Gardening is a great hobby that is not only productive but helps out the environment too. This is a lovely way to spend your leisure or exert yourself in something creative. This takes the monotony out of life and can be a fun way to move around the house or garden
Growing moss is perhaps the easiest part of the gardening. It is considered to be the basic and first thing every person tries before he or she starts gardening.
Although they are naturally born outside environment moss can grow at home by creating a damp, shady area with high humidity. In this guide, we are going to explore the process of growing moss inside your home.
How to Grow Moss Indoor
Moss is a small, green or yellow color lower class plant that grows naturally on the old wall or on the bark of large trees, look like a green carpet.
Moss is distributed throughout the world except in saltwater and is commonly found in moist shady locations. Carpet woodland and forest floor species they are known as.
Moss doesn’t have root, flower or any kind of seed. They get their nutrient through their leave from the air and reproduces by wind or water that supported the spore dispersal cycle. Moss benefits that they do not need any pesticide, or herbicide or fertilizer. And for this, they are eco friendly and much cheaper as compared to others.
Moss is a wonderful element for garden design and natural living art for indoor garden.
Before we dig deeper about how to grow them let us consider the benefits of growing moss around your house.
Indoor Moss Growing Conditions:
First of all moss growing does not require any fertilizers for growth and maintenance. The moss requires very little water than any other plant to grow indoors.
In fact, they require a couple of mist spray which lasts quite a long time but on the other hand, most plants require more water on a daily basis.
Moss also has some other environmental benefits like water filtration and soil erosion control which is of less use in-home setting.
Environment Requirements
Environmental factors such as light, temperature, water, and soil mostly influence any plant growth and Living.
Moss can grow well in a damp and shady place. Moss doesn’t require much moisture or sunlight and no fertilizer to grow well.
Factors for growth of mosses are Soil temperature, Light intensity, Environmental moisture content, amount of soil water and organic matter as well as a good mix of a different kind of soil particle size.
Soil pH
Mosses grow well in acidic soils with a pH between 5.0- 6.0. Mosses will not survive pH is higher than 6.5.
The pH can be adjusted by the addition of sulfur to the soil.
Shading
Mosses grow well in dense shade. Early morning sunlight improves the shining of moss color. But, Direct sunlight will burn the color.
Only a few mosses will believe in the full sun. The best location for growing is eastern or northern facing slope or wooded Area.
Before that, Choose the growing area must be sure to the exact location of the sun during all seasons.
Sufficient Moisture
Moss will be tolerated period of drought, but it will better grow at constant moisture. For moss to survive, the growing area is kept constantly moist at least the first three weeks. Learn more here.
Humidity
Moss take nutrient directly from the air, so humidity is very much an important factor for growing them. Humidity control is very much touch and difficult.
If giving enough moisture in the area, there will be a sufficient amount of humidity in the growing area.
Water will increase the humidity in the area but the best method is to use an automated misting system.
Required Equipment
- Glass/Plastic Container/ Terrarium
- Pebbles
- Barks/Leaves or Both Mixer
- Moss Sheet(Collected from Outsides)
- Thin Sticks usually Toothpicks
- Spray Bottle
Pincers– For Place moss, Propagate Moss and remove dead area pincers are used. Along with them, a flat spatula design for that smooth moss can out over a surface.
Spray Bottle–For watering and increase the humidity of the moss garden spray bottles are used.
Scissors– To cut off dead leave and to control the look and shape of moss garden scissors have been used. Must use the sharpest scissor so that there will be less minimal possibility of damage to moss.
Trowel– A Standard trowel used to transfer soil into a pot or container to create a moss garden.
Glove’s– Moss isn’t harmful to the touch and doesn’t have any toxicity. But, Gloves used to protect the hand from dirt and mess.
Steps to Start Growing Moss
Now, we will move on to the part where we will discuss how to grow it. In order to do it indoors, it is better to choose a glass container or a terrarium.
Because, as you will be growing the moss for the decorative purpose. It should be contained in such an object which can be displayed properly. We have an article for growing succulents indoors. This plating is somewhat relevant to that. But, the whole method is different and purpose too.
Also, it suffices the requirement of sunlight for the moss to grow. If there is a possibility of breaking the glass or terrarium than you can choose plastic material to hold the moss.
Whatever may be the material the container has to be wide and shallow. As it will make bed making for the moss easier and have ample space for moss to spread and grow.
Selecting a moss is also important before choosing to grow it indoors.
Start By Select a Species to Grow
There are mainly three types of moss available for plantation. These plants are commonly referred to as “Mosses.” Musci, Hepaticae, and Anthocerotae.
Musci
Musci is most refer to typical mosses. Main Factor of musci moss that, the difference between leaves and stem.
These are the typical moss that we all have the perception of. Musci are those which appear and feel like carpet. Their stems are either upright or matted down to the ground.
The most common musci mosses are Sphagnum and Hypnaceae types and they are best suitable for use as a soil amendment.
Hepaticae
Very well known Moss. Hepaticae which has another name liverworts are those ones that are soft to touch. They are identified by how soft when they are touch.
Generally, it grows in the shady area nearby water and prefers over the high humid environment.
Anthocerotae
Lastly, Anthocerotae is easily distinguished for its pointy branches. Another name is hornworts, which are distinguishable by their pointed branches that bear all spores.
They also prefer damp, high-humidity environments like Hepaticae but they like a few amounts of sun. They are the rarest type, and also have fewest species.
Prepare the Container Bed
Now, the first thing to do is to plant pebbles on the base of the jar or container to create a solid foundation for the moss.
The thumb rule is to arrange the pebbles in row so that the height is the thickness or width of the pebbles.
But depending on the size of the jar and on the color variation of the pebbles the depth of pebbles can be altered, after all the purpose of growing moss indoor is to decorate the interior of the house.
The multi-colored pebbles can be found at local hardware or pet stores. You can also take this opportunity to have a walk or hike around the fields to collect pebbles on the way.
After that, you can add sand if you want to but this is not mandatory but definitely adds a wild and outside vibe to the terrarium.
The top layer of the pebbles has to be covered with pine needles or any farm structured leaves to give the base more rigidity.
As like earlier you just need one properly spread layer of green over the pebbles. Some prefer dark or rotten branches or bark to be used over the pebbles. That is why it is wiser to mix this layer with both pine needle and bark.
Collecting Moss From the Environment
Now comes the most important part of collecting moss for gardening. Moss can be found on the logs, upland areas or on stumps or rock.
After finding some moss it has to be peeled gently from the surface and has to be put on a clean container for transportation.
Though Moss can be found in floral or online shops, it is better to choose ones found on nature as they are free from any artificial or chemical dosed giving them more chances to grow in the indoor environment.
Methods of Planting Moss Perfectly
Over the base, the moss has to be laid adequately so that from the top of the terrarium or the jar one can only view the green moss.
The initial layer has to be thick and clumped and the leftover parts have to be spread all around the layer to utilize all the moss. After the first layer of moss is set up we need to put some self-supporting structural enforcement for the plant to grow. You can use naturally found thorn or use a wooden toothpick.
Step By Step Plating Method
- Take a wide & shallow plastic/glass container or Terrarium.
Concrete or terracotta pots work very well because it keeps the soil cool, but other kinds of containers are also acceptable. The size of the container depends on the budget, amount of space at home and how much time spend maintaining the garden.
Again, the thumb rule applies that you find the center of the container and then from that put two toothpicks 2.5 inches apart from the center. Meaning the toothpicks has to be 5 inches apart. If the container is quite large you can repeat this process or keep on adding toothpicks at 5 inches apart.
- Colorful and differently-shaped rocks can enhance the aesthetics of the moss garden.
Line the bottom of the Container with pebbles to create a base. The base only needs to be one pebble deep. When covered the entire bottom of the container or containers, base it ready.
- Put Leaves/Bark or mixer of both them over the top of the base.
- Spread out soil and cover the base with soil. Soil helps develop faster.
Moss grows well soil that has higher acidity, normally pH of about 5.5. Although moss can be grown in almost any soil type, but prefer compacted soil, especially compacted clay soil. Mosses thrive in soil that is acidic with a pH of 5-6. They like damp and lots of shade.
- Moss usually growing naturally in almost all climates and Season
Moss is found much in wet, moist places more than found in a dry place.
Looking damp, shady corners and other places where have the possibility of water can flow.
Measure how much moss needed according to containers capacity and Carefully remove and collect moss from outside areas.
- Place The Collected Sheet of Moss Over the Base.
View of moss garden from above should only be seeing the moss itself, not the rocks or bark below it.
- To keep large moss sheets in place, put thin sticks (toothpick) into the moss in every 5 inches along.
It can prevent disturbances from disrupting moss development. Keep them until moss continues to grow.
- Misting the moss with water by Using spray bottle (2-3 times Daily).
Put Up in a healthy place. Mist regularly. Givewatering two times in a week. Must use DM /Purified water because tap water contains too much chlorine and turn mosses brown Color.
How to Care Indoor Moss Plant
- Now you have to cover the jar with moss till they reach the height of those toothpicks. You should not be worried about the toothpicks as they will become part of your indoor moss.
- When the layers of moss are set you just need to add a few sprays from the mist sprayer. Remember, they require very few watering and they need it from time to time. Spraying them when they become or appear dry is the way to grow moss inside.
- Store the container in shady and keep away from sunlight. Keep Container moist by misting with water 2-3 times Daily and Keep Container closed by cover after misting.
- It is better to use a lid for the terrarium so that water remains inside the container. Once in a month, it is required to open the lid for 10-20 minutes depending on the moss size to air out and intake fresh air.
- If the container cannot be sealed, the condition of the moss has to check so that they can be sprayed if they become dry.
What Not to Do?
- Keep the moss indoor very carefully, and don’t need much moisture or sunlight and no fertilizer. Mist the surface regularly to keep the moss moist. After misting, leave a few amounts of space on the top of the container that air can exchange.
- One other thing has to be remembered while growing moss inside the home is to keep them away from direct sunlight and always use distilled water for spraying.
Final Words
Moss is a wonderful element for designing the garden, living art in indoor gardens and very much environmentally friendly.
Much cheaper and alternative to many other gardening uses because the moss garden maintains cost is very low. Moss will capable to improve the indoor air quality and the green moss wall acts like another layer at home.
So, to grow moss indoors you just need a jar or container, few pebbles, and solid barks and some healthy moss samples to start growing. After that, you just need a spray bottle and pincer o tweezers to trim out dried parts and see your indoor moss garden grow.
