Creating A Moss Garden In Indiana

Published On: April 29, 2019|Categories: Blog, Dubois County News, Home Buyers, Lawn & Maintenance, Sellers, Things to Do|Tags: Acid-loving plants, acidic soil, How to make a moss garden in Indiana, Indiana native plants, moss garden, native plants of Dubois County, soil pH|

The most famous moss garden is in Japan outside of Kyoto. It’s absolutely stunning. It was built in the 1300s and is a pure moss garden. The famous moss garden has hundreds of different mosses in it. Check it out online here. A moss garden provides stillness and relaxation. This is something most of us really need. You don’t need to live in Japan to have a gorgeous moss garden though. Among the he flora of Indiana, you’ll find over 200 species of moss according to an illustrated manual by a professor of botany at DePauw University from a few decades ago. Moss prefers a moist environment, but native mosses don’t usually need any watering once established. They also don’t need fertilizing and they certainly don’t need mowing. If you have an area with some extra shade, that is the perfect place for your moss garden. Though, as you may have noticed from your lawn, some moss does fine in just partial shade.

Tips For Creating A Moss Garden In Indiana

Make Your Soil More Acidic

You can weed your moss garden less if you choose mosses that thrive in acidic soil. Plenty of moss thrive in acidic soil, but fewer weeds do. Most weeds can be weakened or killed by spraying the area with vinegar from a garden sprayer, because weeds prefer a more alkaline soil. Moss will do just fine in acidic soil though. Other plants that do well in acidic soils are blueberries and azaleas. In fact, they succeed only in acidic soils. These are two potentially nice additions to your moss garden, actually. Keep in mind, it’s really hard to alter soils that have a pH above 7.5.

Growing Moss

If you crush pieces of moss onto prepared soil, the moss should take hold. It’s propagated by airborne spores. You can usually find moss on peat, decayed wood and stones. If you purchase peat blocks, there are already spores in the blocks, so you can use that to seed your moss garden. You can also grow a starter tray inside. Use crushed dry moss and sprinkle on a starter tray of dirt. Water it with a mixture of low-fat milk and water, because that creates the perfect condition to get started. Keep the starter flat damp, but expose it to some light each day. Planting in a starter box simply prevents weeds from growing before the moss has had a chance to grow. When it’s established, you can move out to your garden and use the moss you grew as plugs to get things started.

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