Hygrolon: A Non-Soil Scaffold For Moss Growth

Ever since the start of my journey into the moss world, I’ve put most of my effort into understanding moss, how it grows, what it likes and doesn’t like and many of the pitfalls that come with experimenting with new techniques. The reason behind all of the testing is that in the hobby of terrarium building and miniature worlds, there is little understanding of the actual practice of growing moss for recreational use.

I treat growing moss the same was you would growing a bonsai tree, the practice of moss growing is very meticulous at times and very sensitive to environmental changes. While there are many techniques to farming moss, there are some that minimize risk and reduce maintenance.

Hygrolon is an effective substitute to traditional moss growth for many reasons:

Reduces moulding in enclosed systems

When it comes to growing and taking care of moss in an enclosed system like a terrarium or a propagation container, one of the biggest issues you will find is the arrival of mould. With normal substrates, the soil is usually comprised of materials prone to decomposing when kept inside a low ventilated, high humidity area. Mould can devastate these ecosystems and ruin your project when left unchecked and is allowed to spread.
Hygrolon takes away the substrate factor which makes the only factor possible of moulding is the moss itself and the debris present amongst its leaves. Always ensure your moss is thoroughly cleaned for the best result.

Pairing Hygrolon with springtails ensures heavy mould prevention, which may be ideal in more expensive projects where spot maintenance is too troublesome or hard to reach.

Moisture Retention

Hygrolon allows objects to retain water where soil cannot be provided. When applying hygrolon to a material, it provides moisture to moss and other epiphytal plants in the same way tree bark retains water in nature.
Through capillary action, hygrolon can also cause water to be transported vertically short distances from sitting water (e.g. a vivarium or pond) to create a permanently moist zone for plants without having them directly sitting in the water. As many vivariums use expanding foam to replicate rocky formations and backdrops, this allows prolonged moisture after hygrolon is glued to the material and replaces the surface.

Even in projects with moss that prefers dry periods, hygrolon also can be placed over drainage trays to allow a well drained area while still retaining enough moisture for growth. This particular application is something that I personally use on mosses that grow on sandy, coastal medium which does not retain much water. As I grow vertically in trays, I had to find a middle ground where the tray had scaffolding to grow, while also avoiding a substrate that can penetrate through the holes at the bottom, ruining the trays underneath.

Grippable Material

One of the things that is most important is that it creates grippable surfaces. There are sometimes projects where materials used cannot be gripped onto by moss, such as plastics, glass or foam. Simply cut hygrolon out to the correct shape and glue it down.

Moss requires a grippable surface because of their rhizoids that are the precursor to modern roots in plants. Hygrolon allows extremely easy rhizoidal attachment, a scaffold for future growth and can also be use for epiphytal plants such as bromeliads and orchids.

Replacing substrate with hygrolon is great when the base material of a large build has the potential to get extremely heavy, When working with a large enclosure that does not consist of a false bottom, its a good idea to pack out some of the ground or backdrop with expanding foam that is then carved into shape. Remember, dirt is not necessary in locations where rooted plants are not present (even more so in the next segment where we talk about unwanted weeds).

An interesting thing to do with hygrolon is allow moss to attach its rhizoids to hygrolon and then use it as a graft on well hydrated walls. It’s much easier to get moss to attach horizontally and then reposition later. Be sure if you choose to use moss vertically, a system needs to be in place to give the moss the moisture it needs, hand watering is very rarely a good choice for long term health.

Weed Resistant

Farming moss can be a very tedious task. When growing moss and using soil there is a very good chance that you will have other plants trying to grow amongst it. Weeding moss is a very important task as it allows the space for a very tight carpet of moss and will eventually render the surface impenetrable for future weeds once fully grown in.
Thankfully hygrolon makes weeding unnecessary or a very easy task. Removing the depth of substrate under the weeds makes the roots unable to take to the soil and penetrate deep which will disturb the soil when being pulled. The key to a healthy and dense carpet of moss is the absense of obstructions and plenty of places for the attachment of rhizoids.