I can recall a trip to the woods long ago, in my childhood, on a “Lichen-Hunt”. Now that I am in the scenery stage of my new layout, I’d like to go get some again, but I can’t remember what time of year is best for gathering lichen. I went out to our old “place” last fall, but couldn’t find anything. (probably too many leaves on the ground)? Can anyone give me a few hints??
Thanks.
Todd
Be aware it is often illegal to remove native plant material in some states,
You need to fill out your profile data so people know where you are located. The time of year you can find lichen depends a lot on your location.
Since lichen is a form of fungus, I have serious doubts about it being illegal to harvest it. You will probably have to clear away the fallen leaves from around the base of the trees. After the first thaw is probably the best time of year to find it.
The lichen sold in hobby stores is dried and sanitized. I would be leery of using fresh, live lichen on a layout. And don’t even think about putting it in the microwave as some people suggest doing with dirt from your back yard.
After the the first frost when the chiggers are gone.
Harold
Keep in mind you can’t just pick the stuff and plant it on your layout … once it dries out, it will just crumble to dust !!! The lichen will have to be boiled in a glicerine bath in order to preserve it. You will probably also want to add some dye to the mixture as the natural color of lichen is rather pale.
I still have a couple garbage bags full of lichen I processed years ago and it’s still as soft and supple as the day I processed it. Unfortunately it will probably never get used as I have since discovered ground foam and static grass which looks much better. The lichen that WAS installed on the layout was removed in favor of these new discoveries. It was actually a lot easier to make my own ground foam than to trapse through the bush picking lichen and treating it !!!
Mark.
There are many different varities of lichen. If you have an art/craft store near you, try there. I saw it in one and the stuff was cheap and already “debugged” in different colors, but natural colors not dyed. Lichen is a year round vegetation, deer feed on it, especially in winter (it becomes dormat and dry) if there is no other available food source!
The Ground foam is alot easier to use than lichen. Lichen is the old school method and over time it will loose color and crumble to nothing, unless you keep sraying it. Kevin
Michaels. You only need a little to add variety to the scene. Ground foam, clumps, and supertree parts all work better as the others have said.