AusBonsai

Has anyone seen a thriving outdoor moss garden in Melbourne? Or in Australia?

I just moved here less than a year ago and I'm not super sure about whether it is possible in this climate. I'm thinking a good sprinkler system plus the right location under trees should be able to provide the right habitat for moss, but would love to know if there are any success stories out there.

Yes it's possible
At my fathers house in Lake Macquarie there is heaps of moss growing under a big liquid amber.
Though on hot days it drys out a bit, but always springs back to life when it rains.
I think maybe shade is the key.
I'm also growing moss in minature green houses, I just keep them in the shade.

hunter valley gardens in NSW use Korean velvet grass on a large scale. Looks quite nice and would be more hardy then moss.


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good to know that theres success stories out there in Australia!

Does anyone know if its ok to water moss using water directly from the tap over here? I have been doing this for months in Melbourne, some of my moss are thriving, some are dying, it's hard to say if the water is a factor in any of it.

I think it would be seasonal (winter) but still worth it. You could arrange rocks in an attractive way so it looks interesting during the summer as well. There are some low growing native mosses that would be very good to use.

I've read that massively acidifying the soil can help in getting moss to grow on its own....
We've had a bit of luck with getting it to spread just by collecting various types from different areas and planting them throughout the garden. Some grow well and naturally spread their spores, others dont make it but its a pretty good way to weed out the useful ones from the difficult varieties nonetheless.

Another method i've heard some people have used with success for larger areas of moss is to lay down a layer of plastic sheeting, then two or three layers of felt, then either place moss clumps on it or break them up and scatter the fragments all over the felt and put a layer of tulle on top to keep it from blowing away.
The plastic keeps the weeds out and keeps the soil from wicking moisture away from the felt, and the mosses you place on it are isolated from any ph issues with your native soil so they can spread over the ph neutral felt. Eventually they grow through the tulle so you have a mossy carpet thats easier to maintain.

My uncle has a property down Geelong way with a She-Oak grove that has a moss carpet that grows entirely through it. Uncreated and uncultivated it just naturally occurs.

Hi killarkai,

I live in Melbourne and tap water if fine ... at least it is on the moss on my bonsai.

Responding to another thread I noted - as Treeman pointed out - that if you can source the moss in similar conditions to where you are going to plant it you may find you have more chance of success.

I have a not so secret love of moss... I am no expert but it's a ripper cousin to bonsai... not just because it can look good as a decorative (and sometimes protective...and sometimes detrimental) element on the surface a bonsai pot but because Bonsai is, in part, about slowing down and appreciating the little things about our trees and their growth habits.

Moss is pretty 'small' and pretty amazing and the closer you look the bigger the rabbit hole.

killarkai wrote: ↑January 21st, 2017, 12:09 am Has anyone seen a thriving outdoor moss garden in Melbourne? Or in Australia

I haven't seen anything around my area but ive started to create a moss garden underneath my benches. I'm also adding a couple natives ground covers like Acacia limelight and Casuarina glauca to mix it up. Keep us posted with how you go

treeman wrote: ↑January 23rd, 2017, 9:30 am ... There are some low growing native mosses that would be very good to use.

Does Cousin It Casuarina count as native moss?

Around Melbourne id say Orlinda is your best bet. Moss needs moisture and a dapled ligjt to do best in this country. Orlinda generally has higher rain fall and canopy cover in many areas.

If your after moss for a Japanese style garden Bulleen Art and Garden have trays of Irish moss.
Cheers
Kirky

Isn't Irish moss that horrible star weed that takes over?
I've spent years to get rid of it out of my pots.

Hi Neil, I know the stuff your talking about. Rotten stuff to get rid of. But it didn’t look like that at all. It was call Irish Moss? They had a nice looking zoysia too Wouldn’t use either for bonsai but for a garden planting it looked ok.
Cheers
Kirky