02/08/2026
Moss is a fascination for many, it can supplant the lure of clay when people book my workshops.
If you need to forage for moss, look in shady, damp spots: the base of walls, roof tiles, pavement cracks, tree bark, and woodland floors. It’s best gathered after rain, and only ever take a little from any one patch, leaving plenty behind to keep regenerating.
Not all moss behaves the same way once potted; some prefer to cling to rock or bark rather than sit in soil. Good ones for mosspots:
• Bryum species — common on soil, walls, and disturbed ground; forgiving and easy to establish
• Ceratodon purpureus (redshank moss) — tolerant of poorer, drier soil; common on paths and open ground
• Tortula muralis (wall screw-moss) — good if your pot gets a bit more light, tends to cope with drier spells better than most
Cushion-forming mosses generally do better in a pot than the flatter, sheet-forming types, which prefer to spread over a solid surface like bark or stone.
Robin Wall Kimmerer has written a beautiful book called moss, I recommend the audible version since her voice is mesmerising - thank you Nancy Hughes for the recommendation!
Caring for moss
• Mist, don’t drench moss drinks through its surface, so a light daily spray (morning or evening) does more than heavy watering
• Move it out of direct sun even shade-tolerant moss will bronze and crisp in extreme heat; a shaded windowsill or dappled spot is safer
• Don’t panic if it browns moss is remarkably resilient and often revives with consistent moisture even after looking crispy
• Rainwater over tap water if you can moss is sensitive to the chlorine and minerals in tap water, so let the gas evaporate for 20 mins
If lime scale occurs, due to the pot being unglazed, you can sand or scour it off easily
