Moss is a non-vascular plant, lacking the internal system of roots, stems, and leaves, instead absorbing water and nutrients directly through its surface. This ancient life form is often sought after for its ability to create lush, green groundcover, particularly in shaded or moist areas where turfgrass struggles to establish. Beyond landscaping, moss is a popular material for creating miniature ecosystems in terrariums or for various decorative purposes. This guide addresses the practical considerations for sourcing moss, from selecting the correct variety to evaluating various purchase channels.
Selecting the Appropriate Moss Species
Before determining where to buy moss, gardeners must first identify the specific growth habit that suits their intended application and environment. Mosses are broadly categorized by their growth pattern, which dictates their suitability for various projects. Choosing the wrong type of moss is a frequent cause of failure when attempting to establish a new patch.
Acrocarpous Mosses
The first major category is Acrocarpous mosses, which are characterized by an upright, cushion-like growth pattern, often described as tufted or erect. These species, such as Cushion Moss or Pincushion Moss, grow slowly and form dense mounds. They are excellent choices for creating small accents in rock gardens or filling small, defined spaces. They are typically more tolerant of direct sunlight and drying out than the spreading varieties.
Pleurocarpous Mosses
The second primary group is Pleurocarpous mosses, which exhibit a sprawling, mat-forming habit, branching freely along the sides of their stems. Varieties like Sheet Moss (Hypnum Moss) are favored for covering large areas, as they quickly knit together to form a seamless, carpet-like groundcover. This low-growing, rapidly spreading habit makes them ideal for creating extensive moss lawns or covering slopes. Pleurocarpous mosses generally thrive in consistent shade and humidity, requiring regular moisture to establish.
A distinct material often confused with live planting moss is Sphagnum moss. Sphagnum is primarily used in horticulture as a soil amendment due to its remarkable capacity to retain water. It is commonly incorporated into potting mixes for orchids or used as a sterile medium for starting cuttings, rather than being established as a living landscape feature.
Commercial Retail and Online Sources
The most straightforward method for acquiring moss is through commercial channels, which offer varying degrees of quality and species diversity.
Local Nurseries and Garden Centers
Local nurseries and garden centers often stock moss, typically selling it in trays or bags, which allows for immediate inspection of the plant’s health and moisture level. Purchasing from a local nursery often provides the benefit of knowledgeable staff who can offer specific advice tailored to the regional climate and soil conditions.
Big Box Stores
Big box home improvement stores are a convenient source, though the moss they carry is frequently pre-dried or preserved, especially if packaged in large, compressed bags. While convenient, this dried moss may take longer to rehydrate and establish. Consumers purchasing from these locations should confirm the moss is intended for planting and not solely for decorative or craft purposes.
Specialty Online Suppliers
For access to the highest quality live material and the widest selection of specific species, specialty online suppliers or dedicated moss farms are the optimal choice. These specialized vendors often harvest their moss sustainably and ship it as living mats or fragments. The advantage of using a specialty supplier is the assurance of species identification, ensuring the purchased moss is suited to the specific light and moisture conditions of the planting site.
It is important to differentiate between moss intended for planting and moss sold by craft or floristry suppliers. Moss from craft stores, which includes materials like preserved reindeer moss or colored sheet moss, has been chemically treated or dyed. This preserved material is not biologically viable and will not grow or establish itself in a garden setting, making it unsuitable for any permanent landscaping project.
Navigating Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing
While commercial sources are the most reliable, some individuals consider collecting moss directly from the wild, a practice that requires careful consideration of legality and ecological impact.
Collecting moss from public lands, such as national forests or state parks, is often strictly prohibited or requires obtaining a specific permit from the governing authority. Harvesting from private property is only permissible with the explicit consent of the landowner to avoid legal issues.
Beyond legal constraints, the ecological implications of removing moss must be carefully weighed, as mosses are slow-growing organisms. They grow at rates significantly slower than vascular plants, sometimes expanding only a few millimeters per year. This means a patch can take many years to recover from being scraped. Mosses also play a role in stabilizing soil, regulating surface water runoff, and providing micro-habitats for various small invertebrates and fungi.
Sustainable collection techniques, if permitted, involve removing only small, scattered patches from a large, healthy area rather than stripping entire sections of ground. Gardeners should use scissors or a knife to cut small sections of the moss mat, leaving the underlying substrate undisturbed to encourage regeneration. Collecting moss from uncontrolled environments also carries the practical risk of introducing unwanted elements into a cultivated garden space, such as pests, unseen weed seeds, or fungal diseases.