A Moss Terrarium

Moss terrariums have become very popular lately and I thought it might be a nice idea if I did a little bit of experimenting with my own. Now, I don't really know a lot about moss but I figured it's a nice time to learn.

So what I did was went for a walk in the local cemetaries, wooded areas and parks looking for moss. It's kind of ironic because when I got home I noticed I had a fair amount of moss right in my own yard. I didn't even realize it. Anyhoo, here is some tips and information that I gleaned during my walk and I will keep you posted as to the status of my moss terrariums.

An initial thought on Moss Terrariums

To me it seems to be a bit plain to have a terrarium with just moss in it. But we will see how it goes. I do think that moss would be an absolutely outstanding addition to a regular terrarium so whatever I learn will be put to good use.

Hunting For Moss

I took a backpack, some plastic bags and a few digging tools with me on my hunt. If you are going to be hunting around for moss I have some suggestions for you.

First off you should really get a feel for the environment that the moss grows in. Notice where it seems to thrive and why? You want to try to replicate this environment in your terrarium. I noticed that moss in my area seemed to like a few things:

• Shady Spots - the moss in sunny areas was often brown and unhealthy
• Angled and slanted areas (they seemed to grow well on the sides of small hills) I am not sure if this is because they prefer it or because competing plants don't like the sides of hills.
• This could be a water preference. On a slanted location the moss will get water only for a short period of time which is rather interesting. And this leads me to believe the moss will do well with frequent but very light waterings. I got an email from a terrarium fan who recommended misting moss terrariums twice a day. This is a bit more work than I want to do but it may be necessary

This picture shows moss growing through the cracks of a slanted wall. It appears to be pretty healthy.

And this picture shows moss thriving in the shade of a tree. Again the soil has a slant to it.

I found some healthy and bright green moss hugging up against the roots of a tree so I dug it up and this is what I am using in my terrarium. I made sure I got a liberal amount of soil under the moss.

Making the First Moss Terrarium

This illustration shows how I have made this first terrarium.

I put a layer of potting sand on the bottom for drainage. Then I put a thin layer of spanish moss to keep the soil in place.

Then I put about half my intended soil in. And I placed a few thin slices of slate in there. I angled them. Then I filled in the rest of the soil. Finally I placed the moss right on top of the whole thing.

Because it seemed to me that moss likes angles I figured I would build an angle right into the terrarium. We will see how it goes! In the beginning I will mist it every day but hopefully I will be able to taper down on this and not do it so often. I am also going to make a couple more terrariums with just moss. One of them will have the moss in a flat position so I can monitor how well it does.

About sunlight - This is a bit of a concern for me and I am going to limit the amount of sunlight these terrariums get. Seems to me they don't thrive too well in it but with daily mistings they might thrive in more sunlight - I will let you know.

This is a Storm The Castle Project

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I love Edmund Scientifics, They have lots of great projects

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