Consider making some natural “staining teas” !
If you want some moss/algae to start on the surface…. make a tea of horse or cow manure, strain through screen wire to remove solids, then paint or soak the stone.
Collect the springtime racemes from the oak tree and immerse in a bucket of water for several days till you have a darkly brewed tea…………drain off tea and soak the limestone.
Collect several gallons of fresh live moss……place some in a blender with enough water to cover….blend to milkshake consistency……paint the rocks. Repeat batches as needed.
Buy three packages of chewing tobacco (no mint flavored)….put in a glass or plastic gallon jar….add a quart of ammonia, fill balance of jar with water and let age for several days……strain and apply liquid to the rock. This is a very dark collor…..may need dilution with water to a light brown.
Be patient…..mother nature will have the rocks quite mossy by the middle of the summer.
………….Iron Helix
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Thanks, appreciate the ideas. Suspect I'll try them all. Zbalk
The freshly cut limestone will eventually oxidize on its own, as well staining naturally as you said. I actually find this staining very desirable on smoothly cut limestone, as it accentuates the natural grain of the stone.
I laid a bunch of cut Indiana buff last year, and it's already darkened and mellowed considerably--nice stuff.
I experimented with staining limestone blocks for a project where we were considering trying to match new, locally available stone to a darker colored existing stone. I was able to achieve an exact match just by spraying on buff-colored concrete dye, very heavily diluted in water. It worked perfectly, but doing it just felt sort of wrong--I tend to maintain a certain level of respect for the honest characteristics of a given material.