I've been wanting to grow some Spanish moss for a while. Recently, I finally decided to give it a shot.
One of the locations I'm considering is my bathroom, which is upstairs and has an east-facing window,
so it gets a lot of morning sun. I also shower there every night, so it should get a decent amount of
atmospheric moisture. It's also got high places to hang from. So, what do my fellow Texan gardeners
think? Good idea? Great idea? Spectacularly ridiculous idea?
Brandon
Spanish moss...in my throne room
Well, it usually hangs from trees, do you have one in the bathroom?
It gets nutrition from stuff that falls from the tree or blows by in the breeze or gets upchucked by bats or etc. I would guess maybe in a closed situation like a bathroom, it wouldn't get enough nutrients. Probably there's something you could do with bromeliad fertilizer.
Just remember you asked Brandon....your words.
"Spectacularly ridiculous idea" would be my vote. LOL! I can think of so many other things prettier than SM to grow sorry.
Hmm, I suppose I could bring in a container tree. I wouldn't mind a miniature plant
ecosystem in my bathroom, that's for sure. But realbirdlady's bromeliad fertilizer is
a pretty good suggestion, too. I've heard that Spanish moss doesn't have to
grow on trees, just that it happens to be the most convenient place for them.
Hahaha, I appreciate your honesty, Sheila. I know that Spanish moss isn't really
considered pretty in the conventional sense, but I think they're neat. It'd be pretty
cool, too, if I could look up and imagine I was showering out in a swamp in the old
South somewhere. Moody, mysterious, Southern gothic.
Brandon
To each his own as they say Brandon! LOL! Are you from Louisianna or Miss.? I guess I have lived in southern LA too much to want any moss around.
Here are some links about growing spanish moss.
In the first link, step #8 tells you how to fertilize it.
http://www.gardenguides.com/69754-grow-spanish-moss.html
http://www.floridaspanishmoss.com/growingmoss.html
http://reviews.ebay.com/Spanish-Moss-Growing-Instructions-buying-Guide_W0QQugidZ10000000000949141?ssPageName=BUYGD:CAT:-1:LISTINGS:5
Nah, I'm a native Texan, Sheila. I've just got a thing for swamps (and deserts and prairies, too).
It's a good thing Texas has all of that, so I can just move around depending on my mood, without
having to leave my favorite place on earth!
Hey thanks, AJ. That information will come in real handy.
Brandon
Brandon, I can see you are very adventurous guy with a big imagination, I like that, you will have to show us if and when you get that moss going, it should be interesting.
Will do, Josephine!
Brandon
Brandon, Do you live in an duplex or do you own your home? If you own your home you could always add an outdoor shower area to your home/backyard. This is one thing I would love to have.
Well, it's technically my home, but I live with my parents, so I can't just start
building stuff in the back yard. We don't really have space for one anyway,
since my dad is also a gardener.
Brandon
I like the idea. I have this crazy image of old log pieces attached to your ceilings with spanish moss hanging down. Twig art meets gardening art.
C
Haha, I was just going to hang them on shower curtain bars, but the log pieces thing's a pretty good idea, too. I'll have to consider that.
Brandpon
Get you a decorative pot and a tree limb (about as tall as you ceiling) that branch several times. Stick the large end in the pot, fill with sand or cement. Then place a little moss around the pot to cover the cement then drape the rest from the branches.
I could do that. My dad and I prune the live oak trees out in front every spring. I could use the branches from that to hang some moss.
Brandon
LOL! Reminds me of a room I did in a garden theme once. I used tree limbs as curtain rods. Draped the topper sheer over down and up...etc. then entertwinded with silk english ivy.
Hey Brandon...you could suspend a large branch with wire, over the shower area if the ceiling is tall.
Ok now this is getting interesting, make sure if this gets done we get some pics.
C
Brandon-Where in the world did you get the user name goofball? % )
Lisa
Hmm, the wire might not be necessary. The ceiling in my bathroom is high, but the walls are narrow, so I could just nail some supports to the wall and put the tree limb on the supports. That way I don't have to worry about a big log crashing down on me when I'm showering, even though that would be a really funny story to tell my friends. If I get it done, I'll definitely take pictures.
I just like goofball, Lisa. Being a goofball is fun.
Brandon
Oh, googball! I certainly don't want to stomp on your enthusiasm for Spanish Moss. But I was lurking through this thread and thinking how cool it would be to shower in a bathroom full of Spanish Moss (like in a treehouse in Florida) and suddenly remembered the mention of Spanish Moss in a show on the National Geographic Chanel about Hilton Head SC history. Well I thought they said that chiggers or somesuch like to live in Spanish Moss. So I looked it up and found this on a website having to do with hotels and travel (I think): "Few know however, that Spanish Moss is also the origin, (or reason for) the common "good night" saying, "sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite". Nevertheless, a few tourists, who have decided to take a bundle or two home, for souvenirs, have inadvertently discovered the meaning of this phrase. It seems tiny insects called "chiggers' love to hide in Spanish Moss!"
I got the above quote from this website: http://www.hiltonheadhotline.com/article-bed-bugs-and-model-ts.php
Maybe you could spray it with something? What kills chiggers but leaves Spanish Moss alive? There's got to be a way to work around this!
Well, now I'm itching all over!
Chiggers and bed bugs are very different?
It's actually mites, chiggers are a type of mite
Brandon I was being sarcastic I think goofball is perfect. Smile
My friend who is "thrifty" likes to gather moss for her gift shop.
She learned the hard way.
She now puts moss in huge black trash bag.
Sprays half a can of insecticide in it and seals it for a week.
Then she airs it out for a week or so and no Chiggers.
The microwave works too.
I'll have to let her know about that.
I have many baby plants they grow from on my crepe myrtles so let me know if you need some.
We have been down to 26º here and I doubt that phased them, but will look.
Sidney
You know, I've considered the chiggers problem, and I've heard conflicting stories, but it seems that whether or not the moss has bugs depends on the location you get it from. I think I'll look around on eBay or something to see if people who bought some had any trouble with that. Anyway, thanks for the heads up, Terri.
=D! (Still itching!) But it is a cool idea!
I am sure before going to all the trouble of the limb etc., Brandon will see if the moss will thrive in the bathroom...hmmm? As for the bugs...the limbs I used had some type of insect that caused dust on the curtains. So I took them down and placed them in plastic with pesticide worked well. I started to suggest the freezer for the moss, but it and the microwave would kill the plant I bet. LOL!