I had a new team member recently ask me about moss in oak trees and if it causes damage to trees. After giving him the answer, I immediately thought it that may be a great question some of our clients may have too. There are a lot of conflicting answers out there, so I thought I'd write about it and clear things up. In our local landscape, the moss that hangs from trees (and that you see in the photo) is Spanish moss, and it is part of the scenery.
Some of us love it and some of us hate it, and a lot of us wonder if we should be worried about Spanish moss hurting our trees.
It's hard to imagine the Gainesville landscape without a little Spanish moss, which is especially common on our large oak trees. Interestingly, this is actually not a moss at all and is more closely related to the pineapple of all things. Spanish moss does not get any of its nutrients from the tree and instead takes water and nutrients in from the air. It's only using the tree for support. I know a lot of us have heard that Spanish moss can kill trees, but since it isn't a parasitic plant the moss is, depending upon the amount of it, harmless. Often times we'll see a large oak with lots of moss that appears to be dying, but in most cases the tree was in decline for some other reason and the moss just has had more opportunity to grow as the canopy thins out.
There are a few things to watch out for when it comes to Spanish moss though. First, if there is too much moss on a tree the excess weight, especially when wet, can weaken the branches and make them more prone to falling - endangering anything it is over. The second issue to look out for is if the moss is so empowering that it begins to reduce the amount of light the tree gets. When this happens, it affects the tree in a negative manner in both weight (when it's wet) and nutrient availability (sunlight). The third concern is red bugs, also known as chiggers, that live in the moss.
Finally, for some of us Spanish moss is just an eyesore. The good news is that if you're worried about moss hurting your trees, getting chiggers from being under the tree, or just tired of it being an eyesore - we can help you with removal. We have an environmentally-safe liquid treatment that will help remove or thin the moss from your trees over a one-year period. with just 2 or 3 applications. It's completely safe for the trees, plants underneath the trees, and children/pets. Call us today for an estimate on removing or thinning the moss in your Gainesville landscape.