No Mossing Around.
Mosses or Bryophytes are low-growing, non-flowering plants, that are descendants of some of the earliest plants to evolve on Earth. They are from so early in the evolutionary process, that they don’t have roots or a vascular system that draws moisture from the ground.
They get their moisture and nutrients from absorbing water that falls on their leaves. They can do this because their leaves are so simple, and only 1 cell width thick.
Moss attaches to the ground using rudimentary roots called rhizoids that are actually just anchors that hold them in place.
Moss also doesn’t grow flowers or produce seeds. Instead, they reproduce using spores.
Moss will produce structures that stick above the plant which contains their spores. They then use the wind or water to disperse this spore and create new plants.
If moss doesn’t flower or fruit, then why grow it?
Whilst it doesn’t grow tall, moss can spread A LOT across the ground. A healthy plant in a shady moist location can colonize an entire area and create an amazingly striking moss carpet.
In gardening, moss is used to soften hard areas, cover tricky bare spaces, and act as a blanket for your ground to stop topsoil erosion. In Zen gardening, moss is a symbol of harmony.
For indoor settings, moss can be used as a topping for pot plants, and used within terrariums and paludariums.
Luckily, moss is relatively easy to grow, but a little tricky to control.
You can purchase ‘plugs’ of your moss of choice and all you have to do is stick it in your desired location and keep it moist. Your plug will eventually spread laterally, but will also begin to pop up elsewhere in the area as its spores are dispersed and fragments of the plant break off and spread around.
These simple little plants can be extremely valuable to growers who take the time to enjoy them. The lack of flowers or fruits is quickly forgotten when you see your sprawling, lush, green moss carpet covering your garden, or spilling out your terrarium.
When it comes to buying moss, there are plenty of options to suit your needs.
You can get moss in various shades of green and with different textures and appearances. The one thing though that they will always need is to be kept in a moist and shady area.
