Moss Hanging Baskets
Moss hanging baskets were made wildly popular by the Victorians. They
had a fascination with moss-lined wirework, everything from hayrack
planters to topiaries, to ornate hanging baskets lined with moss
collected from the forest and swamps.
This trend quickly spread and soon most of North America was enamored
with moss lined hanging baskets.
Traditional Moss Lined Baskets
Traditional Moss Lined basked were made by either collecting moss by
hand or purchasing moss from your garden center then taking the moss
usually soaking the moss, then carefully lining your hanging baskets
building it up layer by layer – much like the way a bird would make its
nest. You can see here how the moss is being built up slowly and then
how plants are being layered into the basket – this is called side
planting and allows you to create “balls” of color vs. just top planting
your hanging basket.
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The Introduction of Alternative Liners
As the moss baskets had to be built layer upon layer which was time
consuming easier alternatives to moss started appearing on the market in
the 1980s. One of the most popular of these was the introduction of the
coco fiber liner for hanging baskets. The coco fiber liner is actually
made from the husk of brown matter that covers the shell of the coconut.
Different methods are used to form the liners – they can be formed by
compression, or molded using some glue and resin. Using glue and resin
has the effect of binding the coconut fiber together almost tightly
together so it forms a mat. This process makes the liners pliable, but
this makes it difficult to make holes for side planting unless you
resort to using a sharp knife
Other liners have also come onto the market they include liners made
from rubber, sheeps wool, hemp and even paper mache'.
Woven Moss Baskets & Hanging Planters
An innovative approach to making “ready to use” moss baskets, has
been the advent of moss baskets where the moss is already attached.
This is done by taking a wire frame, then adding the moss in clumps
and by binding the moss to the wire hanging basket frame using clear
nylon. The moss basket is then built up like a birds nest with the moss
literally stitched to the wire of the basket or planter.
Here you can see two examples of these.
New Sustainable and Eco Friendly
Angel Moss Hanging Baskets
In the last 10 years preformed Angel Moss liners have been marketing
into the USA. Angel Moss is a unique form of sphagnum moss from New
Zealand. By using a patented process this moss is transformed into
preformed liners for hanging baskets. No string glue or any other
additive is used in this process.
One of the great benefits of Angel Moss is that it is actually farmed
and sustainably harvested.
So successful are the farming techniques that the moss actually fully
regenerates every 3-5 years and independent New Zealand studies have
shown there is no negative impact on the environment, the mosses, the
insects or the birdlife – in fact quite the opposite – the farming
actually increases birdlife and supports the natural order of the swamps
and marshes.
This first photo show Angel Moss growing. The second shows it being
harvested. It is interesting to note that the moss is harvested by hand,
no machines are allowed into the swamps lest they disrupt and damage the
swamp. Then the harvested moss is actually collected in large bags and
flown by helicopter out of the swamp to be cleaned, dried and further
processed.
Angel Moss Liners
Angel Moss is a loose spongy moss, with strands between upto 3-8
inches in length. With such long strands Angel Moss lends itself to
being naturally processed into liners.
These liners are pliable and should be planted dry then watered.
Once watered the moss swells to 3-4 times it compressed size and
holds as much as 20 times its own weight in water – giving you more time
between watering.
What a great ALL GREEN alternative to using traditional woodland moss
for hanging baskets. Below you can see a photo of the moss liner being
dropped into a hanging basket and then next to this a photo of a basket
and liner set. For more on moss and how Angel Moss is sustainably
framed click here.
For more information and to order these click here. These great liners
are revolutionizing the hanging basket industry not only because they
are sustainable – but because they are so easy to use, have great water
holding capacity and can be side planted so easily.
For more on side-planting Angel Moss Liners including some great How
Too videos click these great links.
How-To Videos on Planting Hanging Baskets
Side Planting Angel Moss Baskets
For more on liners for hanging baskets.
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