Gardening Plant Encyclopedia Water Plants Fairy Moss By Viveka Neveln Viveka Neveln Instagram Viveka Neveln is the Garden Editor at BHG and a degreed horticulturist with broad gardening expertise earned over 3+ decades of practice and study. She has more than 20 years of experience writing and editing for both print and digital media. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on November 1, 2018 Share Tweet Pin Email Fairy Moss Overview Description Add a soft, delicate look to your water garden with fairy moss, which is also known as water fern or mosquito fern. Koi love to nibble on its soft, fuzzy foliage. Because it floats freely on the surface, shading the water as it spreads, fairy moss helps to reduce algae growth. Its colorful fall leaf display is a great bonus; the foliage darkens to purple-red at season's end. Bring some clumps indoors to overwinter in an aquarium or pan of water to replenish the pond supply in the next season. Though it bears the common name fairy moss, this plant isn't a moss at all but rather an aquatic fern. It's native to areas of South America. Genus Name Azolla filiculoides Common Name Fairy Moss Plant Type Water Plant Light Part Sun, Sun Height 6 to 6 inches Width 1 to 3 feet Foliage Color Blue/Green Season Features Colorful Fall Foliage Special Features Low Maintenance Zones 10, 7, 8, 9 Propagation Division Growing Fairy Moss Fairy moss is all about texture. This floating fern is ideal for water gardens of any size. In warm-winter areas where it's hardy, it can grow into a thick cluster that blocks out light below. This reduces the growth of algae and provides habitat for fish. Fairy moss is said to grow so thick that it can even create a barrier where mosquitoes won't lay eggs, hence the name mosquito fern. Enjoy fairy moss as an underplanting beneath taller water-garden favorites like canna or papyrus. These are the best plants for your water garden. How to Care For Fairy Moss Fairy moss grows fastest in full sun (at least 6 to 8 hours of direct light per day), but it tolerates sites that see only morning sun. The less sun it gets, the slower fairy moss grows, which means it is less efficient at blocking algae and slower to improve water quality. This is an easy plant to grow—all you need to do is float it on the water's surface. Once established, it usually grows quickly in warm weather. Once fall arrives, its foliage takes on reddish-purple tones. In areas where it is reliably hardy, you can leave it outdoors in your water gardens. In colder areas, it's best to treat it as an annual; bring some indoors to overwinter in a bright place floating in a large bowl of water or aquarium. Take it back outside in spring after all danger of frost has passed. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit