If you live in warmer climates, you can find Irish moss at nurseries all year around. Irish moss seeds are best started inside, but they can also be direct seeded outside. How to Grow Irish Moss from Seeds: Sow Irish Moss seeds in starter flats, press the tiny seeds into soil but do not cover. You can propagate the Irish moss by dividing the rootball. Scotch Moss (Arenaria verna) is often confused with its close relative - Irish Moss. The seeds will take between 7 and 28 days to germinate by which time you should notice tiny seedlings appearing. Once planted, the Irish moss needs little care. Or, you can spread a moss mixture onto your fence, foundation, or stones to give them an aura of forest magic. A versatile and lush ground cover, Irish moss works well between flagstones or pavers, along pathways, in rock gardens, along garden edges, in wall pockets, between stepping stones or in containers indoors or outside. Cultivate the soil for Irish moss by digging down an inch or two and then mixing in sand and compost to make the soil drain well. Irish or Scotch moss, also known as sagina subulata, is a beautiful ground cover that grows well in moist climates. An extremely popular groundcover plant, this forms a very low moss-like carpet of bright shamrock-green foliage. The seeds may require irrigation daily during warm weather. Keep the soil continually moist, but not wet, until the seeds germinate in two to three weeks. This can be controlled by occasionally cutting out narrow strips, then pressing or rolling lightly. Sprinkle Sagina subulata seeds directly on the surface of the soil. With a lush, velvety appearance, Irish or Scotch moss forms a luxurious carpet of green or gold, respectively. It's sometimes also referred to as Moss Sandwort. The ground cover seed must be kept moist continuously. Remove weeds and then spade the soil to a depth of at least 6 inches. Use a hose with a fine spray attachment to avoid loosening the seeds. If you want to skip that step, then visit a local plant nursery. How to Grow Irish Moss: Sow Irish Moss seeds in starter flats, press the tiny seeds into soil but do not cover. Put a large piece of cardboard over the Irish moss. Tiny little white flowers begin to appear in late spring. The seeds also need decent light for germination, so give them only a light covering of soil. They take some foot traffic and tend to hump up over time. A member of the Caryophyllaceae family, Irish moss (Sagina subulata), which is not a moss at all, is also called Corsican pearlwort or Scots moss. Growing Irish Moss directly from seed can take two to three weeks. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Cover the seeds with a light coating of sand, making sure you can't see the seeds. # 1 | Sow Irish Moss seeds by pressing the tiny (dust-like) seeds into soil but make sure you do not cover them. Irish moss seeds are best started inside, but they can also be direct seeded outside. How to Grow Moss Indoors Learning how to grow moss indoors is a simple task; in fact, this can be a good project for parents and children to do together. Mix the fertilizer to one-half the strength recommended on the label. Transplant into the garden 6 - 9 inches apart. Irish moss makes an attractive terrarium ground cover or a nice selection for mossariums, moss terrariums. Look for plant growth that is healthy and appears to be growing well. Thereafter, provide approximately 1 inch of water every five to seven days when it doesn't rain, or enough to moisten the root zone to a depth of about 4 to 6 inches. Kept at 64 - 72F, germination is in 14 - 21 days. If you are experiencing problems handling the tiny seeds, measure out an equivalent amount of Irish moss seed in fine sand into a bowl. It does not require much fertilization, and too much nitrogen will cause the plants to form a mound instead of a mat, so do not feed Irish moss regularly. To prevent self-sowing and spreading to undesirable areas, mow Irish moss mats before flowers produce viable seeds. It's not really a plant, it's just a patch of green, well, moss. When you do, plant Irish Moss seeds in starter flats. Plants should be spaced about 10 cm apart unless it is a spreading variety, then they should be grown about 20 cm apart. Choose Irish Moss that is growing well and looks healthy. When I planted I used a mix composed of inexpensive topsoil available from ACE hardware combined with quarter minus gravel (50#) from Oregon Decorative Rock or any local nursery store. It is a good alternative in places where it is difficult to grow grass. Onto your fence, foundation, or stones to give them an aura of forest magic to miniature! 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