Love How Green Moss Grows On Hypertufa!

Perhaps you don’t like moss?

As for myself,  I find it so appealing. I love how it is green almost all the time, even in cold weather. And it is so serene and softly mat-forming . I love to have it grow in my garden. So far, it doesn’t seem to want or need to take over, but behaves along side all of my plants.

And I love it growing on my hypertufa garden planters!

I have a shady area which I have spoken about on a previous post. And the moss is just coming in thicker and thicker. It is growing on new hypertufa bowls which disputes any idea that they need an extended period of time to allow it to attach and grow. I have a newly placed bowl and I pressed some moss on the rim of the bowl early this summer, And it has firmly attached itself and is growing well.

My post may contain affiliate links to shopping sites. I may earn a small commission if you should make a purchase through my links. Thank you so much for your support of my website.

These photos of moss were taken by me in December Zone 6.

Contrary to what you might think, moss doesn’t need a lot of water to grow. It survives by absorbing water from the air and can use just the rainfall to survive. You don’t necessarily need to water it at all.  It is classified as a bryophyte which is a non-vascular plant.and it has no roots and only needs a surface contact to be able to grow on the ground….or on whatever you would like for it to grow upon. I want it to grow on my hypertufa planters. I think it adds to the aged appearance and I just love the way it looks. Up close, it is like a thick forest of fern fronds.

The mosses have no flowers or seeds, but reproduce by spores. Those brown capsules you see above are the maturing containers of the spores which will produce the next generation of moss.

The classification of moss includes liverworts and hornworts. A really attractive sounding class, eh?  Any change in your soil, or the quality of the air or water due to pollution causes an impact of the growth of mosses.

So the healthy growth of moss can be an indication of the health of your garden. It is said that mosses grow best in acidic soil, but moss will grow anywhere in any soil.

I have a lot growing on the retaining walls surrounding my shade garden and I use this to make the medium to paint on my troughs and make it grow there.

What do you think about the moss in your garden? Do you try to get rid of it? 

I do think it is slippery if you have it in paths were you would walk, but I remove it from paths.

Just my preference.  Read more posts on my Backyard Flower Garden ! Here is an index.

References: http://www.hiddenforest.co.nz/bryophytes/mosses/reproduction.htm