30 March

Grow Decorative Moss and Bring new Life to your Home’s Look!

We’ve given you the lowdown about how to grow tulips in a vase, choose the perfect houseplants for your home, and select flowers that will attract hummingbirds to your garden or thrive in the shade. But did you know that you can grow stunning arrangements made of moss? Moss is incredibly versatile, and you won’t believe the possibilities. Read on to learn about shaping moss into living works of art!

Where to Get Moss

You can order decorative moss online or buy it at your local garden center, or you can gather wild moss outdoors. If you choose to gather wild moss, make sure it’s OK to take moss from the spot you choose: for example, get permission in advance to take moss from private property, and don’t gather any from a national forest, which is illegal to do without a permit. To gather moss, take small amounts from different colonies to avoid disrupting any one moss colony too much. Gathering moss is easy: just pry the edge of the moss loose and gently lift it away from the surface it’s growing on. Keep it damp and in a shady area until you transplant it.

Potting your Moss

Potting moss is the easiest way to grow it at home, and the creative possibilities are nearly endless. Moss doesn’t have true roots and doesn’t need much soil, so you can use many different types of containers for your indoor moss garden. Let your imagination run wild!

Here’s how to pot moss:

Choose your container, and put a thin layer of crushed stone in the bottom for good drainage.
Add a thin layer of potting soil on top of the crushed stone.
Put the moss on top of the soil, and add decorative rocks or any other design touches you like.
Keep the soil moist. Martha Stewart recommends regular misting and twice-weekly watering. Be careful not to over-water, though.
Most mosses grow best in partial shade. Pay attention to how your moss responds to the light conditions where you’ve placed it, and move it if it doesn’t seem to be thriving.

Creative Decorating Ideas with Moss

The creative possibilities for growing moss in your home are nearly endless. Because moss needs only shallow soil, you can turn anything from tree bark, to a seashell, or even an end table, into beautiful, living home décor. Yes, even a lightbulb! A team of scientists took the moss furniture idea one step further and designed a moss table that can generate electricity through photosynthesis, so maybe your décor will power your smartphone sometime soon! You can even craft vertical “moss tiles” to hang on your wall as living art, using a simple wooden frame, some chicken wire, and some potting soil. Click here for instructions to make your own!

But for Moss on your Roof, Where you DON’T Want It…

Decorative moss is beautiful inside your home, but moss isn’t so beautiful when it’s growing out of control on your roof, deck, patio, or driveway. Moss can damage your roof, causing asphalt shingles to lose their granules and making shingles pull free from the roof’s membrane. Moss’s root-like structures can cause warping and pitting on some types of decking, and moss growth on your driveway or patio can cause any small cracks to widen and lead to crumbling.

Stop unwanted moss in its tracks with Wet & Forget Outdoor! Wet & Forget kills moss and keeps it from coming back for a year or more in most cases with no scrubbing, bleach, or pressure washing needed. Just spray and leave! And because Wet & Forget Outdoor works with the wind and rain to eliminate moss, spring is the perfect time to apply it and use the April showers to your advantage. Click here for instructions.