Moss
Silver moss
Bryum argenteum
ModerateOpen jar only
Tiny silvery cushions from pavement cracks. Tough in dry, bright spots.
What the simulation uses
- Light
- 5,000 to 60,000 lux
- The brightness it grows well in.
- Humidity
- 30 to 80 % RH
- Air moisture it is happy in; below the lower end it dries out.
- Temperature
- 10 to 28 °C
- Comfortable range; outside it growth slows.
- Dies at
- below -30 or above 45 °C
- Days beyond these temperatures kill it.
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 7 pH
- Soil acidity it prefers.
- Grows up
- 0.04 cm/month
- How fast it gains height in good conditions.
- Spreads
- 0.09 cm/month
- How fast its edge creeps outwards.
- Thickens
- 1.75 %/month
- How fast its cover fills in on its own ground.
- Copes with wet
- poor
- How well it stands soggy soil; poor means rot comes quickly.
- Copes with still air
- fair
- Sealed jars have still air; poor means grey mould finds it.
- Copes with shade
- poor
- How well it holds on in dim light.
- Copes with drying
- excellent
- How well it survives the jar drying out.
- Water use
- 0.03 ml/cm²/day
- Water that evaporates off the cushion each day in room air.
- Holds water
- 0.3 ml/cm²
- Water a cm² of moss soaks up and keeps.
- Grows on
- soil, stone
- Where it can take hold and spread. Moss that cannot grow on stone thins out there.
Care
- Day length
- 10 to 14 h
- Substrate
- Dry
What kills it
- shade
- closed humid jar
- heat above 30 C while wet
Description
Each cushion stays under about 1.5 cm tall. It shrugs off drying and likes a little extra nitrogen, but shade and a sealed humid jar will kill it. Grow it in an open container and never let it get hot while wet.
Also called silvery thread moss, silver-green moss.
Estimated, where sources were thin: growth rate; humidity_rh_pct.