PlantFiles: Heath Pearlwort, Scottish or Scotch Moss
Sagina subulata 'Aurea'

OK. Both Scottish Moss and its kissing cousin, Irish Moss look neat in the pot. There is no doubt that, in the right environment it looks fantastic. The problems I've had with it are related to getting it to survive. It doesn't do well in lots of sunshine. As others have said, it does great in areas with more shade. This is the usual thing for real moss, so I am not surprised. But the thing that is a real problem with it is its roots. They weave around eachother, forming a dense mat. Not bad in the ground, but I was trying to use it in bonsai pots. The roots so dominate the pot that they choke out everything else. In a bonsai pot, where there really isn't a lot of space for roots to start with, this smothers the trees and kills them. Happened with about a dozen Japanese Maples this winter, as well as half a dozen conifers. Man, the moss looked great in the spring, but the trees died.

Underplanted this around rose bushes, looks very pretty with fallen petals on it. Creeps quite rapidly especially with frequent (every other day) watering.

Here in northern California, it doesn't seem to like all-day sun. It does well in the area I planted which gets afternoon shade, but not further down the path where it gets 8 hours of summer sun a day.

Ive had this plant for about four years. Definantly brightens up any spot; love it! Mine is in partial shade and can handle a fair amound of drought. It forms a dense carpet of gorgeous neon-golden foliage. Is a slow-creeper. Has tiny white flowers in the spring. Ive found many slugs hinding out in it, but they dont seem to be actually eating it. By the way, it helps to make sure that there are absolutely no weeds growing in the spot before you plant it; its very difficult to pull them out from the groundcover.

This plant needs more shade here in Utah and regular irrigation to do well. The chartreuse color is lovely in the partly shaded areas of the garden and glows against the Black mondo grass, Daphne and Acer palmatum 'Sango Kaku' that it is planted near. It handles our alkaline soil and city water quite well.

See the species' entry.
Also takes alkaline soil (pH 8+) and amended clay as well. Very dividable for ground-covering. Stands out better than the species and works well for brighter-color landscapes.
Try growing it around some red things or black things (Cannas, Ophiopogon or black viola) and contrasting bulbs (Scilla, small Frittilaria or best: Saffron) to make your individual flowers appear prettier than they really are! Same goes for that favorite rock that you picked up on a hike, which everyone else thinks is some sort of construction debris in your garden.

My Scotch Moss has small chartreuse flowers in early spring. It can handle a lot of sun, dries up if left without water, but returns in early spring. It transplants easily and the clumps spread quickly.

I purchased it for a groundcover in a fairy garden with miniature roses. Forms a neat, soft carpet of chartreuse green. No particular problems.