Hi everyone,

I have tried unsuccessfully for 3 years to get Irish moss to grow in between pavers. I was transplanting healthy specimens there from 2 different nurseries and they always die. Anyone ever sow Irish moss from seed directly between pavers and have it work?? I'm zone 6, good soil, full sun. Every other weed known to man grows here so I know things can live between the stones. Also, if you know a really easy stepable plant for between pavers let me know...im about to give up on the Irish moss...i just really like it and willing to give it another shot if anyone has advice... thanks!

Hsb

I have never had luck growing Irish Moss but all the Creeping Thymes grow great and bloom in beautiful colors.

Thank you daisyl,

Do you grow the thyme from seed or transplant? Hoping to find something I can grow from seed directly sown because the thought of another year transplanting into crevices with a spoon...ugh. lol.

I started with a couple 6-packs of Creeping Thyme and then started transplanting. But now (4 years in) it has literally taken over my yard - I am pulling Thyme up and feeding it to the garbage can. This stuff could become invasive. But its so pretty! Also, growing amongst other plants (not just pavers), is fine with me - my gardening style is pretty haphazard.

I have heard (on this site) others saying it grows from seed.

Thanks again daisyl....after 3 years of failure I would be happy with something growing so much I have to feed a bit to the garbage can!

My garden is pretty cottage-y so sprawling, meandering plantings are fine...and I like when they sort of just do their thing so I'll definitely check thyme out! Thanks

The Irish moss really needs some shade, and lots of moisture. Many of the mosses will go dormant during hot dry weather and return with cooler wet weather.

I agree with Daisy about using one of the creeping thyme. https://garden.org/plants/sear...
They are usually tough plants and can handle full sun and shade.

Creeping Charlie -- guaranteed to grow, and grow, and grow, and grow....

Thank you all! Will be researching the thymes and Charlie!

Irish moss never grew well in partial sun between my pavers but creeped over to the dwarf leave leaf maple in full shade 3/4 of the day. It's spread behind the tree in full shade.

I guess I picked the wrong plant for the spot. The area gets about 6 to 7 hours of direct sun...

Creeping Charlie, Glechoma, is often considered a weed. It grows rampant in my moist, shady side gardens. I think thyme would be a safer bet in full sun.
I also have golden creeping Jenny, Lysimachia nummularia, it spreads well and is very flat in my partial sun garden. This says full sun OK
https://www.monrovia.com/plant...

I think I'm leaning toward the thyme.... is it too late to plant thyme if I can get my hands on some? Or best to wait till spring?
I don't want to kill anything else...lol

Thanks for all the replies.

I think it is not too late, and a packet of seed is so cheap, why not? But let's see what others say. I've only grown from a shared plant.

I have creeping thyme coming up in the beds from seed self sown by my plants. I would think seed would work very well. Plant it in early spring, the first year be sure to keep it watered and must be soil that drains well.

A few winters ago, I dumped a container of elfin thyme in a bed near the middle of October, temporarily, to overwinter it because I thought it was safer in the ground. Yup. It was safer and I haven't gotten back to the project I had intended to use it for ... I will. The thyme has overwintered well and survived full blazing sun quite well. I have a whole lot more thyme to use when I get back to working on the paths ...

I do need to move it this fall. It's the dang domino effect that is making this necessary. I want to plant another plant in that spot that is not doing well where it is currently sited.

Dang ! Another typo

I adore my Elfin Thyme. That one is tough and always looks good.

Thanks all! The nursery near me had some elfin thyme so I bought one pot so I could test out how it does in this spot. It's a small 7 inch pot....can I cut this in half? Can I take off a good bit of the roots to it fits into the cracks? Thanks

You can take it out of the pot and maybe pull it apart into small sections with roots. Not sure what yours looks like root wise. Can you take a photo of it out of the pot so we can see the base of the plant and the roots?

Sure! Here's a pic! Thanks for the advice!

Wow, you found a nice pot of them! Looks like you could break it up like Lynn mentioned and spread it around. I might have to get some of that again. I've grown it at other homes, but haven't tried it here.