Question
Can you advise me how to go about planting/getting moss to grow in the space between the bricks on our brick sidewalk?  The spaces are about 1/2" to 1" max.  It is a mixture of sand and soil (mostly sand) between. We live pretty much between Zones 4 and 5 (central Iowa). This sidewalk is on the north side of the house; part is usually shaded and part receives direct sun most of the day. There is already a little moss growing in the area that receives the most shade.  Thanks for any help you can offer!

Answer
Hi Cindy,

'Moss' is a generic term for dozens of low-growing, ground-hugging, usually tiny-leaved or 'fuzzy'-leafed plants that some people hate (as weeds) and others love as ground covers.

In my experience,...It seems to grow best by some phenomenon of a 'Murphy's Law' scenario.  By this I mean, if and when you want it to grow,...it is stubborn and refuses to cooperate.  And when you don't care for it to grow, it can pop-up everywhere.  Or so it seems.

Many garden centers will sell 'Irish Moss'.  This is probably the easiest type  for anyone to grow, but there are many other types of plants called 'mosses'.  


Botanists classify 'True Mosses' in a group of plants called the 'Bryophytes' which includes
the  Liverworts and Hornworts. Use key-words 'bryophytes moss' at GOOGLE.com for more than 10,000 web-pages about these interesting plants. This is one example:

http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artmar03/dcmoss.html

They all generally like cool, shady, moist-fertile soils which are slightly on the acidic side.  In general, they like the top-soil conditions you might find in an ancient paleo-arctic decidous hard-wood forest.

Your lawn and garden center will sell a soil-testing kit for determining the soil 'pH'.  A pH less than 6.8 (7 is neutral) should be OK. With a pH above 7, they will not grow.  If you can get Azaleas, Rhododendrons, Blue-berries, Hydrangeas, and similar acid-loving plants to grow with your soil conditions you should be able to get mosses to grow. There are also additives you can use to adjust the soil's pH;...however, if this becomes more work than expected, then you may just have to give-up on trying to get Nature to cooperate.

Many cities will have a 'Bonsai Club'.  Bonsai hobbyists are often experts at getting moss to grow for their hobby uses (they use it at the base of the dwarfed trees) and they will also often have moss-cultures to sell.  So, check with your local garden clubs and the local web-sites for more specifics. Hobbyists are usually more than glad to help out with Moss-culture. Mail-Order nurseries which deal in Bonsai can be good sources for varieties of mosses.
Web-search at GOOGLE.com using key-words 'bonsai' for these places.
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I Hope this has answered your question(s)!

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