Moss... Good? Bad? Not Ugly!

chunkytrunk

I was reading through different threads on the forum the other day about moss and a lot of you said that moss is saved for photos only and removed and left to grow in a pot on its own. Yet I have seen pictures of very nice bonsai trees with moss on top of the soil that has obviously been growing there for a while.
I saw a few pictures where the moss was growing all over the roots and up the trunk of the tree!
Does this mean that moss is not actually harmful to the tree if left in the pot? I know that it requires a lot of water and it is said that if it is left in the pot that it will rob the tree of needed h20, but maybe this isn't always true. Maybe it is only true with certain species. Or maybe there is a trick to it.
I think that moss adds SO much more to the look of bonsai, and I'm sure most of you would agree. Wouldn't it be great to be able to leave it there on the soil?
My question is, what is the real deal with growing moss with your bonsai? Is it really that harmful for your tree? Are there any tricks to growing it on the soil of your bonsai tree all of the time? If so, please, do share. Danke schoen!

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ripsgreentree

C-T
You will find as many "Bonsai Masters" decrying the horrers of keeping moss on your bonsai year round as you will people who find it mostly magic. I was luckey enough to find a package of true Kioyoto Moss sporrs almost twenty years ago. With shade cloth and normal watering this moss remains green and beautiful year round. I have not found any of the negitives touted by the experts to out weigh the basic beauty that moss brings to the Bonsai pallette. If you love it by all means use it. It shows how you see Bonsai.

Glenn

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mike108

First of all moss grows in humid climates and cannot live in hot dry weather without dying So you will find yourself needing to spray or water it all the time and not letting it dry out, This excessive amount of water used to keep the moss alive could rot the root system of your tree! Second If you have moss ontop of your bonsais soil it wont only rob it of h20 but also youll have to be poking around it to see if your soil really needs watering in the proccess destroying the moss. Third Moss sometimes can attract insects because of its characteristics that ressemble that of grass.

Mike

newt1

Moss:

Good: looks nice; holds penjing and slopes together; reduces moisture loss for mame trees.

Bad: Grows up trees, when it does this it eats away at the bark causing reverse taper; can hold in too much water or make it hard to know when to water; can actually shed water if it becomes completely dry; Can hide insect; attracts fungal spores (spores will stick to a moist, rough surface if they come in cantact).

I use a thin layer of muck or fines for the moss to grow on, this keeps the moss a little more moist than the soil. If the moss spreads (like in a mini-landscape) then you will need to periodically poke holes in it to allow water to penitrate. If you are unsure of when to water then stick a toothpick into the soil under the moss and leave it there: to check remove the toothpick and if it is moist and soil is stuck to it then no need to water. Do not apply it in full sheets, use small pieces and leave a small gap inbetween. Do not cover the entire surface with moss, leave some open ares for evaporation.

I only use moss on bonsai for display or if I am having trouble keeping up with the watering needs of the plant. I do leave it in place on the penjing. Always remember that moss is replacable and the trees health should be the focus of your attention. Hope this helps!

Newt

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rockm

"Yet I have seen pictures of very nice bonsai trees with moss on top of the soil that has obviously been growing there for a while."

Don't bet on it. It is common practice in Japan to place a carpet of moss on bonsai that are going to be photographed. It is done very skillfully and done correctly can look as if it's been there a considerable time.

Doesn't mean people don't leave moss on their trees all the time. Means the tree's care is more important than moss. Caring for bonsai is much easier without the moss carpet. As mentioned before, dried moss dies off and sheds water. Depending on the type of moss (there are dozens, only one or two species are really suitable for bonsai), trees can suffer under the covering. To keep moss healthy requires not only daily watering, but a really humid environment. Left alone, some species of moss will climb the trunks of bonsai. This can trap moisture against the trunk, resulting in rotted bark and sometimes damage to the living portion of the tree.

Also, moss is not likely to remain green all the time. It is cyclical. The heat of summer (the hotter your summers, the quicker moss dries up and dies) will kill it off. It will return again in the spring or when cooler weather allows it. Beginners make the mistake of trying to keep it green all the time, which usually results in some sort of difficulty for the main focus of any planting--their trees.

All this trouble is not worth it. I gave up trying to deliberatly cultivate moss on bonsai 15 years ago. Store bought moss spores are an iffy and needless expense, as your local environment is hardly that of "kyoto." Moss that will grow and be happy in the long term on your trees is always a LOCAL type that will spring up spontaneously in your container. Such species have adapted to local conditions and can withstand alot more than store bought spores.

I now take the "leave it alone and it will come" philosophy when it comes to moss. If it is able to establish itself by itself in the pot, I let it be. I neight encourage or discourage it. If it happens, it happens. It's not worth the anxiety or effort.

All this trouble for something that

bisjoe

It really depends on where you live. Here in the moss capital of the world, we get 40" of rain annually. Not all at once, but spread out over 10 months, so it's nearly always a fine misty rain that keeps moss healthy. The hot sun in mid July-August will cause some browning but then it turns green again soon after.

We still have to water the trees because the light rain doesn't reach the roots, especially when the tree canopy diverts it. All of my outdoor bonsai have moss on the soil and even outsides of some of the pots, I do try to keep most of it off of the trunks.

chunkytrunk

Thanks for all of your replies everybody, good advice as always. It is always nice to see different points of view.

eeiko321

well this is what ive read about moss....

moss is always dormant in summer and turns out to be a dull brown colour.
it doesnt necessarily mean its dead.

the active growing time for moss is from autumn to spring.

it can be transfered and grown separately.

this is another strong point ive read.

Moss can be collected, allowed to dry and sieved or broken up and stored until autumn, a few weeks after sprinkling it on top of your bonsai ot,m you will notice a green cover developing.

although i never knew that also...
i didnt think they could be driped up and revived later.

PatArizona

I've found that moss works better (for the health of your tree) if it is applied in patches. Cover less than half of the soil...

The full, lush green of solid ground cover, to me, looks unnatural. Think about it...how often do you see a tree in nature with a solid green ground cover streaching from the trunk outward to.......................the edge of the pot

Pat

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