Storing moss

Credit: Flickr / secret agent X-9

Q: Our garden is in zone 8b, which is shaded by the forest behind us most of the winter. This year, with the mild temperatures and moisture the moss on the trees, lawns and garden is prolific. We really don’t mind as it looks beautiful to us! Generally in May we’ll pick it to use for our hanging baskets, but by then most of it’s pretty dried up. Could we pick it now while it’s abundant and store it in plastic bags until we’re ready to use? Keep it in a cool shady place?

I haven’t tried storing mosses in plastic bags through winter. I do know that mosses are able to dehydrate and then rehydrate and keep growing. This is how they survive our dry summers. So you might just pick it in the spring and soak it to rewet it.

If you store it in plastic bags, I think you should punch some holes in the bags so they will have some air circulation. Otherwise they might begin to get mouldy. Burlap bags might work better. Let us know how it works out!