When you walk in the woods, do you ever look down? If not you’ve missed seeing one of the most ancient of plants, Moss. Often overlooked, this fascinating plant is best seen in detail with a hand lens to view its great variety and difference in textures.
I love this description by Dr. Robin Wall-Kimmerer from her book, Gathering Moss: “... which seemed at first to be of uniform weave, is in fact a tapestry, a brocaded surface of intricate pattern ... Learning to see mosses is more like listening than looking. A cursory glance will not do it. Straining to hear a faraway requires attentiveness, a filtering of all the noise, to catch the music. Mosses are not elevator music they are the intertwined threads of a Beethoven quartet. You can look at mosses the way you can listen too deeply to water running over rocks. The soothing sound of a stream has many voices, the soothing green of mosses likewise ... So it is with looking at mosses. Slowing down and coming close, we see patterns emerge and expand out of the tangled tapestry threads. The threads are simultaneously distinct from the whole, and part of the whole.”
But what exactly is this most unique of plants? Moss is a non-vascular plant of the division Bryophyta with hundreds of different species. Mosses comprise the second largest plant group on earth with at least 10,000 moss species, 8,000 liverwort species, 100 hornwort species and an estimated 25,000 bryophyte species. To distinguish these little lovelies, moss has pointy leaves which grow in a spiral pattern around the main stem of the plant; liverworts have a pattern of two leaves opposite each other with a third smaller leaf in between the two; hornworts have pointy leaves. Bryophytes are prized in the natural world for their ability to help break rock into soil so other plants can grow. Moss also grows on decaying trees in the forest providing a moist climate for other seeds to germinate in.
Many people often confuse lichens with moss as they sometimes resemble moss but it’s actually a different plant not even related to moss. Confusion might arise from the fact that some lichens have acquired common names like “reindeer moss” and “Iceland moss.” Lichens are more weather-resistant, growing mostly on rocky bases and can endure even the dry cold of high mountains and the Arctic.
Slow growing, these small plants often only a few centimetres tall are herbaceous or non-woody that absorb water and nutrients mainly through their leaves, harvesting carbon dioxide and sunlight to create food through the action of photosynthesis. Moss is valued by scientists for its ecological role as a bioindicator (like the canary in the coal mine) for acid rain, air and water pollution and wastewater treatment. This tiny treasure can be found growing on rocks, streamsides, downed logs, tree trunks being most luxuriant on the north sides of trees and on exposed mineral soil that is acidic. As moss produce no flowers, it reproduces by spores, not seeds relying on the wind to disperse the spores. Mosses are very social beings with many species living together in harmonious communities. We may mistakenly identify this plant singularly as moss but often one location can contain many types of moss. As Annie Martin notes in her book The Magical World of Moss Gardening, it was Johann Hedwig who named with detailed descriptions mosses in his book Species Muscorum Frondosorum (Species of Leafy Mosses), published posthumously in 1801. Other important botanical information on mosses was provided by German botanist Johann Jakob Dillenius in Historia Muscorum, published in 1741, identifying more than 600 species of liverworts, lichens, true mosses, lycopods, algae and other plants.
Thought to be a plant of the woodlands, moss is wonderful for applications in the garden as it not only offers visual effects and tactile pleasures. As a child, I loved to feel the soft spongy texture of an emerald green carpet of moss. As people embrace a return to naturalistic gardening, moss is valued for the rainbow of colours from light to dark greens along with crimson, red, pink, orange and yellow colouration. Although green is the dominant colour, colours can change depending on the amount of moisture, sun exposure and the reproductive stage its in. It’s a great plant for cottage country as deer don’t like the taste but squirrels, raccoons and skunks may dig it up in search for grubs or nuts they misplaced and birds make take it for feathering their nest.
In Japan, moss is considered a luxury plant and is revered with sacredness and respect. For those wanting to create a spiritual sanctuary a Japanese moss garden exudes a sense of calm, peace, and stillness with an aura of aged permanence and patina.
Moss is revered in Japanese gardens for the aged patina it provides.
For best success in growing moss as a ground cover, remember moss won’t survive in a fully exposed south-facing location. Drought-tolerant, moss can dry and brown out becoming lifeless in overly hot summers but quickly comes back to life greening up in rainy conditions. In recent years there has been a growing interest in the use of moss, especially as a lawn replacement for those looking for a low maintenance alternative for shade gardens as no mowing is required, just regular maintenance by removing leaves and debris. As a gardener, I have embraced this gift of nature growing naturally on the north side of my house that is shaded by mature maple trees, allowing the moss to take over where grass refuses to thrive. In the wet Pacific areas of our country, moss is encouraged by some as a lawn substitute while others consider moss a weed in the lawn, using chemicals to deter its growth. At our cottage in Haliburton we allow the moss lawn to grow so we don’t have to mow. Moss shade tolerance does vary though, based on species, but no need to worry about planting zones as moss can tolerate even subfreezing temperatures as the phenolic compounds they contain make them resistant to the negative effects of cold weather.
If you want to add moss to your garden landscape remember to not take moss from the wild unless it is a salvage situation where the land is being disturbed and only with the land owner’s permission. Moss growing is a new area of horticulture so seek out nurseries that specialize in moss that has been ethically sourced and grown. Not readily available on a large scale at nurseries or garden centres due to its slow growth, moss has not been used widely but that seems to be changing as commercial growers are starting to grow moss in sheets for use as lawn replacements. The beauty of moss is that you don’t need to specially treat the ground surface, moss will grow on any inhospitable soil surface. If you want to replace a poorly growing lawn, stop seeding with grass and let nature take over for the mosses have always been there. When the grass can’t survive as in our north side lawn the shade and dampness allow the moss to survive, thrive and flourish. So take a lesson from nature, when nothing else but moss is growing, embrace nature and let it be. Moss can also be used between paving stones softening the hardscape with its soft, luxuriant form.
To encourage the growth of moss on containers, rocks and other small items, moss experts will tell you they have no luck with “moss milkshakes” for encouraging moss growth however, some gardeners say they’ve had some success by spraying the surface with a mixture of buttermilk and yogurt to which is added some gently pureed moss. Remember to use a blender designated for the purpose of blending moss and not one you’ll be using for food preparation. So like all gardening techniques, give it a try and see how effective it might be.
Moss can be magical, a luxurious garden plant often overlooked. If Moss is the answer to your difficult ground cover situation and you want to learn more, here’s a few books to help you get started: The Magical World of Moss Gardening by Annie Martin; Gathering Moss by Dr. Robin Wall-Kimmerer.
... From the pages of Muskoka Life magazine
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