How to Preserve Moss — In-depth Guide

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Moss is one of the simplest plants to use for art projects. Preserved moss is also what is used to make what looks like a living moss wall indoors. 

The reason preserved moss needs to be used indoors is because of the water weight it holds. 

It is expensive to have a living moss wall inside a home because of the drainage requirements. The safer alternative is to use preserved moss. 

Given that there are thousands of moss species, you could spend a small fortune buying packets of moss from arts and crafts stores. The affordable approach is to harvest your own moss and master how to preserve moss yourself. 

It is an extremely affordable project requiring just two solutions. Glycerin and denatured alcohol. 

Read on to discover a simple 4-step process to preserve any type of moss 

Moss is preserved with a solution of 1 part methyl hydrate, plus 2 parts glycerin mixed with 3 parts of warm water. Preserved moss can lose its color. Food coloring, acrylic paint, or fiber active dyes can be used to restore color or make moss any color you want. 

Harvesting moss for preserving 

If you buy moss and want to preserve it, it should already be clean. Harvested moss taken from the wild will need to be cleaned first to remove any clingers. 

Worms, bacteria, mold, and fungi can be present in wild moss. To sanitize it, and clean it up ready for preservation, remove the roots, any loose debris, rinse the leaves, and let it dry. 

For rare moss finds that you want to grow more of, learn about how to grow moss indoors so that you can keep it around, on-demand for any project you fancy using it with. 

Preserved moss is final. Once moss is soaked in glycerin, it cannot be revived like dried moss can.

Mix a preservation solution 

Colors are preserved on moss using glycerin. The texture is preserved with methyl hydrate (denatured alcohol). 

For preserving the color only, glycerin (sometimes called glycerol) does that. Methyl hydrate gets added to the mix to retain the moss’s texture. 

The ratio to use is 2 parts glycerin and 1 part methyl hydrate with 3 parts of warm water.  

Soak the moss

For the preservative to take, it needs to have time to work. Give it at least ten minutes with all the moss submerged. If you have a shallow bowl and tall moss species to preserve, it may need to be flipped over and soaked again to ensure the preservative takes. 

Give all the moss leaves ten minutes soaking in the solution, then remove them to dry. 

It is common for the moss to float to the top of the water so have something handy to weigh it down. A sheet of plastic with a stone placed on top will hold the moss underwater. 

The parts that float above the water will not be coated in the preservative. Weight it down to make sure it takes. 

Drying moss

The longest part of the preservation process is drying time. When you remove it from the solution, squeeze as much moisture out of the plant as possible, then rest it on a paper towel to let it air dry. 

If you’re preserving batches of moss, you may need to repeat the process as many times as needed until you have all the moss you want to preserve treated. 

How to preserve and dye moss 

When moss dries, it dies. The color fades. Dye can be added to the glycerin solution to restore the color or change it entirely. That is why you can buy preserved moss in so many colors. 

Preserved moss is water with dye. The coloring can be from a fiber active dye, food coloring, or acrylic paint mixed in warm water. Fiber active dyes need to be mixed with cool water. 

The lighter color of the moss is, the better the dye will take. Reindeer moss and Spanish moss (although neither are technically true mosses) absorb dye better because they are lighter. 

It is much easier to dye a white moss than it is to turn a pale green moss or brown moss to purple or red with dye. 

If you are working with a true moss that the color has drained during the preservation process, these same steps can add color back into preserved moss. 

Use an appropriate container

Use a container deep enough to soak the quantity of moss you put in it. 

For a small amount, a small disposable plastic container would be better suited than a cooking pot.

Especially if you use acrylic paint and not a food-coloring that would be safe for foods. 

Avoid contaminating kitchen bowls and cooking pots with dyes by using disposable plastic containers.  

For ease of working with the moss, plastic trays do the trick. Something in the style of a cat litter tray. A flat base and tall raised edges with enough space to stir the moss around in the paint and flip it over if need be. 

Soaking time for dyes

Leave moss to soak in the dye for longer so that the color pigments are absorbed. Moss can be left for days in a sealed container soaking in dye. 

Protect your hands when handling wet dyed moss

Once you have the color density you like, wear rubber gloves when removing the moss or your hands will get dyed. 

Line a tray with sheets of kitchen towel ready to lay the dyed moss on to dry.

When you remove it, squeeze out as much water as possible, then lay the moss on the paper towel to dry. It could take 24 hours or longer before it is ready to work with. 

Once dry, it will look like real moss. It will be dead though so water can be used on preserved moss to blast off dust. 

Preserved moss is treated with the steps outlined above. Dried moss is just dehydrated. Watering dried moss can bring it back to life. 

Spritzing preserved moss will not bring it out of dormancy because the glycerin kills it. The dye gives it color. 

Once the moss is preserved and dyed, it can be used for any indoor décor. Even as a substitute to some of the best moss species for bonsai trees without the fuss required to keep the moss alive and trimmed. 

How to Preserve Moss for Wall Art

To preserve moss for a wall art display, provided that you want color vibrancy, the process is this:

• Buy or harvest moss
• Clean it
• Dry it
• Soak in a glycerin solution with either 1 part glycerin with 2 parts warm* water, or 1 part denatured alcohol with 2 parts glycerin, along with any coloring you want to have.
  • The more dye you apply, the darker the color hue will be. Use one tub for each color you want to have in your art.
  • When soaking the moss, a sheet of plastic can be placed over it and then weighted down with a stone/rock to keep all of the moss submerged.
• Leave it to soak for a few days
• Take it out, drain it on a layer of kitchen towel, and leave it to dry for a few days. When handling the dyed moss, wear gloves to protect your hands because provided you mixed it right, the solution will stain everything it comes into contact with. Your fingers too.

*The water needs to be warm for the glycerin to become absorbable. As glycerin is a fat, warm water acts as a thinner, and then the moss can drink it up, replacing the water with glycerin. Adding denatured alcohol speeds the process along.

Creating Wall Art with Preserved Moss

For this part, you will need:

• A backing board – MDF or cardboard
• Hot glue gun
• Any additional props prepared such as dry-pressed flower petals or alternatively faux plants or even air plants can be used if you leave the frame unglazed.

Everything you are working with needs to be 100% dry before attaching it to any framing materials, be it a wood frame, or heavy gauge board as those will absorb moisture. 

Any material made of pulp absorbs moisture so rot damage can occur. Guard against it by thoroughly drying your moss first.

It is best to lay out your art design until you settle on the final wall art before sticking it as hot glue sets fast. When applying the hot glue, use something like a stick to apply pressure. Do not let your skin come into contact with the hot glue as it is extremely hot and sticky.

Each piece you apply should have pressure applied for a few moments to ensure a firm bond between the preserved moss and other materials with the backing board. 

Once everything is stuck in place, leave the design on a flat surface for at least 12 hours to ensure all the glue is hardened before hanging it on the wall.

Preserved moss wall art can be displayed with or without glazing. As the moss will have been preserved with glycerin, misting can be done to dislodge dust without it causing runoff of the dye.

How to Preserve Moss without Glycerin (Without Chemicals)

Moss cannot be preserved without a chemical compound to replace the moisture. Without moisture, all you have is dehydrated moss. It will begin decaying. Peat moss is the result of decaying moss. 

How to Preserve Moss on Wood

Preserved moss on wood requires the wood to be preserved before affixing the preserved moss to it. It is a two-part project.

Any piece of wood can be used to affix preserved moss onto, and both can be placed in terrariums and even aquariums.

The only requirement to preserve moss on wood is that both the moss and the wood need to be treated separately. With wood, the risk is rot and that is caused by a mixture of humidity, air, and temperature.

With the right treatment though, a piece of wood can be kept submerged in an aquarium. It will degrade eventually, but not before a good couple of years in use.

Driftwood is a common piece of kit used for decorating fish tanks. You can preserve the wood and attach preserved moss to it.

The process to preserve driftwood – or any other wood type – is to clean it thoroughly to get rid of lingering bugs, fungi, and bacteria.

That can be done by scrubbing the wood with a hard-bristle brush, soaking it in a solution of bleach, or baking it at 200°F for a couple of hours.

A step-by-step process to preserve wood

Step1: Brush loose debris off it

Use a hard bristle brush to clean away any loose parts of the wood and dislodge much of the dirt. 

Step 2: Clean with bleach

Bleach is pertinent to use as it kills off pests, fungi, and bacteria. Too strong a solution though and it will bleach your wood white. 

If you want to keep the natural color and grain texture of the wood, use a heavily diluted solution of 240 ml of bleach to 19 liters of water.

For simplicity, use a 20L bin filled to near the top, add 240 ml of bleach, then drop your wood in it to soak for a few hours. 

If it floats to the top of the water, weigh it down with something like a rock. Leave the wood submerged in bleach for 6 to 8 hours. 

Step 3: Remove and dry the wood

Remove the wood from the bleach solution and let it air dry outdoors for at least 12 hours.

If you want to use the wood in an aquarium or terrarium, the wood will need a strong and long rinsing to remove bleach residue. 

If you are intending to place the wood in an aquarium, be sure to clean it intensively after it has been soaked in bleach to avoid toxins leaching into the tank, posing a danger to aquarium life – fish and plants within it.

Step 4: Let it cure

Once the wood is dried, the next thing is to let it cure. You can do this by leaving it exposed to direct sunlight outdoors for 15 days or longer.

The faster method is to bake the wood. 

To speed up curing, place the piece of wood on a baking tray and bake for a couple of hours at 200oF.

The time it takes wood to completely dry depends on its size.

The bigger it is, the longer it takes to dry. 

Once it is dry, it is ready to be used in art projects.

For use as a wall display, it can be treated with varnish, epoxy resins, or painted. 

For use in enclosed wet or humid environments, leave the wood natural to prevent contaminating plants or aquatic life with runoff chemical residue.

How to Affix Preserved Moss to Preserved Wood

Once your preserved moss and the wood is prepared, then attach your moss to the wood. For use as wall art, hot glue can be used. For use in aquariums or terrariums, use a super glue marked safe for aquariums. 

Hot glue is not intended to be used on wet surfaces so it is unlikely to hold its bond for long in an aquarium. 

For use in fish tanks, use a glue that contains primarily Ethyl Cyanoacrylate, or alternatively, just use silicon making sure it is 100% silicon with no additives such as chemicals added to improve cure time. 

Once your moss is stuck onto the wood, allow 24 hours for the glue to fully dry. 

Once dried, use it however you need to for your project. As a decorative piece of wall art, in a terrarium or an aquarium.  

Frequently Asked Questions related to how to preserve moss

Can lichens be preserved? 

Lichens and moss are most suited to glycerin preservation. The same technique of soaking in a solution of glycerin preserves moss and lichens. Adding the denatured alcohol preserves the texture. 

Are all plants suited to glycerin preservation? 

The vast majority of plants can be preserved with glycerin. Not always with denatured alcohol. Petals on flowers can shrivel when they dry out too fast. For preserving florals to include in a moss display, use just the glycerin on the flowers, and with or without methyl hydrate for moss and lichens, depending on whether you want to preserve the texture.