I like to share all that is good, easy & crafty in this world, so today I have 2 easy ways to preserve any moss. I've been preserving moss this way moss to keep its soft texture for about 18 years now.
If you've done any crafting or floral arranging you probably know about Reindeer moss. It's a soft, fluffy moss used as filler in planters and flower arrangements. It's usually dyed a lime green colour which is eye catching, but not completely natural. Like my hair.
Preserved reindeer moss is also very expensive. Like my hair.
In 2014 I tested 2 methods to preserve moss. Here's how they are doing after a decade.
Table of Contents
Method 1
This is how I've been doing it for 18 years. This method will leave your reindeer moss as soft and pliable as the day you picked it for decades. It also works with button moss.
Materials
- Glycerin
- Methyl Hydrate (or Denatured Alcohol)
Where do you get this weird stuff?
- Glycerin is available on the shelf in drugstores
- Methyl Hydrate (or Denatured Alcohol) is available in hardware stores
Instructions
- Step 1: Pick the twigs and leaves out of your moss and send the party goers home.
- Step 2: Mix together 2 parts Glycerin with one part Methyl Hydrate.
- Step 3: Place your moss in the bowl and leave it for 10 minutes or so to absorb the mixture. If only half of the moss is being covered just flip it after 5 minutes.
- Step 4: After the 10 minutes are up, remove the moss, squeeze out the excess mixture and then transfer the moss to another container to drain. Once it's drained, place on a paper towel for more drainage.
Repeat this process keeping new moss in the mixture and draining the already soaked moss.
Hint: The moss may feel like it's going a little bit crunchy at first. That's just the methyl hydrate removing the moisture from the moss. Don't worry. It'll turn soft again. Don't fiddle with it and crunch it up. Just leave it.
Curing: Leave your moss on towels (paper or otherwise) to dry for the next couple of days. Once you can feel it's soft and pliable but not wet, put it in bags or plastic containers until you want to use it. It will stay soft and pliable forever now.
Conclusion: Moss preserved this way has stayed perfectly soft for over a decade as long as it's kept in an airtight container in between use.
Method 2
For this method of preserving moss you need Glycerin, hot water and optionally food colouring.
Materials
- Glycerin
- Water
- Fabric dye
One part glycerin, 2 parts HOT water.*
*If you want to dye your moss green add ¼ cup of fabric dye then add more to get the level of saturation you want.
- Step 3: Mix together the Glycerin and hot water. The point of using hot water is it will help the moss more easily absorb the glycerin.
- Step 4: Put a batch of moss into the mixture and leave it for an hour (or until the mixture has completely cooled).
Hint: To repeat this process with another batch of moss you have to reheat your water and glycerin solution. I dumped mine into an old Tupperware container and just heated it up in the microwave. You could also reheat it over the stove.
You may need to weigh the moss down to make sure it's completely covered by the hot water/glycerin solution.
Store the moss in an airtight container or plastic bag between uses.
Conclusion: Moss preserved this way was more prone to drying out if it was left in the open air but it's still a great way to preserve if you're in a pinch and don't have access to Methyl Hydrate.
I'd like to end today with a poem.
Moss is soft
Moss is green
Moss is where the wormies scream
when you on them step
by accident
by karen
copyright 2014
I'm not sure how much screaming they actually do when you step on them considering they don't make a sound when you accidentally cut them in half with a shovel, but poems are meant to evoke emotions more than truth.
Like political campaign ads.
Karen, I must say you are the hoot of my day! Thanks for being brilliant, funny y
ou. My question is about the dry, preserved moss-in-a-bag one buys at the craft store. I want to apply it to my ring stick wreath thing and have it NOT fall back onto the table. Will it coagulate by doing the glycerin and water process on this moss, too? Or is there something else to use? Hairspray?? I've read to apply with a glue gun, but how do you make the stuff clump and stay together in the first place?
Thank you!
Hello Karen! Thank you so much for the tips 😊! I want to preserve moss, so I cand do some walls inside my home, and I was wondering, as now time has passed, how is the moss preserved with glycerin and hot water? Same result as with the methanol?
Thank you so much for all knowledge you've shared with us 😊!
HI Adina. Yes, I've found the glycerin and hot water to very effective. ~ karen!
Hi Karen,
thanks for an amazing guide!
Now, after a couple of years, can you answer, please, for how long the moss will be soft after using the second technique with hot water and glycerol?
thanks in advance,
Natalia
Hi Karen,
I really need your advice on preserving moss. I brought loads of moss from the woods to create my own moss art. I followed the glycerine and alcohol process. It’s been a week and no signs of drying and now all moss smells really bad, like a weird smell definitely can’t sit with smelly moss art hanging in my lounge. Welcome any advice! Thanks
Hi Umme. That's good that it isn't drying out, right? I mean that's what you want. To preserve it. It might smell a bit, but it shouldn't smell "bad". It will however smell a little like the preservative or even almost - musty for a while, but it shouldn't smell to the point that you can notice it unless you have your face right up to it. Wait to see if it dissipates, in the open air it should. If it's closed up in a storage container, you will be able to smell it when you first open it. ~ karen!
Thanks Karen for your prompt reply.
I have left all the moss out in the garden today, so hopefully it won’t smell as much.
I have never seen a preserved moss before so I was thinking it would be dry to touch. The moss does look very fresh and green but I do get glycerin on my hands so I guess that’s how it is.
Many thanks
Umme
I love your humour 😂
I love that you love my humour. ~ karen!
Can I use isopropyl alcohol? I can't find methyl hydrate nor transparent denatured alcohol here..
Hi Andrea. If you can't get methyl hydrate just use the water method. ~ karen!
I have tried the first option with denatured alcohol and the moss feel soft weeks later but they turn brown. I preserve it right after harvest and for the exact amount of time with the exact measurements. I have not tried the water method yet.
This post has me intrigued. Do you dry your moss before the preserving process? If so, how long would you recommend? I live in a hot and humid place
Thank you for this wonderful post. I have tried to embed dry lichen into resin. It worked great the first time but the second and third time, the lichen gives off a yellowish green colour to the resin. Any ideas on how to prevent this? Thank you. Hazel
Hmm. I'm not sure Hazel. The first thing I would do in that case is probably let the moss rest for quite some time before putting it in resin. At LEAST a month. I have no idea why I'd do that but I would, lol. ~ karen!
Love your article. Couple of questions: 1) Is vegetable glycerin and glycerin USP the same as far as preserving moss goes. 2)DYES-What kind do you use?? --Process??? I'm having real problems with dying my reindeer moss?? -- Mood moss looks painted is this correct?
Thanks for any help you can give me.
Danny
I have experimented with RIT fabric dye as well as food coloring. Thus far, RIT has worked well. I have also used her glycerin and denatured alcohol method and thus far, all of my moss is still soft weeks later. I plan to try it with the hot water method too.
I live in the southern part of America. We have Spanish Moss as well as lots of funguses, and lichens. Looking forward to trying this to preserve them.
Good luck sally! ~ karen
Hi,
I am looking to buy preserved moss for crafting. Would you happen to know if it can be dyed?
Thanks.
Kind regards,
Iulia
Hysterical and exactly what i was looking for. It's been a couple of years now, did the water & glycerin lichens stay soft? Thank you!
Great article!
I would like to suggest that when you make dry moss, make sure each piece of moss is separated. If multiple pieces of moss dry together, they will not be easily removed from each other.
Will this keep the moss green?
i am Majid from Iran
Hi Karen!
i am maid from Iran. thanks for your post.I used this first method for preserving fern but it wasn't successful and the leaves did dried up after 2 days... .what is problem? is this method use only for moss?
Hi Majid! It does need to be moss. That's because moss is absorbent, so it can pull the glycerine mixture into it. With a fern or something that isn't absorbent, the mixture would just sit on the surface. Maybe, maybe, if you let the fern leaf sit for a long time (days) in the mixture it *might* work. But I'm not sure. Good luck! ~ karen
I absolutely will do that and keep the pieces and watch them and report my results as I get them. Thank You for getting back to me so quickly!
Nannette
Obtaining denatured alcohol is problematic and fairly expensive for me since I have to order it online (I Live in the boondocks) with a town of any size over 70 miles away. In your opinion, could I substitute 91% Isopropyl Alcohol for the denatured alcohol and use the same 2/1 mixture as you did in your 1st example and expect similar results?
or would that 9% of water in the 91% Isopropyl foul things up from drying?
Nannette
Hi Nannette! I'm afraid since I'm not an alcohol scientist, I don't know, lol. However, I think it would be O.K. And like I always say, give it a try. Oftentimes things we don't think will work do. :) ~ karen!
Heres a couple ive done in the glycerin and purple meth, no tint from the ourple dye at all and will compare photos after a month to see how it looks, amazing!
Those look great! ~ karen