Moss grows fairly quickly, but keep in mind that it has a complicated life-cycle. When you crumple it up and sprinkle it on soil, the part that starts to grow is the protonema (greek for "before thread"), tiny green strands that thread their way through t
he soil. If you've ever noticed how moss makes soil less permeable to water, it's because these threads tie all the soil grains together and clog all the airspaces. Once these threads become established, they start sending up the little green "trees" we
think of as moss. But if conditions aren't right (too dry, or not enough relative humidity), the protonemal stage will grow indefinitely. I've mentioned that when I was collecting samples of agricultural soils, sieving them, and looking for powdery milde
w structures under the microscope, I'd commonly see moss protonemata, and I would never see mature moss in agricultural situations. The moss just waits and waits.

So if you crumpled moss into the soil of, say, an indoor bonsai, you might never see mature moss unless environmental conditions changed.



hi all, I'm new here,
just a question about moss...
...how long it takes to grow? (I'm doing some experiment with crumpled moss without success)
thanks

Andrea

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Ken Rutledge++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++