moss

20 years ago

As most of you know I have been trying to grow moss on/in my set up for some time with no good results, Ive tried everything from soil, sand, to stones, with no good results, the only thing I get are very small patches of moss that either die or stay small, Ive had patience and waited for almost two years and nothing, well, about a year ago I set up a temporary tank for my frogs, they were moved back into their set up and I left the temp set up just in case as it was with a bit of moist sheet moss in it, well now the whole bottom of the tank is COVERED in live green moss! Thats not to incredible I would think if not for the fact that it has grown with no soil, on the bare glass bottom of the tank, with no fertilizers of any kind!? Maybe a missed frog dropping from when the frogs were in it but nothing since the frogs were placed back in their tank!? That was done close to a year ago! So now I plan on removing all the sustrate from my set up and leaving a plain glass bottom to transplant the moss over from the temp tank, I will plant some small tropical plants in mounds of clay pellet so when the moss grows it will, hopefully grow on the pellets, watering will be kept toa minimum in the form of light mistings done every so often, light will penetrate down to the bottom as any large plants are going to be removed and replaced with small growing episand broms that I plan on bringing back from my trip, well, gotta go and finish up the instuctions for the housekeepers! Talk to you guys sometime next week!

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Comments (3)

garyfla_gw
20 years ago
Hi
I quit using substrate a long time ago as ,like you, i find most everything grows just as well if not better without it. I use some sand as anchors in the paludariums
just to hold them in place.
What types of moss are you growing?? I love the stuff that looks like green velvet grows like a weed unless you want it to.lol Grows in all my bonsai pots but croaks within minutes if I try to transplant it lol I have had some luck with constantly moist driftwood that gets a lot of sun. Still struggling with selaginellas and scotch moss.
Have fun on your trip and be sure to bring back some pix for us!!
gary
iliketerrariums
Original Author
20 years ago
I finally got photobucket to work correctly! Here a a few pics og areas around the rain forest, look inside the closeup of the brom and you will see the little head and two little beady eyes of a coqie frog! right next to a tropical snail, let me know if you see him =) also a couple of close up pics of epis on a tropical tree =) enjoy!
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/pr2076.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/pr2072.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/pr2071.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/pr2070.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/pr2069.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/pr2068.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/pr2054.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/pr2053.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y167/stumpyspic/pr2052.jpg
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jlogan2664
19 years ago
I was watching HGTV and they had a short feature on moss. Moss does not have an actual root system, the base is merely to hold it in place, and moisture and nutrients are obtained from the top surface. Most moss prefers to be in shaded cool areas but some can handle more sun than others and it does not tolerate drying out. They planted the moss outside on top of a layer of soil that had been thoroughly soaked before the moss was applied and then they moss was watered thoroughly after it was laid in place. Apparently moss is a very light feeder and if it needs fertilizing at all, you should use very, very dilute fertilizer mixed with water and misted on top of the moss.

I don't think you need a substrate for moss in your terrarium as odds are it's not going to get washed away in a torrential down pour and simply misting it to keep it damp with a very occasional dose of fertilizer should be enough to keep it alive and thriving. I'm actually debating using it as a ground cover in my next terrarium. Hope this helps!