The new money pit home money pit is going great, except for the parts that aren’t, but I guess that is how life works. Question for any readers who have made bonsai: where do you find live moss? I want to try kokedama gardening (sort of like bonsai without the pot) to deco up my shelves that will be totally awesome as soon as I finish making them, but I need live moss to wrap the dirt ball. Does the dried sheet moss that craft stores sell come back to life if you wet it? Otherwise I guess that I will have to go with some expensive mail order product. Thanks!
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annia
Many vendors of live moss for such purposes on ebay. Try cushion moss or reindeer moss to find the right sellers – then there are more options.
MikeJ
Where do I get moss in Seattle? My roof. My sidewalk. Basically taking over anything that isn’t moving at a slow trot or faster.
Leisureguy
Just Google “live moss” and you’ll find quite a few dealers.
JK
Try any local pet shops especially if there is a herp specialty shop in the area. Live moss is commonly carried for live vivaria especially in dart frog tanks. Even if you have to go mail order these will still be cheaper options than many nurseries. Sometimes you can get the dry sphagnum moss to come back to life if it is not too dry. This you can get at any Home Depot or garden center. Otherwise look again for a specialty shop, this time a nursery that has a good selection of bromeliads and tilandsias as they are likely to carry live moss too.
LiberalTarian
The biggest issue for keeping moss green is to keep it wet. It’ll go dormant if it dries out–neat life cycle, has to have water for its gametes to swim through. I think you might be thinking about peat moss; not exactly the same critter, since you probably aren’t looking to keep a peat bog, right?
What kind of bonsai did you get? I have a Serissa (aka Snow Rose, a tropical plant) that will thrive indoors all year, but most bonsai prefer to be outside so they can go dormant on schedule in the winter.
Moss and bonsai make good partners, because you need to keep the bonsai moist, too, since in order to stunt the roots you have to keep it in a small pot. Since it’s in a small pot, it needs lots of moisture, but it won’t like it if you keep its feet wet (unless its a cypress), so you have to water frequently.
Have fun!
SiubhanDuinne
@Tim F.
Why would you want to try anything new without pot??
Yutsano
@MikeJ: I suppose we could always just send Tim F. some, although I’m sure that breaks some kind of agricultural law somewhere.
Jon H
You could probably put an ad on craigslist, and find someone with moss in their yard that they’d let you take for free.
fledermaus
“where do you find live moss?”
in a forest. Duh. Mail-order moss? I can’t believe you people.
mr. whipple
“where do you find live moss?”
At the moss ranch!
Jon H
On ebay I just found someone selling packets of “Kyoto moss spores for bonsai pots” for $5.50.
The producer is an outfit called Joshua Roth, who have a website.
gbear
@LiberalTarian:
I just want to echo the point that, unless you start with a tropical plant, you’ll need to winter it outside. It’ll die if it doesn’t go through it’s natural season cycle.
gbear
Their third album is one of my favorites.
Jack Newhouse
The Joshua Roth “Kyoto moss spores” that Jon H recommends work pretty well, but you can get basically the same thing by gathering some moss from trees or rocks in your area, letting it dry out, and crumbling the dry moss. Just sprinkle the crumbled moss over the (moist) surface of the soil and mist it gently a couple of times a day. The most important thing is to keep it damp.
I’ve used this trick for years with my bonsai.
Jon H
You may or may not want to go with the Kyoto Moss Spores, just stay away from the Fungi from Yuggoth.
Bnut
No posts of the greatest laugh ever, yet?
Bob K
Tim F. What parts? You’d be surprised how much you can do without
Examples:
Toilet – you know the phrase “Crazy as a $hithou$e Rat” is such a useful metaphor when trying to describe people like Bat$hit Shelly Overdrive and $arah Palin. Great Grandma made do with an outhouse and so can you. Think of the amount of money you’ll save on your water bill.
Hot Water heater. If you have to take cold showers think of how quick you’ll be. BOTH time and water saved.
Furnace. You know how much junk mail you get every year? Why waste good tinder. And buying copies of “Going Rogue” in the bargain bin at the dollar store will save you tons of money on heating oil or your gas bill.
Electricity? Vastly over rated. There’s nothing on the freakin tv to watch anyway so this is a double savings because you don’t need to pay a cable bill. Kerosene or Candles are much more romantic and library books are free. Listening to the radio for entertainment is very nostalgic. Just make sure you get one of the “survival radios” that has a crank to recharge the batteries.
About the only thing you REALLY need power for is your laptop. This one is tricky. You’re gonna need a stationary bike and some supplies from the hardware store and a generator – stop being a whiny bitch – if the Professor on Gilligans Island could make one using only bamboo and palm fronds you should be able to cope shopping at Wal-Mart and Home Depot.
If you do this you’ll be able to get “Off the Grid” The only other thing I recommend is a nice 12 gauge, 9MM glock, and a wicked ass knife to cope with the Tea Party zombies that will undoubtedly want to kill you for your elitist bonsai. Not really – they just can’t stand that the sheriff is near – but any excuse does in a pinch for baggers
Litlebritdifrnt
Ahem I am ashamed to admit (and a little bewildered to be honest) that I have moss growing on the charcoal ashes in the bottom of my barbeque grill at the moment. (Yes, yes I know a) I should have closed the lid and b) I should have cleaned it out and c) oh shut up).
Yutsano
@Litlebritdifrnt: You’re really only in trouble if they make it to enlightened civilization status. Then their removal might get a little bit tricky.
Ben Keen
Dude, if you’re worrying about bonsai moss after getting a house there are only two possibilities:
1) Terminal denial
2) Having it really good.
Seriously, where are the questions about mold in the drywall near the ceiling or how it is you can tell whether or not your sump pump is working?
Martin
Um, you find moss on the north side of the tree? Shit, even here in SoCal I can find moss out on a walk. Man up and leave your interwebs bunker, Tim!
Oh, and we need a volcano photo thread. Actually, almost anything the guy has shot is fantastic.
jibeaux
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Is that a first? Isn’t charcoal usually….dry-ish. Weird. It’s o.k. though, I am the last person to judge for inappropriate maintenance of appliances. My grill has the original grease tin can still on it.
I don’t know from no bonsai, but I have come across several small adorable apothecary type jars with lids, and I want to make miniature terrariums which I have seen online. They might make interesting and cheap teacher appreciation gifts, or if they don’t turn out well just educational experiences for the kids. Lemme know if y’all have advice on that front.
TR
If your greatest problem as a homeowner is where to find moss for your bonsai trees … yeah.
We bought our place a year ago, and are still trying to get the shower in the master bathroom to work.
Tim F.
@Ben Keen: @TR:
There is the caved-in ceiling from a roof leak in the guest bedroom compounded by a careful dance of uselessness involving my home warranty, insurance and contractors, but I know what to do about that. It’s the moss that stuck me.
Ben Keen
Not bad!
So I figure it is the denial situation. :)
jharp
You find it in the woods or other places around your yard.
At least the good shit, that is. Moss can be kind of finicky. I’d suggest something that is already comfortable in the climate you are in.
Good luck. I’ve planted another 100 or so trees this spring. They’ll be very cool in a few years. And even cooler many years from now.
Steeplejack
@gbear:
Screw you. The live album at Budokan was the best. Their studio stuff never measured up. I mean, c’mon, the 24-minute live version of “North Side of the Tree”?! Epic.
But, as Jon H noted, they were always much better than Fungi from Yuggoth.
Nellcote
Those kokedamas are adorable! Think I’ll try some this week. If you’re going to buy moss I’d advise getting it from a nursery rather than a craft store. Often the craft store stuff is baked to kill off any critters/eggs hiding within.
gbear
@Steeplejackw;=ell, yea, don;t live albums always that unceratian sense of limitation that stangle the odd coloratons. I’m always more impressed by the disciplin a band can show in the studeo despite having the unlimited palate of sound shaping ‘toys’ at the ready,
gbear+1 advion about 15 minuted ago. Pawing on the computer at a motel lobby because I;m not quiet ready to commit myself to a motel bed for the night.
Sure was fun on the north shore of Lake Superior this evening when the wind changed to come right off the lake and the temps fell from the 70’s down into the 40’s in about 10 seconds flat. We all noticed it exactly when it happened.
gbear
@gbear: Oops, one ambien, not advion. This hotel lobby is starting to come undone enoght that I should chard a route back to my room. Lake Superior looks pretty great from the balcony, although it’s only 30-some degrees outside tohite, G’nite.
gbear
Well I see that it’s all ether this evening. Why wast time that could be spent watching and falling asleep to the frozen stars over lake superior. sign off time.
stickler
Tim:
Moss? I have plenty on my roof. Please to help yourself.
More seriously: if you have to ask, you’re not living in a moss climate. Talk to a garden store, and then take their advice to go with grasses.
diakron
I’ve seen some fun 4/20 posts, but this one got the most chuckles for some reason.
patty gann
go out in the woods and dig some up. free and easy.
DPirate
Some necessary stuff on the Hutaree (sort of)
http://freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2010/03/causus-belli.html
http://freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2010/04/manufactured-menace-from-michigan-take.html
Dano in Pittsburgh
Just saw some at the local Home Depot.
Wayne in LV
First there were questions about salt water aquariums. Now, bonsai. John, are you my kid?
Having been bitten by the bonsai bug in New England, I can say as I did about the SW aquarium…DON’T DO IT! This is another thing that can turn into an obsession, and you blog. That’s obsession enough for anyone.
Bonsai requires a dedication that very few can commit to. Sometimes you have to water twice a day. They require incredible attention. Now that I’m practicing the Middle Way, I can understand the whole bonsai thing better than I ever did while doing it. Just another form of mindfulness, which is why it became a thing in the first place.
Take up raking sand.
Thankfully, I now live in Las Vegas where bonsai gardening is not an option!
Wayne
PS–you can use moss that grows in the cracks in your sidewalk. It works perfectly, and is a bellweather on your bonsai.
waldenpond
Free from your local garden center. I asked my garden center if it was ok to grab some growing in the potted trees. They also gave me a pot and scooped out some duckweed for me.