In order to take advantage of the diverse benefits of moss in the garden and room, you can cultivate the green land plant in a targeted manner. In daily practice, the following 3 methods have proven to be uncomplicated and promising in this regard. These instructions explain step by step how you can easily grow moss yourself.
How can you easily grow moss yourself?
To grow moss, you can lay dried moss on peat sand and moisten it regularly, mix moss with buttermilk and apply to shady areas, or sprinkle spores of moss plants on moist substrate and cultivate in a warm, humid microclimate.
Bringing dried moss to life – How to do it
To add moss to a shady spot in the bed, use the unique survival power of this rootless land plant. Purchase dried moss of your favorite species of leaf moss or liverwort from specialist retailers. Spread the material on a thin layer of peat sand and spray it regularly with water. Within a few weeks the area is covered with a dense, lush green carpet of moss.
Skillfully cultivating moss with buttermilk – How to do it right
Are you dreaming of a wildly romantic wall, facade or stone sculpture covered with a velvety green patina made of moss? Then use the congenial partnership of moss and buttermilk to cultivate moss on vertical, shady areas. This is how it works:
- Pour 2 handfuls of washed moss pads into a blender
- Pour 1 or 2 cups of buttermilk on top
- Mix briefly until you get a creamy, spreadable consistency
Paste the moss milk onto the surface with a brush. Alternatively, use natural yogurt, which is also suitable as an addition. To ensure that an even moss carpet develops, the green area is sprayed with water every day.
How to grow your own moss from spores
As a rootless spore plant, moss cannot be used with seeds to cultivate a green carpet by sowing. With a little sensitivity, you can still grow moss yourself from the extremely fine spores. This method has proven particularly useful for greening the root disk of a bonsai. This is how you proceed professionally:
- Cut off the small stems with ripe spore capsules above the moss
- Carefully pluck the capsules from the stems and place them on a plate
- Mash with your finger or a spoon
A fine-grained, lean substrate is well suited as a growing soil for moss spores. Moisten the soil slightly and transfer the spores with a fine brush. Then place a transparent plastic bag over the container, as a warm, humid microclimate encourages growth. Then water from below to avoid washing the extremely fine spores off the substrate.
Tip
In order to quickly grow moss, impatient hobby gardeners use division. For this purpose, collect small pieces of moss pads in the forest or garden. A flower box, small pots or, ideally, a glass mini greenhouse act as a growing container. Plant the moss pieces 3-5 cm apart on a 5 cm thick substrate layer of peat and sand and spray them daily with soft water.
