All about moss

By Shauna Dobbie

What is more entrancing than a picture of a mossy ravine with a few shards of sunlight making fantastical shapes on the cushions of green? Moss is a goal for many gardeners, whether inspired by Japanese ideals or visions of childhood at the cottage. (My grandparent’s cottage in the Whiteshell, where the Canadian Shield scoots into Manitoba, is where my fondest memories of moss come from.)

Perhaps you’ve read that you can grow moss where you want it, and maybe you’ve even tried it. But unless you’re determined, you probably gave up after the moss appeared and then dried out; perhaps the moss never even appeared.

To grow moss, find some growing naturally in the woods and bring it home. Mix up a “milkshake” of the moss and buttermilk in a blender. Paint the mix onto the surface where you would like to grow the moss; acidic areas (for example, granite is an acidic rock, limestone is not) in shade that get a lot of moisture work best, but you can establish moss in other areas too. Some mosses like a little sunlight and some like a slightly alkaline environment.

Japanese gardens are well known for their usage of mosses.

What is moss?

First, Irish and Scottish mosses are not, technically, mosses. They’re just low-growing plants.

Mosses make up the plant division Bryophyta. They are non-vascular plants, which means they don’t have the same parts to move water through them as do vascular plants. They take in water and nutrients through their leaves because they don’t have roots; they do, however, have rhizoids, which look kind of like roots, to anchor them to the surface they grow on. The do not have flowers, but, like ferns, reproduce by spores.

Since they don’t have roots, mosses can grow on a wide variety of material, which is why you find them growing on trees, rocks and statues. Mosses that grow on trees are never parasitic; they don’t suck nutrients from the tree.

What is it good for?

Moss has been used since prehistoric times for its cushioning and insulating structure. Ötzi the Iceman, a natural mummy found in the Tyrolean Alps who lived around 3400 BCE, had moss stuffed into his boots. Indigenous cultures in Nordic countries and North America used moss for soft bedding and to insulate their dwellings. It was also traditionally used in diapers; it can absorb up to 20 times its weight in water.

Peat moss is the decaying remnants of sphagnum moss and is used to condition soil for gardening. It’s used for growing some kinds of mushrooms for eating. And it’s used to smoke malt for making Scotch whiskey.

Today, different mosses are being looked at for their ability to absorb pollution and various uses in biotechnology.

There’s been a rediscovery of moss terrariums, thanks to the fairy garden craze.

Mossariuns

The middle classes of the 19th century were always collecting something and for a time they collected mosses. You could build a terrarium, called a mossarium, for enjoying indoors, or you could build a slatted structure with a flat roof, open to the north, outdoors for your hobby.

I could find no examples of a mossery online, either current or from the Victorian age. If you’d like to build a mossery, send us pictures. We’d love to know how it works out!

Mossariums, on the other hand, have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. They sound easy to make. For a basic mossarium, use a clear jar with a lid. Put some gravel in the bottom for drainage. Layer in some peat for the moss to grow on. Add a chunk of fresh moss and a bit of water. Close the jar and put it in a bright area but out of direct sun. Take the lid off for an hour or so once a week for fresh air. If the moss lives and grows, you have a good ecosystem. If the moss dies, you have either over- or under-watered it.

Don’t worry about the jar fogging up; that means things are working. Start with a very clean jar and very clean contents, or you might get mould or mushrooms.

If you get hooked, you can buy or trade different kinds of mosses online.