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does anyone know...

My mom had this cool looking moss growing out of a rock path, and I collected some. Does anyone know how to grow this? I assume it needs very little light and a moist environment. Any other suggestions?
 
Im not a pro moss grower, but an old teacher of mine taught me a few tricks to growing the stuff. His suggestions were: give it an anchor that it would naturally grow on, rock wood etc. Give it indirect light, or it will burn. Make sure it has plenty of moisture, especially during lighted periods. And his number one trick: Make a mixture of milk, water, and manure and paint the anchor object with it. Then lay the moss on top of the mix. Apparently moss loves this stuff.He used to make his own gardening pots and would mix the manure and milk into the plaster (or whatever stuff he was making the pot from) and then once it was dry he would re-paint the container on the outside to help moss grow. Hope this helps.
 
Thank you. Well after doing some extensive research yesterday I found that the moss I have is called "LICHEN". You are correct about the milk, I also read about using buttermilk or yogurt too. But... some people say not to use it. Basically I want to grow it in a pot on its own (with soil), so I guess my question is do I just plunk it into the soil? I cannot imagine I would need any of those dairy products w/ soil. I was also curious about the growing time... rapid/slow?
 
Hi there guys

A lichen is quite different to a moss ya know?
Mosses are generally fairly simple little plants - not quite as simple as liverworts and stuff but not too complex.

Lichens are a whole different ball park.
Lichens are actually two different things, an algae (which is a VERY simple plant) and a fungus growing symbiotically (together in one body&#33
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. You can't separate them as one would die without the other.

Lichens are pretty cool and some of the toughest living things, they can live in all sorts of extreme places.

Just did a quick search for you and found a site I think is really quite bizarre - go here

http://mgd.nacse.org/hyperSQL/lichenland/index.html

to HAVE FUN IN LICHENLAND, brought to you by the British Lichen Society. And I thought we CP people were nerds!!

Cheers, Troy.
 
wow that was a pretty cool site. I never would have expected to find one like that lol. Now Im thinking about growing those little things, could be interesting.

And CP people arent nerds lol. Try talking going into a fish chat room, like the one on AOL. We fish keeping fanatics are nerds
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WOW! What a neat site! Although I believe I am more confused now that I was before!

Maybe it isn't Lichen have! My mom lives in CT, and as I mentioned, I pulled it out of a stone/gravel walk way. It is very fuzzy and soft. Anyone out there... do you know what this might be? Maybe I should post a picture...
 
It is moss most likely and not lichen. Just pot in soil and never let it dry out and it should do fine. One problem you might have is if you live in a temperate area, the moss will require a winter dormancy period at or near freezing. I use this kind of moss for my Bonsai, but as many of my bonasai don't get a winter freeze I have to replace the moss each spring.
 
I've always loved lichens...another childhood memory. When I was little I was always digging up both mosses and lichens and trying to make terrariums with them. Invariably they died since I didn't know how to care for them. But even now when I go home (parents house), I eyeball the lichen and moss growing in the mini-woods. One of my favorite lichens..ok...two of my favorite lichens were the kind that looks like a grey/green sponge (sort of) and the other looked like a match stick...a green stalk with a red tip.

And Meagan, I know that didn'thelp you one bit but I had a lot of fun reminiscing about childhood treasures I found in nature.
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Suzanne
 
Heh heh, ya know the greenish yellow moss that hangs from tree branches in redwood/pine forests like silly string? That stuff is the best tinder EVER for campfires. light it..light it...POOF!
 
  • #10
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Spanish moss? My mom has a HUGE bag in her garage... I LLLLOOOOOOOOOOVEEEEEEEE camp fires... hehehehe
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  • #11
so... does anyone know how to CARE for this stuff?

I have been doing my darndest to keep it moist, but I am not having any luck. I mist it 2x a day, and water it every few days, but the soil is always dried up. The moss/lichen is tuning a slight shade of brown now, so I know it isn't doing well, since when I pulled it out of the ground it was a bright green.
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  • #12
lithopsman, it's not spanish moss, it's a bright green white, looks like glow in the dark (there's a variety of fungus around there that does glow, but that's rare) This stuff grows alongside sphag, and hangs in the coolest manner. I'll have to show a pic if I can find it. Meagan, where I was it was foggy for half the day and seemed to rain the rest! You'll have to bring the humidity (without being too warm) up to at least 60% if not more.
 
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