MANILA, Philippines - The Japanese have used mosses in the gardens for decades. Some Zen inspired designs actually focused on Moss Blocks as the center of the design. Live moss blocks were carefully grown by gardeners and placed on walls, on the pavement and sometimes floated on flat grabro rocks or pebbles. Live Moss blocks were observed used in Showcase designs in the malls in the past 2 decades as base for expensive fashion accessories.
Recently, there is an interest in Moss Cultivation. Mass production of mosses appeared in Horticulture Magazine during the late 70’s. The uses of mosses have been highlighted many times by veteran landscapers to give their work the character of maturity.
In the last few years, moss collected from the wild were observed being sold at the Jatujak Plant Market (during Wednesdays). The Chiangmai landscapers started the concept of using mosses to cover their earthen wares used in landscaping some years back and has reached Bangkok last year. Europeans are starting to pick up the idea.
Moss Mass Production. Mosses may easily be produced in the nursery. All you need is an open area with intermittent misting system. The key is to keep the moss culture moist. Different species of mosses may be grown under this system.
Select the mosses growing in the vicinity. This ensures a better success in culture because the growing conditions will be similar to mosses’ native habitat. Sprigs of mosses may be separated and made to lay on its side over an organic or mineral substrate (depending on the species). Once the mosses gets established (moss tips start to grow upward), light feeding of complete fertilizers may be applied on regular basis. Moss Carpets may be harvested when they are thick enough for handling. This usually takes 4 to 9 months.
For difficult-to grow mosses, moss stems may be planted on sterilized fern roots or sand as medium in a clear food keeper box (microwavable type). Expose moss cultures to bright light. Low light intensity makes the mosses spindly.