To Moss, or Not to Moss, That is the Question?

Bonsai_Steve

I recently purchased my first Bonsai several weeks ago from a dealer in NYC. It is a Japanese Red Maple and it came completely covered with this lovely Green moss. I have also read here in this forum where it was said that moss should only be used for display purposes and should not cover the entire pot. So my question today is this. Should moss be used all the time, part of the time, or not at all?

Thanks,
Steve

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gordonb

Some moss is OK, too much will prevent easy watering of the tree (water rolls off the moss). If you want to keep the moss, keep it around the trunk, but clear the outer 2/3 of the surface of the soil. Personally, in summer I let the moss grow a little more, to act as a mulch so my (small) trees don't dry out too much. You need to find a happy medium... (not the paranormal sort)

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gordonb

New Zealand/Aotearoa

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rockm

Your bigggest worry at this point for a Japanese maple in Va. is how to overwinter it. You cannot keep it inside.

Moss is a temporary thing for bonsai. It comes and goes depending on weather and soil conditions--it doesn't like "new" bonsai soil and if "planted" by the grower on soil that doesn't meet its needs, dies off quickly. Most of the pictures of advanced bonsai have had moss planted on them just for the picture.

Trying to keep a lush carpet of it on a plant is not the best thing to do. What makes moss happy all the time can be fatal to the tree. It likees very moist non-draining soil. It holds in moisture. Bonsai need fast draining soil that dries some before the next watering.

You have to make one or the other a priority. Grow moss or grow bonsai. The tree is what you paid for. Look to how to care for it. Moss usually takes care of itself, if it finds the right conditions.

agraham

I would respectfully disagree with Gordon.Moss around the trunk is more likely to cause problems with the tree.It could hide problems with the base of your tree...it could keep the trunk base perpetually moist..and it could hide insects which might cause problems.So....I would clear the moss from around the trunk and leave it on out towards the edges of the pot.

Rockm's statements bring up a couple of things i've always wondered about.Why,if one waters thoroughly,does moss hinder the wetting of the soil?

and,...if one uses a well draining soil,why would you worry about moss keeping the soil too wet?Bonsai soil loses moisture in 3 ways that I know of....drainage,water uptake by the tree and evaporation.It seems to me that if one depends on evaporation for the drying out of soil,either one's soil isn't draining properly or the tree isn't making use of the moisture available.This could be because the tree is not properly or sufficiently rooted in or there is too much soil for the existing roots.The moss would not be the cause,but perhaps a symptom.

I live in a hot,arid part of the country and once a tree is established in the pot properly,i have no problems keeping the soil surface moist enough to support moss without overwatering the tree.Moss is not a priority with me,but I do think that it adds to the aged and established look of a tree,so I do make an effort to establish some.

just some thoughts

andy

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rockm

Andy,

Living in a hot arid part of the country may have clouded your view of moss

"Rockm's statements bring up a couple of things i've always wondered about.Why,if one waters thoroughly,does moss hinder the wetting of the soil?

and,...if one uses a well draining soil,why would you worry about moss keeping the soil too wet?"

Moss hinders wetting of the soil because it repels water from its surface. Water tends to run off the sides of heavy moss clumps and not THROUGH it. That means, water tends to run down the sides of the soil mass and not penetrate it. This can happen to varying degrees, depending on how heavy the moss is allowed to get.

The soil below the moss can be very well draining, but that's not the problem. Moss tends to grow on thin layers of fine soil on the surface of the "good" soil. That fine soil also tends to stay waay too wet, or becomes virtually impervious to water once dried out.

Moss can act as a buffer for watering if it's kept in manageable quanitites and not allowed to cover the entire soil surface. Beginners tend to overdo this (take a look at the picture above--the entier soil surface is covered with m inch thick blanket of the stuff). Such a heavy covering complicates care.

Alasdair

I allow moss to grow on the surface of my trees' soils. It does this itself and can rapidly form a lush green carpet. Instead of fighting back i just let it do what it does. And i find it very helpful at keeping the soil moist during hot weather. Granted, water doesn't soak in as well as on bare soil, but i water by submerging and letting the water in through the drainage holes so i have no problem. Then, when i get heavy rain the moss does help reduce the amount of rain soaking in and waterlogging the soil. I have little time to develop my own soil mix so i use pre packaged stuff with a bit extra grit. not the best but my trees cope.

This is my example and it works for me.

Al

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zenwarrior

From a beginner's perspective I would not encourage the practice of using moss at all until, as it as been said, you are ready for display. I would be more concerned with putting that baby in a growbow or something to let it grow vigorously. Then, years down the road it can be applied. Just think, the main purpose of moss is for visual appeal. It does not help the tree's growth at all. I say just let that little guy grow.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.

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soonami

Moss itself does nothing mechanically productive, it just looks really good on displays. Moss can act like a sponge soaking up water and holding it on the soil which can cause root rot. Also, completely covering the surface with moss will limit air circulation and keep fresh air out of the soil underneath, which again can promote fungal attacks and inhibits root growth and productivity. The actual harm of moss is limited, they don't use too many nutrients or produce any chemicals that inhibit tree growth. But the indirect effects are more problemsome.

John Naka does not discourage the planting of moss, but he does emphasize the importance of spots of bare soil, for the above reasons, just moss in itself is fine, just make sure it doesn't take over your tree and harm it.

ethanopia

In a recent workshop with Keith Scott he had pretty much everyone brushing away the moss that was growing on or very near the Nebari/Buttress of the tree. His reasoning was that if moss is encouraged to grow on the nebari it can hinder the development of bark on the nebari and can eventually hide the nebari. Not good, you want to see the buttressing.

Also it can encourage tiny little hair-like superficial feeder roots to grow from the nebari, these are features of a young tree and thus in most cases not very desirable.

So with that in mind I would clean off the moss and soil directly around the root flare of that maple, it will add to the appearance of age. It looks like nice healthy moss so leave a lot of it around the edges of the pot, just uncover that nice root flare that is probably hiding down in there.