Checking Soil Dryness With Moss?!

Shambhala

When I look at my Juniper, I just feel like I could sit under it and read a book - it is a perfect scene

However, what it really needs now is some grass (moss)! I have been reading more and more about moss, and even picked up a little bit on a walk today to cultivate. *But right now I am not sure if I really want it, because how could I check the dryness of the tree with the moss covering the soil?!

Also - what is a good moss? *The only two kinds I could find were 1. long and almost jagged looking, that good be plucked right off the ground easily and 2. a nice green color that looks a lot like grass and can also be easily moved. *I chose the second one, but is there another type that is relatively short (1-3 mm) that can be purchased somewhere? *

Thanks!

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MINATOR

Im no expert , far from it , but i though if you didnt cover it all in moss , or trimmed a little bit off then you could see the soil , or make a edge so you can lift up the moss , without damaging it or making it look tatty that would work

~MINATOR

K.A. Rutledge

Shambhala,

Don't put moss on your soil surface unless you are showing your tree - or showing it off inside for an evening like for a dinner party or something. *As a rule, bonsai are grown with a bare soil surface and then moss is added to the soil surface the day before the show. *After the show, the moss is removed.

Get your moss locally from where it is growing naturally. *Check around office buildings, malls, etc... where there is an automatic watering system and an overabundance of moisture. *Collect it there and keep it at home in something of the same conditions for your own use. *

Use it by breaking off or cutting small pieces (the size of a 50 cent coin) and assemble them on the soil surface. *The moss will go on best if you first remove about 1/4" of the soil from the surface, add a covering of sifted sphagnum moss and then water it to make the spagnum moss sticky. *Place your moss on top of this layer and fit the pieces together tighly. *

Be sure to remove it after you "show" it. *Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
Editor, TBE Journal http://www.bonsaienthusiast.com

Shambhala

Thanks! I always thought moss was a permanent thing, I can see now why it wouldn't be.

Bonsainut

Sha,
Moss is a really fun part of the bonsai hobby. There are many approaches to it. The above advice is ok. But the problem with assembling moss just prior to showing is that it looks like a crazy quilt.
If you use the very low growing velvety, dark green moss you will not have any reason to take it off and put it back on. It has no invasive roots and can help to perserve moisture. And it look MMArvalous!!!!
Find some moss growing in full sun if you can. Let it dry out on a flat. Shred it into fine pieces. Sprinkle it lightly over your soil surface. Forget about it.
It may take a while but slowly it will grow and cover. You may damage it when placing dango balls(fertilzer) on the surface so find a little clear area.
When you repot you will have to disturb it. You can save big pieces or do the shred and spread again.
There are other ways which include a blender but I will save your marriage and not mention them. Have fun!

__________________
Keep growing,---'Nut



Lethal Use of Farce

Shambhala

That's awesome, because I was really psyched about moss, and I was a little disappointed in reading that it should be only used a few days before showing.

I am a new bonsai owner so I am not showing mine or anything, I just want to try to learn as much as possible right now

I already have quite a bit of shredded moss drying right now... how much would you recommend for a pot approx. 10x5 inches (rough guess)?

K.A. Rutledge

Shambhala,

Bonsainut wrote:
"Moss is a really fun part of the bonsai hobby. There are many approaches to it. The above advice is ok. But the problem with assembling moss just prior to showing is that it looks like a crazy quilt.
If you use the very low growing velvety, dark green moss you will not have any reason to take it off and put it back on. It has no invasive roots and can help to perserve moisture. And it look MMArvalous!!!!"
-------------

I must disagree because this is not good advice. The very first responsibility in growing bonsai is for the grower to keep them healthy. Keeping moss on your soil surface is a bad thing for the following reasons:

1. moss will not grow on good bonsai soil (granular, coarse soil). If moss is growing on your soil surface, you need to change the soil as it is not open enough for your tree.
2. If moss covers your soil surface, it does two bad things: one, it prevents the soil from drying out quickly enough, which keeps much needed oxygen from the roots and promotes root zone fungal attacks, and two, it misdirects water from the soil when the tree is watered, making the watering process a hit-or-miss prospect.
3. moss makes a hiding place for pests to lie unseen until they may have done significant damage to your tree.
4. moss attracts birds which dig into your soil, often exposing roots and causing damage to the tree and its health.

But the most important reason is the very first one. Bonsai soil must not be so fine nor mushy as to promote moss growth. If it is, you are not keeping your bonsai in very good conditions and it will begin to show the results of the poor conditions.

Bonsainut's bit about assembled moss looking like a crazy quilt is only true if the person assembling the moss has no skill at doing so. Every tree in the Kokufu-ten (Japan's largest and most prestigious show) has its moss assembled a day or so before the event. They look wonderful. As with many things, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it and it takes practice to get it right.

I realize that you are excited about having moss on your tree's soil - because it looks cool, but as you are a beginner, it is important that you take the good advice that is offered to you and when someone contradicts one bit of advice you've received, don't just take it at face value - at least ask why this person's advice differes from another's advice. Don't forget that your job is first to keep your trees healthy and that making them look cool (with accessories like moss) come in a distant second or third.

Bonsainut's advice on how to cultivate the moss was quite good. Use this and cultivate it on mushy soil in a flat for occasional use.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
zone 8, Texas

MINATOR

Yeh i wanted moss too but its best if you take advise from the experts
Would it be ok if you had only a bit in the corner say or is it still a bad idea?

Bonsainut

Shambhala,
Just a very small handful wil do. Spread it out and tamp down. A little butermilk and water (50-50) in a spray bottle will encourage quicker growth. Have fun!

__________________
Keep growing,---'Nut



Lethal Use of Farce