How to grow moss? A step-by-step guide to the planting method

Now many people like to grow flowers and the like, and these days even lower plants such as moss are being grown by some. So, how do you grow moss?

1. How to grow moss

1. Selecting the seed

You should choose moss suited to your own cultivation as the “seed moss.” The method is to find moss growing in a place with external conditions (sunlight, humidity, ventilation, etc.) similar to those of your bonsai growing site, dry it, cut it into powder about 3 mm in size, add fine dry soil at 2 times the amount of the moss, put it into a breathable container (do not use a plastic bag) and set it aside for later use. The author's bonsai growing site is on a rooftop, and the moss sought was from the gaps between roof tiles of old houses in the old city district; because the environment is similar, it was easy and effective to cultivate.

2. Planting

The planting time should be flexibly arranged according to your different requirements for each bonsai, generally in the late winter or early spring three years before the bonsai takes shape; in the Wuhan area it is the end of January. The method is to combine it with repotting: arrange the soil surface of the bonsai to the best state for viewing, or no more than 1 cm below the best state, water heavily, then sprinkle the prepared “seed moss” on the soil surface to a thickness of about 3 mm, and then spray with a mist of water.

3. Care

The key to care is to do well in three respects. The first is watering. When moss has just been planted, watering should avoid damaging the soil surface; you can water gently and frequently, or place the pot in shallow water and let water enter the pot through the hole in the bottom (moss can absorb water from the soil). After the moss has grown, you also must not use a strong stream of water to hit the moss directly. The second is weeding. You must remove weeds anytime and anywhere. The third is preventing birds. Birds often damage the moss, especially from October each year to February of the following year; some birds hide the seeds of trees such as camphor and palm under the moss in autumn, then come back in winter to search for and peck at them, seriously damaging the moss.

Once you have mastered the above three points, the moss will grow better and better.