"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 14:45:19 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:


"Alan Welsh" wrote in message
...
Leptobryum pyriforme particularly likes to grow on garden soils.
It is a seedless non-vascular plant and reproduces by growing
spores.
Although it's chiefly used to give a growth 'spurt' to oilseed
rape,
the
actual method of spore propogation is rather unusual....
It is *always* recommended to leave this kind of moss in-situ
rather
than habitually destroying it which is most gardeners instinctive
action.

I don't grow oilseed rape, so what good does it confer on my
garden?
How would I recognise Leptobryum pyriforme?
Is it a particularly uncommon moss? I ask because unless I looked
badly, it is not listed in the book "Grasses, Ferns, Mosses &
Lichens
of Great Britain and Ireland" by Roger Phillips.

Google finds it

http://www2002.stoke.gov.uk/museums/...keystage_4.htm

and
http://www.nps.gov/mora/notes/vol17-1-2e5.htm
"Leptobryum pyriforme (L.) Schimp. known as the Long-necked Bryum,
is
a beautiful form recognized by the long-necked capsules and slender
leaves. It frequents moist places along the Nisqually River Trail."

Thanks for the links. I now know more than before. But I am still
baffled about Alan Welsh's recommendation that this moss should be
left in situ on my garden soil.

Franz

I'll confess I don't fully understand the *actual*
benefit as I know Franz is *still* waiting for an
explanation (:-) but as far as I can tell it is
related to the osmosis of chalk in some way.....

Although..............
A patch of moss growing in your lawn is an indicator
of one or more of the following:

~ your lawn needs fertilization.
~ the area has poor drainage.
~ the soil is too acidic to support turf grasses.

But..........read on..........

Before you get out the fertilizer and soil amendments,
consider starting a moss garden.
Moss gardens are fairly easy to grow,
unusual to look at and have become
increasingly popular in recent years.

Alan

"Alan Welsh" wrote in message
...
I'll confess I don't fully understand the *actual*
benefit as I know Franz is *still* waiting for an
explanation (:-) but as far as I can tell it is
related to the osmosis of chalk in some way.....

I have my doubts about that. The words "osmosis" and "chalk" don't go
together very well.

Although..............
A patch of moss growing in your lawn is an indicator
of one or more of the following:

~ your lawn needs fertilization.

I haven't got a lawn. My moss is on the open ground and on walls.
A local nurseryman told me so too, so I applied liquid fertiliser in
the affected regions. That caused the
moss to have a real field day.

~ the area has poor drainage.

No. My garden is well drained.

~ the soil is too acidic to support turf grasses.

It is most likely that this is my problem. My garden is in one of the
sandstone levels of the Pennines and is somewhat on the acid side, but
not violently so. The pH lies somewhere in the region of 6.

But..........read on..........

Before you get out the fertilizer and soil amendments,
consider starting a moss garden.
Moss gardens are fairly easy to grow,
unusual to look at and have become
increasingly popular in recent years.

No thanks! There are plants which are a great deal more interesting
to me than moss.

Franz

On Mon, 30 Aug 2004 19:46:42 +0000 (UTC), "Alan Welsh" wrote:

I'll confess I don't fully understand the *actual*
benefit as I know Franz is *still* waiting for an
explanation (:-) but as far as I can tell it is
related to the osmosis of chalk in some way.....

Although..............
A patch of moss growing in your lawn is an indicator
of one or more of the following:

~ your lawn needs fertilization.
~ the area has poor drainage.
~ the soil is too acidic to support turf grasses.

But..........read on..........

Before you get out the fertilizer and soil amendments,
consider starting a moss garden.
Moss gardens are fairly easy to grow,
unusual to look at and have become
increasingly popular in recent years.

Alan

I know most people will think us mad but we love moss. Habe you ever sat down beside some when it is
verdant and 'fruiting'? It is so amazing. We are not stupid about it but if it is not causing
problems we leave it alone. The Japanese go to great lengths to propagate it for their gardens.

Kath

In article ,
Lee and Kath wrote:

I know most people will think us mad but we love moss. Habe you ever sat down beside some when it is
verdant and 'fruiting'? It is so amazing. We are not stupid about it but if it is not causing
problems we leave it alone. The Japanese go to great lengths to propagate it for their gardens.

There are at least half a dozen people here who could be classed as
Moss Troopers :-)

It is a nearly ideal lawn plant - drought and waterlogging resistant,
naturally low-growing, excellent at smothering weeds, easily removed
when it invades other areas, soft underfoot, and useful in the garden
in all sorts of ways.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.