can we grow Spanish moss in my area?
Lavoie Boho
17 years ago
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17 years agoLavoie Boho
17 years agoRelated Discussions
Spanish moss pollution sensitivity
Comments (19)Hi Gonz and Lisa, Thanks for the interesting links. Now I know where the name came from. Also another very interesting pice of information from Gonz's article: Why Moss is Desirable for Stuffing: No known insect will attack moss fibre, eat, destroy or live within it. I wonder if the same applies to the living moss, and if so, could it act as a deterrent to insects if it is draped around the top of pots containing broms? For those who don't know of Lantana, it is a real pest in Australia as the description from a recent A.B.C. Gardening Australia fact sheet explains: "Lantana camara might look like a strikingly attractive plant and in some respects the foliage and flowers are quite beautiful. The species is a genus of the verbena family, native to Mexico, the Carribean and Central and South America. But it is now known as a weed of national significance and is regarded as one of Australia's worst weeds. It's invasive, it has potential to spread and it is impacting on the economy and the environment. Lantana was first recorded in Australia in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens in 1841, and a few years later it had spread to gardens up the east coast of the country. By the 1860s it was reported as a weed in both Sydney and in Brisbane. But in spite of its weed status, a few specimens are located in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. Botanica calls lantana the "Jekyll and Hyde of plants" because it's reviled in warmer, wetter parts of world, where it invades pastures and forests and is poisonous to stock, but in cool, temperate parts of the world it forms quite an attractive shrub. Lantana is a problem because it forms a dense thicket. It usually invades disturbed land and river margins, particularly open, sunny areas. Given the right conditions, it spreads quickly. Lantana is a lalopathic, releasing chemicals into the surrounding soil to prevent seed germination, notably of the native flora, so that it eventually takes over native bushland. As with other successful weeds, lantana can spread in different ways. It layers - that is, it produces roots from where the plant touches the ground, and that produces new plants. But more importantly it's propagated by seed. These are ingested by birds and foxes, which spread them through their droppings. This means it can spread over a distance very quickly. But perhaps more importantly, it can produce up to 12,000 seeds from one plant in a year. No wonder it's become a problem weed." I know it's a bit off track but just out of interest for other GW members, I once had an orchid growing mate (about 40 years ago) who had a cousin who owned a farming property in Northern NSW and on his property Spanish Moss didn't grow on the trees, but instead was prolific in amongst the Lantana bushes. Most Australian farmers will quickly eradicate any Lantana on their property but my friend said his cousin preferred to leave it there because he liked the look of the enormous clumps of Spanish Moss hanging from it. It worked for us too, because every time my mate came back from up north, he would bring a large bag full of moss with him which we shared and hung above our orchids, and that is where the Spanish Moss I have in my garden today originally came from. I know it's a useless bit of info., but there it is. All the best, Nev....See MoreHow often to water Spanish Moss?
Comments (12)Thanks for the replies! Wally - It's a common and persistent misconception in the South that Spanish Moss harms plants. It's an epiphytic bromeliad, an air plant, that does not harm trees any more than any other epiphyte. These plants grow from only nutrients they collect from the air or from water that runs off the tree, and they have no roots to penetrate, strangle, or otherwise harm the tree. When you have a tree that's already stressed, diseased, dying, or what have you, the plant can aggravate those problems when it grows faster than the tree and weighs down branches and shades what remaining leaves are last. Spanish Moss can and does grow on healthy trees, but it grows faster on dead/dying branches because they are rotting and leaching nutrients. It's not the moss that kills it though. Since I have a lot of family in southern Louisiana, which has probably the densest Spanish Moss growth of anywhere, I've seen lots and lots and lots of the stuff throughout my life. The vast majority of trees down there have tons of Spanish Moss growing on them, and they are perfectly healthy. Our climate out here is also vastly different from the South... It's not unusual for us to not see a single drop of rain during May, June, July, August, September, and well into October. Spanish Moss can tolerate drought, but it will go dormant. We get all of our water during winter when it's cold, and Spanish Moss also goes dormant at temperatures below about 50 degrees. So between the hot, dry summer and the cold, wet winter, there really isn't an appropriate time for Spanish Moss to grow naturally in California. It will only grow when it can receive moisture from people during the summer, and therefore the chance of it becoming invasive in California is basically nil. Kathi - That's great to hear! Is your Spanish Moss flowering at all? How about your other Tillandsias? Do they spend the winter outdoors or do you bring them in? Spanish Moss can handle freezes no problem, but I always thought the other species were more sensitive to low temperatures....See MoreCan I get Moss to Grow under my Pine Tree?
Comments (1)I believe that the link below is for a plant that will survive your conditions. Note that the plant will die down once flowering is done but will regrow from creeping rootstocks. I have some planted in a pile of soil, concrete pieces, and branches that I dumped on top of a driveway. You would not know it. Can provide photo if you wish to see. Let me know. From what I have seen of understory in pine forests or under pine trees (in California) , it tends to be rather sparse or just pine needles. You may need to provide some water when the new growths begin to emerge but it depends on your weather. You can tell if it wilts back that it needs it. Here is a link that might be useful: Ceratostigma plumbaginoides...See MoreSpanish Moss
Comments (47)Sometimes I like searching on topics and seeing what old threads come up from GW. I found this one when doing a search for "Live Oaks in Virginia Beach". This thread is now 7 years old, and honestly it really astounds me at the amount of misinformation that that is contained in this thread. The final poster, directly above me has it pretty much as right as right can be. Spanish Moss is a NATIVE, NON invasive plant in Virginia, and, does NOT kill trees. I know a few on here might beg to differ, but as the previous poster points out, a little bit of research goes a long way. Also, having visited First Landing State Park just last week, I can assure you that the native Spanish Moss in that park, is every bit as "bodacious" as that found anywhere else in the south. It is not as wide spread all over the area no, but in the areas where it does grow, there is ALOT of it, and it is thick / dense, and very healthy forming long "beards" sometimes 10+ feet long. I also did see it in several places outside of the immediate coastal areas in Va Beach, including Norfolk/ Portsmouth, and in Isle of Weight co near water, and along the James river. Not as much of it as along the ocean / southern Chesapeake, but it is there. Being from Northern VA, and having attempted Spanish Moss outdoors a few times here I can say that I only successfully got it to survive for 2-3 winters, and that is along the immediate tidal Potomac River. I can not speak to the success of it in other areas here in the northern part of the state, nor Maryland, however I have traveled extensively in the lower eastern shore of MD, and into many swampy areas along rivers and the Chesapeake, and have never seen it anywhere. If you have not been to Va Beach lately, it has changed alot in many ways in the last 10-15 years, including seeing much more southern vegetation, including many palms. Sabal Palmetto trees are a common site there now, almost as common as Myrtle Beach, SC, and many of which are left unprotected now. There are also numerous mature Pindo Palms, Windmill Palms, Sago Palms (Cycas Revoluta) Oleander, many southern Yucca species... etc. Fun thread, great read, and a few great laughs at all the misinformation found in here....See Morerhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
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