Irish Moss is the only moss I have had any success with as a top dressing. Some of my moss is really taking off and needs a trim, but other than that, it doesn’t seem to interfere. Is it better than no moss, just not as ideal as that real fine moss.
Here is a picture of what started as a quarter sized plug I used as a tester. Frog is 2” tall
It’s not good. It is not a true moss and grows roots deep into your soil. Eventually it will start to take nutrients and water from your plant. It is not recommended to keep it in your bonsai pot.
Very invasive. I agree it is nice looking but it can take over and spread very easily.
Well darn… back to the drawing board for top dressing
I have had some luck covering the typical green + sphagnum moss with burlap to keep it a little moister and shadier as the temperatures increase.
I think I will try tackling the moss top dressing again this winter. I don’t mind the look of the soil, but I am hoping to get longer life out of the top layers. I’ll try the burlap! Thanks
I also found that it helped to have a thin layer of finer soil (1 - 3 mm) containing akadama and pumice at the top of the pot to retain a little more moisture for the moss to get going. I also screen my moss through my 9 mm (3 per inch) screen which is a bit coarser than what I believe Mirai uses.
Thanks Marty for the advice. Some of my more high water mobility trees I use some fox farm oceanic forest in my soil mix because my trees have to be able to go 48-56 hours between waterings. Those pots that have more organic really have this Irish moss thriving. I think I’ll try the sphagnum + green on those first when it cools a little. I have a south facing patio in Southern California. Damn dry climate
No,remove it from the pot because it’s not real moss and adsorbs moisture and nutrients to the plant.
