Re: Moss was: Different Species

In a message dated 12/20/1999 11:58:47 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
abbl@ONLINE.NO writes:

<< And to Margaret - do oyu know it this blending you make of buttermilk and
 moss should stand a while before 'painting'? And do you know how long time
 it normaly takes before the mosses are established? >>

To Arnhild,

Although Schenk writes of six methods of growing a moss carpet (one method in
his chapter on Bonsai moss), he does not mention the buttermilk and blender
method.  In the Bonsai chapter, he does mention using a blender (and rinsing
it carefully, without a word to the main user about what he has been doing
with it!), but no buttermilk.

I had heard of the buttermilk and blender method. I tried it once and it did
not work.  But that does not mean it is not a good method. I may mean that I
did not keep the new plantings misted enough.  Schenk also writes about
bringing some of the soil in which the moss was growing to the garden to
place under the moss. This seems a good idea.

Jeanne Hannah
Traverse City, Michigan
USDA Zone 5b

The illustrations in the moss carpet chapter are very helpful.  I finally,
after waiting five years for the moss "to come skyborne" (Schenk's first
proposal), I gave up and opted for method four -- setting out moss sod 12
inches apart -- which should grow into a carpet within a year or two.

The illustration for his method # 3 (instant carpet -- a patchwork of
whatever moss one may find and transplant) is beautiful.  I know I will have
to do this in some portion of my Japanese garden.
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