe moss needs patience like bonsai, only wetter.

Lotta myths and half truths out there. Most.

Sorce

Yeah, trying to cut through some of those myths my friend.

 

[Pitoon]

I'm curious to read that thread the OP mentioned in post #1.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Since most bonsai are in well drained soil you need to first add a surface layer on which moss can survive without drying out. Although some just place swatches of collected moss directly on the soil surface, at Mirai Ryan Neil uses long fiber sphagnum laced with dried, ground up moss which will basically provide moss spores for germination once wetted. You also need to find moss that can take the dry conditions and a lot of sun. So walk your neighborhood and gather moss growing in sidewalk cracks, street gutters, driveways, etc. Look for short to medium height moss unless you want it to look like a meadow growing under your tree.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Since most bonsai are in well drained soil you need to first add a surface layer on which moss can survive without drying out. Although some just place swatches of collected moss directly on the soil surface, at Mirai Ryan Neil uses long fiber sphagnum laced with dried, ground up moss which will basically provide moss spores for germination once wetted. You also need to find moss that can take the dry conditions and a lot of sun. So walk your neighborhood and gather moss growing in sidewalk cracks, street gutters, driveways, etc. Look for short to medium height moss unless you want it to look like a meadow growing under your tree.

Don’t know how this got here or how to delete it.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

If you like the way a moss looks, it is good, if you do not like the look, it is ugly.

The only bad moss, isn't a moss, it is Sagina subulata, called Irish Moss, it is in the Carnation family, not a moss at all. Caryophyllaceae.

Crack in sidewalk moss is certainly a good one, other mosses should be mixed in to give added texture.