Mosses have a simple blueprint that doesn't involve any power-sapping seeds. Instead, the rootless land plants develop gossamer spores to reproduce. Here you can find out how you can use moss spores for a wide range of application scenarios with a little finesse.

Moss reproduces via spores, not seeds

Moss spores - Multiplication at high speed

They are microscopic and start life with 36,000 times the acceleration of gravity. Moss spores reach an average size of 0.001 mm. Even the almost invisible seeds of orchids appear like giants with an average of 3 mm.

Being nano-sized, moss plant spores make up for it by being rapidly ejected from their capsule for widespread spreading. At least we can clearly see the spore capsules, as they are enthroned on stalks above the moss cushion with a size of 2 mm.

How to grow ground cover for the bed from moss spores

Hobby gardeners who love a challenge do not collect moss in the forest or buy it in the garden center to green a shady, dreary bed. With moss spores you can grow the desired number of moss lots, which when planted out combine to form a lush green ground cover. How to do it:

  • Fill shallow seed trays with peat sand or emaciated cactus or succulent soil
  • Use scissors to cut off the stems with the spore capsules
  • Pluck the capsules from the stalks and gently crush them on a plate
  • Pick up the spores with a fine brush and apply to the potting soil
  • Do not spray the substrate, but water the bowl from below

Put a transparent plastic bag over the jar. Placed in a shady spot, water from below every few days. The cap can only be removed when a green film develops. Plant the mature moss cushions in a shady, cool location on a subsoil of lean, acidic substrate. At a distance of 5 to 10 cm, the moss sections quickly form a compact ground cover.

Underplant a bonsai with moss spores - this is how it works

In order to give your bonsai a natural appearance with a green carpet of moss at its feet, there is no need to go through the nursery tray. After you have harvested the capsules and picked up the spores with a brush, simply brush them onto the moistened bonsai substrate. Cover the bonsai pot with a plastic bag and water from below until the spores germinate.

tips

If the specialist trade offers moss seeds, they are usually star moss (Sagina subulata) from the mast herb genus. Apart from the delicate, white flowers from May to July, the carnation plant with its thick, green cushions looks confusingly like real leaf moss.

Category:

Vegetable garden