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| Euphorbia |
I use gravel..plain old everyday gravel as "top dressing" for my plants..in addition to being visually amenable, it also provides the benefits of 'mulch", in that it helps to mitigate temperature (cools in summer; warms in winter) & helps to retain moisture loss due to evaporation.
It also keeps fresh potting soil from floating when watered & splashing-up on your plants.
Wood chips can also be used as a mulch or top dressing..pine bark, in particular, is often used in northern climes to provide some level of insulation against colder weather & protection from snow; bark or chips that are high in tannin content are sometimes used for plants that prefer ericaceous or acid-loving soil mix.
I have also used decorative rock as top dressing, mostly for miniatures/succulents (as pictured), white, black & mixed which is fine for small plants, but is too expensive for everyday use in growing pots.
So, what is wrong with rock or gravel? It seems entirely appropriate in a semi-arid environment such as so. California, where we are.
And, the answer is "nothing" is wrong with rock/gravel, but there are plants & presentations that can benefit from a "softer look", to say nothing of color..most types of moss are green & green is an excellent background for certain plants & specimens, such as in terrariums, forest settings & some individual plants.
So, what kind of moss should I use, where/how do I find it & what does it cost? Those 3 questions are what this article is all about.
What kind? The commonest recommendation that I found was for sphagnum moss, readily available as a dried product that must be reconstituted, which I found to be a pain-in-the-ass. Soaking, squeezing, too wet, not soaked long enough & when I put it on the plant, it looks like a bunch of straw someone might use to protect their veg patch against a late spring frost.
The latest sphagnum iteration I've run across is "preserved sphagnum", which to me looks like "Astroturf" (if anybody out there is old enough to know the reference)..much like using artificial turf on your front yard.
Someone told me, "just scrape some off of a tree".. I live in USDA 10..our trees don't have moss..this is a semi-arid environment. So, it might make sense to see what the local nursery's sell and the closest to what I'm looking for was Irish Moss.
(to be continued)
Now, over a week since I used the 3% Peroxide, it seems like the browning has not progressed or, at least, not getting any worse. It is hard to see (apologize for the crappy pic), but it looks like there are some bright green needles, indicating new growth, starting to appear on a few inner branches. This might be wishful-thinking on my part, but only time will tell. I don't expect the plant to fully recover..the tip browning is irrevocable..those needles are dead, but if I can see new growth, it may signal that the roots are again starting to deliver nutrition to the plant. 
