Spanish moss in my trees

Has anyone out there heard of a method of getting rid or controlling this plant in my oak trees, Have heard of spraying some chemical? that does not hurt the trees, but don't know what it is, or possibly have to be licensed to use the stuff. Let me know, Thanks a lot, Roger

Rake it down and send it to me so I can decorate with it? Honestly would love it here.

You might call your county University Extension Service office and ask your local county agent what to use. All my weed books are for the Pacific Northwest and won't have anything about Spanish Moss.

OR maybe a google search might give you something to use.

yeah pull it down, and sell it to yankees that don't know any better.

Are you referring to me? Well I don't think it would cost very much to send a whole bunch of it north and it sure would be appreciated. :>)

I am curious as to why you want to kill it. It does not harm the trees as a rule and looks awsome.

This site lists some interesting stories about and uses for this "moss" But they do not say how to get rid of it.

http://www.co.beaufort.sc.us/bftlib/spanish.htm

Edited to add the missing Link.


This message was edited Oct 19, 2003 8:53 AM

no pond, I wasn't refering to you... just refering to the fact people pay $5 for a lil tiny bag and we could probably bale the stuff up :-)
I really should get a truckload together.

It is parasitic I thought on all trees except live oaks...

Here is a good link about spanish moss, it is an epiphytic plant.. http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/S/Spanmoss.asp I remember doing a report about it in school and was surprised to find out it was in the pineapple family!

I wonder, too, why you want to get rid of it.

Cheri'

You might try spraying it with vinegar if you don't like commerical chemical sprays.Vinegar is an acid that will kill many weeds in wet Washington .

It's probably worth a little test. Ernie.

It is A MYTH that Spanish moss does not harm the trees to which it is attached! It strangles the branches beyond the attach points and people pay big bucks for de-mossing ($1500 for a large live oak e.g.). This is accomplished by climbing the trees and peeling off each piece of the moss.

Years ago when I lived in Savannah (still miss it) we had some moss in our oaks. We got a long bamboo pole, put some kind of a spike through it or maybe attached a crossbar at the top, and put it up in the moss and twisted the pole. the moss tangled in the pole and then we could pull it down...You can't do too much at once or you can't pull it loose.

Are we all talking about the same plant?
Spanish Moss isn't a parasite, it doesn't strangle or starve anything. It's an 'air plant'. The worst it can do is block the sun light. There are many ancient (really ancient!) oaks & cypress trees covered in the stuff here, co-existing happily.

It's great stuff for Halloween decorations and costumes ...

Cheri'

After reading a bit more about it, I see that although it is not a parasitic plant, it can cause damage when it is overly abundant. Seems that due to it's ability to absorb water it can become too heavy and break branches.

Interesting stuff! A moss that is not a moss. A parasite that is not a parasite. Host to many living things. Considered romantically beautiful by some and spookily ugly by others.

I can find lots of information on it but not a thing about how to irradicate it.

Here in Florida people make good money climbing trees and pick'in the stuff!

lol, my daughter used to shoot mistletoe down out of trees before Christmas and sell it in little bunches for 50 cents.

IF mistletoe is available here it usually has plastic beads added to it and can be as expensive as $4.95 for a VERY small bunch.

A friend has a little spanish moss in his greenhouse that he uses at Orchid Shows to decorate with. I really think it is pretty stuff and sometimes I can beg just a little from him for arrangements. I have never seen it available in the stores here.

On a tour bus in Savannah one year, the guide kept saying how poisonous this plant is. I thought at the time she was just protecting the plant from all who would pull it down and take it home. Thus losing one of Savannah's assets.

I have several Oak trees in my yard, but no moss. Trees all over the county have it. Is it possible to just pull it off a tree and hang it in mine?
Pati

Pulling part of it off of one area of my friend's greenhouse and putting onto another has given him a whole new area full of this moss.

Pond, you mean your friend has this moss growing in a greenhouse? I read that it will not grow except on trees. I have been tempted to harvest some and try growing it on a cut branch but figured it wouldn't grow.

Zany, I think the climate in California would be too arid for Spanish Moss. The one problem you can have with it, is that it harbors red bugs (chiggers) and they can eat you alive. I know, I am allergic to them and my bites are about the size of a half-dollar. I once got them picking blackberries and had so many behind both knees that I couldn't bend them......

We have it in some oak stands near here. I am on the coast and it is pretty humid. But we don't have chiggers...at least I don't think so. Are they like ticks?

Zany,
He just hangs it on copper wire loops in the rafters of his greenhouse near the misters and it grows fine. He also soaks it with the same water (with fertilizer in it) that he uses for his orchids. They get fertilizer every five days as a norm. He uses Spanish Moss for his orchid displays at Orchid shows. It really makes a pretty filler for the plants.

I may have to give it a try!

No, chiggers are much smaller, hard to see with the bare eye. They burrow under the skin and are blood suckers but they also emit a poison that makes you itch like crazy. They love to get in tight places like under elastic in your underwear. They also like to get men in the worst possible private places. I had a brother-in-law who was laid up a week and couldn't walk because he was so swollen. The best treatment is a 3-fold approach. First you paint them with fingernail polish (probably cuts off the air from the entry hole), then you take anti-histamines and Vitamin C. That way they only drive you crazy for 2 days instead of 2 weeks or more.

Yikes! They sound absolutly horrid!

I do NOT want to trade for any chiggers.
I do NOT want to trade for any chiggers.
repeat many times. :>)

LOL I Do not want to trade for any Chiggers!
I can get the moss frome trees here where we do not have chiggers :~)

Yeahhhh sounds like Zany has it made.

But we still have not found a solution to Nroger's problem of how to get rid of it from a tree where it is not wanted other than removing it by hand. There must be an easier way than that!

I think you would be amused at how I proud I am of keeping alive a thriving clump (now two clumps!) of Spanish moss outdoors here in California. But that doesn't answer your question, as I assume that moving to CA is not an option for you. :-)

DeepRoots - Better yet give it to the Florida Marlins. They might be able to use the stuff to mop up their stadium next time it rains.

I hope that the Yankees won't need any.

Bird

Send me Some!!!!! ;-)
I'll make cheeses with It LOL!!!

This message was edited Oct 23, 2003 5:22 PM

cheese?

Cheri'

I love Spanish Moss cheese. If you know where to get it please give me the address.

Bird

In da state of wisconsin they make cheese out of anything....LOL
Seriously folks, I would like some =) spanish moss that is.

Dear Nroger,I was in Savannah in June, and I loved the spanish moss hanging from the trees. I live in N.E. GA. and we can't grow it here. I'd love to have your "problem".

If anyone is going to ship some to friends I suggest that you put it in the microwave for a few seconds to kill any "bugs" that makes their homes in the moss. That was what we did when I lived in Florida. Jo

hey,I'll pay postage for any spanish moss ya'll wanna get rid of,I have some that I've keept alive outside in summer,in the GH for winter,but I'd love more...

And yes,I'm one of them dang yankee's who doesent know any better ...LOL

Actually,I stole the moss I have from the side of the road when I was in Georgia,no chiggers but there was the cutest little lizard in it....I wanted to take him home to but DH woundn't let me

No nuked moss for me...I want it au natural =)