# Growing moss emersed?



## nicks7.1985 (Aug 11, 2010)

Do i just put the moss (now tied on a sheet of acrylic) in the tub to lay on the soil? or should it be like 1 inch underwater?

cant seem to find anything definitive online yet. i was also thinking to just put it under like 2-3inches of water in a tub and replace the water with tank water every few days an add small ferts.? think that would work?


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## rainbuilder (Sep 21, 2011)

All I did was take some random moss I had laying around and stick it in my emersed setup right on top of damp peat moss. Grows great.


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Well, if the moss was under 2-3" of water, I wouldn't necessarily consider that an emersed set up, as much as I would just normal submerged growing...

I'm not sure about tying it all on top of a piece of acrylic either.... How will it send down roots into the substrate through the acrylic?


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

acrylic isnt the best substrate for moss. too smooth unless you sand it or scratch it up, and totally inert.
what is your goal with this emersed growth? if you just want to get more moss, then i would chuck the acrylic, and just press the moss against soaked substrate (topsoil, miracle grow, peat moss, whatever). you want the substrate really wet and damp, but without any puddles or submerged areas. be sure to really press the moss well, so that none of it (or as little as possible) is sticking up above the substrate, as while emergent tissue can handle this fine, submerged tissue placed like this dries out and dies.
if you want to get the moss to attach onto something and thicken up a bit before submerging it (like a dry start method, but in a different container), then i would use slate pieces and not acrylic; the moss will attach better to stone.
any moss left under the water level will grow submerged tissue, not emerged tissue. 

im growing mini fissidens moss in a 10 gallon as a dry start. set up the substrate and hardscape, then poured water to be at the level of the substrate. took the fiss and cut it up into tiny pieces (1cm or so) and layed it flat and spread out over where i wanted it to grow (wet the area first so the moss can stick). then i misted these areas very well and close up (to push the moss against the rock/wood again to makes sure its in contact with it) with milk (the milk decays, supplying some nutrients, and lowering the pH). i mist 1-2 times a day, and after 2-3 weeks i started to notice new growth (it takes time for the moss to acclimate and convert to new conditions, fissidens IMO takes longer than most). now, another 2 weeks later, its covered with new growth buds, and in another 2 when i submerge it *should* be well established and attached.


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## nicks7.1985 (Aug 11, 2010)

Williak said:


> Well, if the moss was under 2-3" of water, I wouldn't necessarily consider that an emersed set up, as much as I would just normal submerged growing...
> 
> I'm not sure about tying it all on top of a piece of acrylic either.... How will it send down roots into the substrate through the acrylic?



ur right,,,i guess i was thinking like 1 inch or less and that the moss would grow out of the top of the water..i didnt write it down too well the first time ..lol


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## nicks7.1985 (Aug 11, 2010)

thanks for that explanation @[email protected] i had some left over moss and was tired so i wrapped a ton of string around the acrylic then the moss then some more string ...that was maybe a week ago and i can see the new light green buds now.

but yes the idea was to make more moss that will be easy to harvest. 
So ur saying to only just bury the moss so its level with the soil? then keep misting it?

thanks again ...its all really helpful for someone who hasnt done thiis before


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## Williak (Jun 26, 2012)

Look forward to hearing if this works for you. I'm doing a HC DSM, but I wouldn't mind throw some random java moss in there around the rocks :biggrin:


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

not bury it, so much as press it in. lay soil, sprinkle moss, press down with your palm. 

i mist because its on rocks, so there is nothing to hold the moisture. if you keep it on acrylic, then you ought to mist as well.
if you grow it on soil (like i am in an emersed setup), no misting seems to be needed. i have some thats been growing for a month now, and i have never ever misted.


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## nicks7.1985 (Aug 11, 2010)

gotcha.. does it gro upwards on the soil or just spread over horizontally?

i didnt have anymore time tonight to set it up but i did suspend the acrylic with the moss about 3-4'' below the waterline on another tank with 54w t5ho over it. tomorrow i will set up a different bit of moss on the soil like you said. would this be ok in direct sunlight all day? or better in shade but outside so it doesnt cook?

i also set up 4 different emersed setups with the same plant but set em up in slightly diffeent ways like on a window sill, under lights and outside but in shade, also some are in soil with water directly in it but a couple mm below the surface and some in soil pots with holes that are sitting in water. i took pics of em all and will post and update pics each week in the journals section to see what works best if any work at all. ill start that thread tomorrow.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

Nice thread...I plan on doing the same with Christmas moss just to try something new.

How does Christmas Moss or any type of moss react when placed underwater after it has been grown emersed? Is it a smooth transition or will parts of it wither away?

thanks.


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## nicks7.1985 (Aug 11, 2010)

thats a good question..i was about to ask it myself. im new to emersed but from what iv read it seems that its a lot easier for plants to go from emersed to submersed. i still dont know how it will react though lol. thats y i think im going to like emersed..cuz its a lot cheaper to try a bunch of different things



hedge_fund said:


> Nice thread...I plan on doing the same with Christmas moss just to try something new.
> 
> How does Christmas Moss or any type of moss react when placed underwater after it has been grown emersed? Is it a smooth transition or will parts of it wither away?
> 
> thanks.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

nicks7.1985 said:


> gotcha.. does it gro upwards on the soil or just spread over horizontally?
> 
> i didnt have anymore time tonight to set it up but i did suspend the acrylic with the moss about 3-4'' below the waterline on another tank with 54w t5ho over it. tomorrow i will set up a different bit of moss on the soil like you said. would this be ok in direct sunlight all day? or better in shade but outside so it doesnt cook?
> 
> i also set up 4 different emersed setups with the same plant but set em up in slightly diffeent ways like on a window sill, under lights and outside but in shade, also some are in soil with water directly in it but a couple mm below the surface and some in soil pots with holes that are sitting in water. i took pics of em all and will post and update pics each week in the journals section to see what works best if any work at all. ill start that thread tomorrow.


depends on the moss.
but most will grow parallel to the substrate (most of the time this means horizontal, but the moss i have on a diagonal slope of wood is growing diagonally).
i know java and xmas both hug the substrate, and i have never had them grow upwards, except at the edges of the container where it treats the container as more substrate.

no direct sunlight. especially not while its still in submersed form. 
i tried moving my emersed setup into direct sun for 3 hours, to try to acclimate the plants to it, so that i could keep them there and have them grow faster. i came back to fine every single specimen dead, except for 1 runner of hairgrass that must have been deep enough in the substrate to survive.




hedge_fund said:


> Nice thread...I plan on doing the same with Christmas moss just to try something new.
> 
> How does Christmas Moss or any type of moss react when placed underwater after it has been grown emersed? Is it a smooth transition or will parts of it wither away?
> 
> thanks.


IME, they transition very nicely. they have the same kind of temporary halt in growth as they acclimate, and then start growing new, submersed tissue. i didnt notice any dieback with xmas or java, and will soon see how fissidens reacts.


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## nicks7.1985 (Aug 11, 2010)

i aso decided to try someting new (to me at least) ..i cut an empty 2 gal club soda bottle in half and put some potting soil in it capped by 1 inch or sand ..slowly filled till H2O was about 1-2 inches over the sand. then i stuck a small stem of hygro compact into it so that it is basically level with the water line and covered the bottle with saran wrap.

i was wondering if it would still convert to emersed when it comes up but without having to worry about fungus and mould on the soil..which was the main reason for doing this..it does look a lot nicer too than wet dirt lol...plus im bored lol. pics to come later and each week to update on what happens.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

it should just grow up right out of the surface. hygros emerse very easily.
but i have had the best success in emersing stems by placing several pots in a container filled with water to just under the surface of the soil, and placing the stem flat against the soil (just press it in like you would the moss). every node grows roots down and side-shoots either up or creeping along the substrate, depending on the plant.


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## nicks7.1985 (Aug 11, 2010)

that sounds like a great way to get many plants from just a few. i did put a few stems laying down to cuz of what id read...should i pull the leaves off first marko?

..just got 3 more aqurms 2x 5 gals and a 20gal. ..now i need money for lights lol.


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## pwolfe (Mar 2, 2011)

Any thoughts on how to grow moss on driftwood that breaks the surface of the water? either our aquatic mosses or terrestrial. Thanks!


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

i left them on, they didnt die for weeks, and then they probably only died because the stem naturally drops older foliage.

you only need lights in the winter.
my tubs are outdoors under shade.

if your into this emersed stuff, i have journal on my setup you could check out. its only got 2 updates so far, but i think i got some pretty decent pics, showing what grows at what rate in that type of setup.


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## nicks7.1985 (Aug 11, 2010)

marko..the helferi in the pics look amazing. ..so u just stick em in the shade outside? how often do you mist in the containers if at all? and whn you say in the shade ..is it shaded throughout the day or does it get a little sun in the evening or morning?

right now i have only 1 stem outside in the shade to see what happened and the rest of them are in the basement under light. but even so ...im willing to bet that even in full shade they still get more light outside than under my 75w of light.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

thank you. ive always had a knack for p. helferi, people say its tough, but i never had any problems with it.

i have never ever misted, and am yet to have any plants dry out. maybe i would get faster growth on some of them if i did, but they are definitely doing ok without it. 
they are in those containers on the deck in my backyard underneath a 2 foot bit of roof that sticks out past the wall of the house. they dont get any direct sunlight as far as im aware, but based on the angles, its possible that they get 20-30 min at sunrise, depending on whether or not the oak in my yard shades them from it or not.

they should get plenty of light either way. it takes much less light to grow plants emersed, as you dont have the water absorbing all that light. if its the same sp. of plant, you should see in 2 weeks or so which setup can grow it faster.


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## Snowflake311 (Apr 20, 2011)

I kept a clump of Singapore on in jug with the top of it exposed to air. It did great in my window. Just can't let it dry out at all. The moss grew a little different when emerged.


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## nicks7.1985 (Aug 11, 2010)

i see.... i havent misted yet ...mostly cuz i didnt feel like taking off the saran wrap and putting it back on lol. thre are holes in it though and i push it up and down to get air in and out. everything looks really moist inside it too. maybe ill hold off on misting to like 1x a week or somehing or if things look dry.


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