Topiary Supplies

What does each supply actually do?

• Sphagnum moss, bags and bales — the packing medium: one cubic foot fills eight to ten mini frames, three to four small, or one medium; large frames take two-plus. The 46-pound bale is the workshop quantity.
• Live woodland moss rolls — surface dressing for planters, bases and displays that want an instantly finished floor
• Green moss spray — the refresh: brings weathered moss back to color without repacking, the same product our refurbishments use

How do I use them well?

Dampen sphagnum before packing and pack it harder than feels polite — the technique, with photos of what “packed hard” means, is in the mossing guide. Refresh moss once or twice a year, plant into it inside six months if a living coat is the plan, and keep the spray for the day the color tires. Frames to fill are one shelf over: wire animal frames.

Refresh, replant or repack — which does a tired piece need?

Read the moss. Dulled color on a firm body wants the green spray — ten minutes, done. Firm but thinning wants fresh sphagnum worked in with the old, once or twice a year. A body gone soft or hollow needs repacking, and if the piece has sat dry for years, moss and all may be past saving — at which point the honest fix is a repack and a plan: plant into it within six months, or accept the spray as an annual ritual.