Which moss for top dressing

[Colorado]

I have hiking trails and a nature preserve behind my house, but the streams are only wet immediately after rain, which is a few days per year. I'd probably be better off trying the spores. I mean, it's only 6 bucks. I would probably just have to grow it separately in a cool, shaded place, and then harvest that for use when needed.

I just ordered 4 packs of the Kyoto spores myself we’ll see how it goes this year.

 

[Wulfskaar]

I just ordered 4 packs of the Kyoto spores myself we’ll see how it goes this year.

I'm kinda hoping you do a progression of the spores.

My trees are all babies, so I probably won't need it for another 2 years, but I am very curious about it.

 

[MrWunderful]

@parhamr great post on moss creation. I hope thats a blog entry or something somewhere.

 

[MrWunderful]

Moss is endemic...

This is the most important thing for people growing moss to know.

The same moss that grows in Seattle will not grow in Arizona. Its best to locate local moss, instead of foreign.

 

[Nishant]

@parhamr great post on moss creation. I hope thats a blog entry or something somewhere.

Agree that @parhamr post is really great. Many Thanks @parhamr for this. I will replicating what you said in your post. Thanks for @Shibui as well.

 

[Shibui]

I would hazard a guess that what is sold as 'spores' is actually crumbled dry moss. Maybe just being pedantic but there is a difference. @parhamr showed the way to establish crumbled/chopped moss. Growing actual spores has added challenges.

Moss is like ferns and fungi. The spores are so small they can float round the world so many species are actually pan-continental but you do need to choose the variety for the conditions your bonsai will be kept in. Local species from similar environment will definitely do better. No point taking moss from a shaded, damp valley and expecting it to thrive in a full sun, dry city backyard.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I have done all these methods of moss collection, buying spores, and making my own dried, crushed moss smitherines. It all works. Buying the spores is the easiest and cleanest and well worth the $6. It makes a perfect "lawn" on a media that is already piled too high in a pot to add anything thicker than dust. I use deep pots and intentionally leave room for moss buns to be added later at strategic times and look normal. I've seen most sheep put trees in pots too small and too shallow so they stick up in an unnatural lump and we're all supposed to not notice that they look like bonsai and not like trees. For those, the $6 dust is almost mandatory.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Moss is endemic...

Soooo... yeah. We got a sprinkler fixed a few weeks ago to spray a dirt area of the yard and now... MOSS!

I scraped some up and will try to get it to grow.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

In Puget Sound area we often mix dried Spagnum with suitable dried local moss, shred as shown previously or use an actual cheese shredder, then sprinkle it in the media. Afterwards I find it necessary to mist the moss into the media and keep misting on drier days until the moss ‘takes hold’.

For purists with the dollars to spend on moss or who don’t like the above combination or distain collecting local moss folks buy Yamagoke (Japanese mountain moss) and either use it straight or mix it with shredded Spaghnum. The mountain moss is often sold compressed or can be loose pack. I prefer compressed myself, but thats just me. Yamagoke is hard to get. Bonsai Tonight sells it as do others, but demand is high. It has the advantage of having a deep green color.

cheers
DSD sends