The Ugly Truth about Ball Moss (Tillandsia recurvata)
Many have cried out in despair: The ball moss is killing my tree. How do I get rid of all that ball moss? It’s killing my tree! Yes, the ball moss is killing your tree. The ugly truth is, ball moss is a vicious parasite on your favorite shade tree, gradually sucking out your tree’s happy lifestyle. But hearken up. Here’s what you can do, despairing tree owner, worried sick about the ball moss killing your tree and sucking out its happy lifestyle. Rig up kite string in your tree. The ball moss, as seen in the adjacent photograph, shall parasitize the kite string and leave your tree alone.
posted by ray pistrum at Saturday, February 10, 2007
1 Comments:
Ball moss, Tillandsia recurvata, is NOT a parasite. It's an epiphyte. It grows on trees getting nutriment from the air. Don't believe me? Check out power lines over waterways in areas where ball moss is common. If the wire has been there long enough, it will have ball moss growth on it.
If ball moss overruns your tree, consider it a symptom of a sick tree. A healthy tree grows faster than ball moss propagates, so if you see ball moss taking over, it means your tree stopped growing at a healthy pace.
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