# Moss comparison



## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

Ordered some moss and plan to mix it up then spread, but some of the chunks of rock cap moss (dicranum) and cushion moss (leucobryum) would need to be blended up and mixed with the folius mix. 

Actually have a mix of folius moss which appears different today than what they had a few years ago.

Moss Acres Box 












Folius mix;




Few-year old Folius mix:


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## Jungle_John (Feb 19, 2007)

Interesting the new stuff look much fresher than the older bag you had previous used. How well did the other bag work when you used it?


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

Jungle_John said:


> Interesting the new stuff look much fresher than the older bag you had previous used. How well did the other bag work when you used it?


Pretty good:
http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/plants/272202-moss-pictures.html


Here is a pic of the final mix:


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## kimcmich (Jan 17, 2016)

Greetings,

Moss Acres is selling temperate moss species. Moreover, the species they are selling are wet/dry forest mosses - that is, they are from forests that see frequent rain but also see extended periods of drier (though not arid) conditions. These moss species they sell will thus "expect" both a wet/dry cycle (with dry times being on the order of days or weeks) and a seasonal cycle with a winter that brings temperatures too low for continued growth.

I've been doing terrariums and trying wild moss for decades and I can tell you that keeping it alive in a moist/warm terrarium is nearly impossible. Even for those few who don't see it die altogether, the wonderful cushions and/or feathery fronds will not persist. This isn't an issue of having a green thumb or not - it's an issue of a moist, always room-temperature terrarium not offering the cycles of wet/dry and warm/cold these plants needs to maintain normal growth.

Folius' mix used to have alot of ground sphagnum as a bulking agent - and it helped retain moisture in the mix. Unfortunately, the spahgnum would sometimes re-sprout (from spore or fragment) and live sphagnum is not suitable for terraria: It gows too large and gangly and inhibits other plant growth. They adjusted their mix and it no longer uses sphagnum as a bulking agent - they also now package it in light-proof bags to prevent the old clear bags from acting like tiny greenhouses (or solar ovens!).

If you like the Moss Acres' moss mainly because you want some vibrant green to start off it still works great (and looks very pretty when moist, too) - it just not likely to grow well. But good luck!

-|<ipp


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

Thanks. It's not surprising that the Moss acres' varieties won't work because they are temperate. they market it as a terrarium pack though--ha ha. One good thing about mixing it is the different types in the mix should grow in respective areas of tank which have suitable conditions.

I was wondering about the spaghnum in the old folius moss. I have one of those clear bags they used to send it in. The new bag notes no spaghnum is included. I think a little spaghnum ooks nice, but it needs to be kept trimmed back.

Hoping the new folius mix doesn't have Java moss in it. It sorta looked like it had little pieces in it.


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

So far It looks like the cushion moss is doing best, followed by the fern moss.


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

Another month. Growth rate is ok, but not great. Need to hook up the mist system instead of daily misting by hand.


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## Wy Renegade (Feb 15, 2012)

If you don't mind my asking, once you mix it up, how do you go about planting it in the the desired areas?


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

Wy Renegade said:


> If you don't mind my asking, once you mix it up, how do you go about planting it in the the desired areas?


I mostly focus on trying to get it to grow on my hyrolon/Spyra. I just place the moss mix on flat areas and mist. On Vertical areas I applied a tiny amount of clay then smooshed clumps of moss mix on with my fingers. As it grows it's easier to smoosh on additional mix, so I saved some for subsequent applications.


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## Wy Renegade (Feb 15, 2012)

oldlady25715 said:


> I mostly focus on trying to get it to grow on my hyrolon/Spyra. I just place the moss mix on flat areas and mist. On Vertical areas I applied a tiny amount of clay then smooshed clumps of moss mix on with my fingers. As it grows it's easier to smoosh on additional mix, so I saved some for subsequent applications.


Thanks for the info - any particular type of clay? I like the idea of the additional mix on the vertical surfaces - makes sense.


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

All natural clay kitty litter. The kind I have lists clay and natural herbs for the ingredients, but I don't see many herbs in it. Moistened to pastelike consistency and be careful to spread only enough too allow the ground up moss mix to stick, but not enough to block the drainage.


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

Here is a pic of the moss mix application



Here is the moss starting to grow. It seems to grow slower on the vertical surface. Some of the mix also fell off with time.


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## rileyF (May 30, 2016)

On the moss acres website they have many selection of mosses, would any of them work with dartfrogs in a viv? Should I just get the moss that you got?


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## oldlady25715 (Nov 17, 2007)

It is the "terrarium moss" kit, but I also blended and mixed with the folius moss pack as well. Together it adds up to about $50 but there's enough to last for many tanks (will last me for years) 

"Terrarium Moss Kit (3 varieties of landscape-quality moss) 
$19.95 ea. + shipping" 

Terrarium Moss - Moss Acres Moss for Terrariums

Here is an update after another month. I clipped some of the longer pieces and put the clippings in bare spots.


Here is pic from my other tank which was seeded about 18months ago with the "old" Folius moss mix that came in the clear bags and had sphagnum. Obviously some of the moss types may have also tagged along and been a "volunteer" from other sources such as the soil mix or on plants. It gets a little dry on this folius branch sometimes and growth will probably be better when I setup my mistking that's been sitting around for while now. 



It is fun to have two different tanks side-by-side with almost completely different kinds of moss growing in them


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