May 244 min read

How to grow moss on rocks in a easy way.

Updated: Jun 14

Here are some moss on rock projects and this blog will discuss how to make them and why it is in a such way.

I am not going to use any electric spraying and filting system. The moss on rock projects is finished by one person and needs little caring.

My method of growing moss on rocks is learned from nature. In the wild, there are beautiful roskes covered will green moss. How to minic it at home? I think there are two factors to consider based on my experience.

Here are some small moss.

medium moss

Here is some large moss,

I group rocks in two categories: functional rocks and decorative rocks.

what is functional rocks: porous rocks, like lava rock, and porous limestone rocks. If you put such rocks bottom part in water. Its porous structure will make the whole rock moist.

lava rock

porous limestone rocks

Any kind of stone can be used. I often pick up small stones from the mountains and rivers.

If there is any kind of stone that is most suitable, it is the kind of stone that has very good breathability and water conductivity. How you can tell it? 1. they are porous. 2. if you place bottom part of it in water and the entire surface of the stone will keep moist. Moss and small plants grow naturally on the stones in moist environemnt.

Such stones are popular in bonsai making. A large category of bonsai stones are such water-absorbing stones. There are many types of them in various names, in East Asia used for bonsai for hundreds years. My focus is not on these stones. Let's talk about some common stones around the world.

1. Volcanic rock

There are two types of volcanic rocks, red and black. Volcanic rock is a visible porous stone. A lots of moss bonasai pot is shallow pot without drainage hole. A drilled-lava rock is placed on it. Where you can not see it there are sphagnum inserted in the drilled hole for the small plants. As for moss, they can spreading on the moist lava rock surfcace.

this are terrarium made of black lava rockes.

2. Bricks

If you don't have volcanic rock, bricks are a great substitute. It's cheap and available everywhere. It conducts water very well too. Before I point it out, you may have noticed that bricks are great for moss growing on. Because in cities, there ware always moss always onbrick walls. The only problem is that brick is always a square . You will need some tools to carve out holes in them for planting. In my area, there are many bonsai enthusiasts who specialize in using bricks to grow moss.

Bricks have another benefit. If you find a spot where moss is growing, then put a brick there and take it out after a few weeks. You will get a moss-covered brick. This is the most convenient way to collect moss in nature.

this is a piece of red brick. I picked it from an abandoned house becuase it has moss on it. It was kept in a larger terrarium for some days before I use it in this terrarium.

3. Cement

Yes. Cement is also very absorbent and conductive. Cement walls are also a place where moss likes to adhere. But it doesn't come in small pieces like bricks. You can't take away a cement wall. You need to use cement to make various shapes you want. There are a lot of tutorials on the Internet, so I won’t go into them. Like the brick, you can put a small piece of cement where moss grows in the wild. to collect moss naturally.

photos will be uploaded later.

Size matters:

The difficult part of making a microscape out of stone is shaping it. It is hard to get a perfect natural rock for your terrarium. The stones need to be reshaped.

There are two ways.

First, Use mechnical and electric tools to cut a large stone into small pieces. Large landscaping tanks and fish tanks use this method. This method is not suitable for small moss tanks. I use the other way.

The second way is to glue small stones together to create the desired shape. Please choose size below 10cm. I use narrow stones with length range 8-12cm, like dragon stones. Volcanic rocks are relatively rounded, I chose small 5-8cm volcanic rocks. Here's how these stones compare to human hands. FYI, the hands belongs to a petite Asian woman.