What soil should I use for growing moss?
Moss can grow on a variety of soils. If you are growing at home, gardening soil, or the soil in your backyard will do. But if you want to plant it on vertical smooth glass like I did, then you need very sticky soil.
I know people who use aquarium glue to fix moss on vertical surface. I tried that too. It also works, but it is obviously not as good as using clay.
(the above live moss wall terrarium is using red clay to stick moss live on the glass panel.)
The reddish soil I am using to make live moss wall is: Tropical Red clay soil.
It is also called red soil, tropical red loam. It is a clay soil because it conatins clay.
Red soil, or red earth, is a natural soil characterized by its reddish color. It is from warm and humid tropical and subtropical regions.
The reddish colour vary from reddish brown to reddish yellow as a result of their high iron content.
How the red soil is developed?
The following answer from ChatGPT:
Soils in a tropical rainforest are typically red due to the presence of iron oxide, also known as rust. This mineral is found in high concentrations in the soil due to the high amount of rainfall and warm temperatures in the tropical rainforest environment. The rainfall and warmth cause the iron oxide to weather and break down, which results in the red color of the soil. Additionally, the high amount of vegetation in tropical rainforests can also contribute to the red color of the soil, as the plants and trees release tannins and other organic compounds that can stain the soil.
Characteristics of red soil:
It is a clay soil.
It is sticky, it is like plasticine when wet and super hard when dry.
It is super great to hold water.
It is super poor in drainage.
Here is the video how to mix it: