The Samia Rose Method of Planting Moss-Filled Tabletop Topiary
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PREPARING TO PLANT THE TOPIARY
1. Start with a sturdy and properly built wire frame. Make sure the animal or figure is easily recognized before it is planted. The design will not improve when stuffed and planted.
2. Soak the sphagnum moss until it is soft, pliable and completely saturated. This may take from one hour to eight depending on the size of your project. Try to gauge how much moss you will need and only soak enough for your project.
3. Use ivies with long runners. Water the plant thoroughly a few hours before planting in the topiary. Allow the plant to drain completely before planting. If the plant is dry, it may have a harder time adjusting to the new living quarters inside the topiary.
STUFFING AND COVERING THE FRAME
Begin to fill the frame by tightly stuffing all the extremities like legs, ears and tails. These areas should be evenly packed and very firm. The moss will shrink slightly when it begins to dry. Packing tight helps to hold in moisture.
Use sewing thread to hold the moss as you pack the figures. Choose an inexpensive thread in brown or dark green. There is no need to tie knots, wind over the beginning several times and do the same when the moss is secure. Snap off the thread, if it is tight it will not unwind.
Once all the limbs are filled, cover the frame with a thin layer of moss. If you want to enhance the original frame design, add moss and shape now. Whatever shape you form with the moss will be the final form of your topiary. Again wind the thread to hold the moss in place. The tension of the thread helps to keep the shape of the figure.
Continue to fill the entire frame leaving a hole or pocket to plant the ivy (or a few spaces) in the main part of the body.
PLANTING THE TOPIARY
Plant the ivy into the largest part of the body and lead the runners along the moss to the extremities (head, tail, legs, and other areas).
To plant, first remove the ivy from the pot.
Generally, it is best to use small pots of ivy with long runners such as 4" pots. It is possible to use 6" pots of ivy but it will be necessary to remove it from the pot and divide the plant. The pot will probably have several individual plants and it can be separated by carefully pulling apart the root ball area observing where the stems are coming out of the soil.
Although it is best to leave as much of the soil as possible around the roots, sometimes the root ball is too big to fit into small frames. Gently loosen the soil with your fingers and remove small amounts until the root ball fits the opening of the frame. Insert the roots into the pocket reserved in the moss. Cover the roots with moss and be sure it is firmly packed and covered with moss. All roots must be covered. It is okay to plant ivy deep into the moss as the stem parts inside the moss will send out additional roots.
ATTACHING THE IVY
Use fern pins to anchor the ivy to the moss. The entire length of the ivy stem should be pressed against the moss so that the ivy can root in. The ivy will send out roots and they grow down into the moss and hold everything together.
FINISH BY TRIMMING
Once the topiary is completely planted and the runners have all been pinned down, it is time to trim off any extremely large leaves and excess ivy. This helps to bring the topiary into scale and gives a finished over-all appearance.
When first planted, many of the leaves are turned with the underside up. Since ivy is photo-sensitive, within 48 hours all the leaves will turn toward the light and be right side up. The topiary will look 20% more covered once this happens.
As the topiary begins to grow, pin down runners until it is completely covered or cover to your desire. (For your design, you may want some of the moss showing.) After it is covered, trim off excess ivy.
When moss-filled topiary are first planted it is a good idea to keep them in a shady location and spray over them with water several times each day. After three or four days your topiary should be acclimated and spraying over can be reduced to one or two times daily. Eventually, the ivy will be well anchored and misting is not necessary. However, if you live in a hot dry climate, misting is always helpful.
WATERING IS CRITICAL
There are two ways to kill your ivy topiary. 1) overwatering 2) underwatering. Watering is critical with moss-filled topiary.
Check your tabletop creations daily. If the moss feels dry water thoroughly. If it is not dry --- do not water. Remember, if you overwater the roots become saturated to the point that there is no air and this will damage or kill the plant. At the same time, if the moss becomes to dry it will act as a sponge and rob water from the plant. When it is time to water, make sure water is penetrating the moss and soaking into the roots.
For more information on watering and maintenance check out: Care Tag and What's That Crawling On My Ivy.
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