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Jan 5, 2014 10:50 AM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
I don't know Rick, but if I had to venture a guess I would say "no". It is a tropical plant and I just don't know whether it would survive your ice/snow/low temperatures. With this artic weather due in tonight, I will soon find out IF it will even survive here in NE Mississippi, zone 8b. I have a lot of it hanging in my oak trees that was transplanted from the coastal areas three years ago. Our previous two winters have been mild. This winter has been anything but! I may end up with only the moss on some of my mounted tropical plants. Now that I think about it, it might be a smart move to just bring in a garbage bag full and put it in my orchid greenhouse.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Jan 5, 2014 2:28 PM CST
Name: Jay
Nederland, Texas (Zone 9a)
Region: Texas Region: Gulf Coast Charter ATP Member I helped beta test the first seed swap I helped plan and beta test the plant database. I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant Identifier Tip Photographer Garden Sages Garden Ideas: Master Level Hibiscus
@drdawg Here's the orchid house at Shangri La Botanical Gardens in Orange, TX. Look really good with all the moss hanging.
Thumb of 2014-01-05/Horntoad/7f45e5
wildflowersoftexas.com



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Jan 5, 2014 4:34 PM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
I like it. Thumbs up
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Jan 5, 2014 5:50 PM CST
Name: David Paul
(Zone 9b)
Cat Lover Hibiscus Seed Starter Native Plants and Wildflowers Vegetable Grower Region: Florida
Miniature Gardening Keeper of Poultry Herbs Foliage Fan Farmer Dragonflies
Thumbs up to Shangri La! That is right up my alley and I'm adding more spanish Moss to our front door entrance and under the Scuppernongs trellised from the street to the door;...and Its a fact! Smiling
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Jan 30, 2014 12:22 PM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
flaflwrgrl
Back to the original question of using Spanish Moss in compost piles, did anyone mention shredding it first with a shredder or lawn mower. I wish I had a truck load I would love to try it. In my mind I can see a nice pile of Spanish Moss all shredded up and mixed with a fresh load of green grass clippings, I'll bet in a few months it would be great compost.
I'll bet shredded Spanish moss would make a beautiful mulch also.
Last edited by Seedfork Jan 30, 2014 12:24 PM Icon for preview
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Jan 30, 2014 12:40 PM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
Knowing how Spanish moss looks and feels after drying, I just can't imagine it would make good compost. The fine, dried filaments are so tough that when you have a handful you would not even be able to break it.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Jan 30, 2014 12:43 PM CST
Name: David Paul
(Zone 9b)
Cat Lover Hibiscus Seed Starter Native Plants and Wildflowers Vegetable Grower Region: Florida
Miniature Gardening Keeper of Poultry Herbs Foliage Fan Farmer Dragonflies
Thats true. They look like black nylon hair and just as tough.

You could make a wig out of them Ken! Hilarious!
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Jan 30, 2014 12:48 PM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
I agree Thumbs up

I grow the stuff and would never consider killing it for compost. My orchids love having it grow near them. Perhaps it is because the moss produces water vapor or supplies some micro-nutrient - don't know. Maybe the orchids just like the friendship of this tillandsia. Whistling
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Jan 30, 2014 12:48 PM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
I'm going to research that a little, not having any I am ignorant on the subject pretty much. I do see some growing in my neighborhood in the oak trees, but mine only have mistletoe growing in them.
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Jan 30, 2014 12:53 PM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
Now you are talking about a parasite. Mistletoe attaches to and takes out nutrients from those trees, ultimately killing the branches it preys on. Spanish moss uses the tree branches only for support. It is not parasitic. The only time Spanish moss becomes a problem is when it gets so thick it blocks the sun from the leaves. Kind of a "side effect" result.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Jan 30, 2014 1:00 PM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
Yes I am familiar with dead limbs in my oaks, not sure if it is caused by the mistletoe , but the limbs develop and orange spongy growth (fungus?) and just rot away and fall, seemingly aiming at my head.
I did manage to find this site with a little info on composting Spanish moss and it also mentions that gardeners report it makes a good mulch. If anyone here has used it, it would be nice to hear your thoughts on it.
http://brevard.ifas.ufl.edu/Fo...
Last edited by Seedfork Jan 30, 2014 1:01 PM Icon for preview
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Jan 30, 2014 1:04 PM CST
Name: Larry
Enterprise, Al. 36330 (Zone 8b)
Composter Daylilies Garden Photography Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level Plant Identifier
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Region: Alabama
I also found one other draw back to having Spanish Moss growing in the trees, something I had not considered, in periods of wet weather the limbs become over weighted with the wet moss and can break. I can just imagine with all the snow and ice around this area what that added weight might do.
Last edited by Seedfork Jan 30, 2014 1:06 PM Icon for preview
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Jan 30, 2014 1:32 PM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
I guess that one reason Mother Nature puts most of the Spanish moss in Live Oak trees. Their limbs will support a great amount of weight and even survive 150 mph winds of hurricanes. I will stick to ground-up oak leaves and kitchen refuse in my compost pile.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
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Jan 31, 2014 10:16 PM CST
Name: Elaine
Sarasota, Fl
The one constant in life is change
Amaryllis Tropicals Multi-Region Gardener Orchids Master Gardener: Florida Irises
Herbs Region: Florida Vegetable Grower Daylilies Birds Cat Lover
Little late to the party here, but yes, I put Spanish Moss in my compost occasionally, and it helps aerate, holds moisture and does take a while to break down. Anything that is or was a plant can be composted. It's all cellulose fiber in some form or another. IF you can collect some grass clippings to mix in with it, that will speed up the process. Nobody here collects their grass clippings, though.

Btw, from reading back a bit, I'd like to help quash the idea that Spanish Moss and ball moss hurt the trees they grow on. They absolutely don't. http://solutionsforyourlife.uf... They are epiphytes like orchids, and only use the trees for support. But they will proliferate on a tree that is failing for some other reason, so people get the mistaken impression that the moss is doing the damage. If you have trees with a lot of moss, you should be looking for another reason why the trees are losing their leaf canopy. Old age? Too little water? Too much water? Lack of nutrients? Root damage from vehicles driving over the root areas?

One guy had a whole grove of oaks and couldn't figure out why only the one nearest the front of his house was thinning out and growing a lot of moss. Turns out it was the only one he was raking/blowing the leaves out from under, not leaving them to make their natural mulch and feed the tree. He was also parking cars under the tree, which likely was damaging the surface roots.

I agree with Ken. Mistletoe really IS a nasty parasitic plant!
Elaine

"Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." –Winston Churchill
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Feb 25, 2014 12:09 AM CST
Name: Tim Hoover
Elysian FIelds, Texas (Zone 8a)
Beekeeper Ponds Region: Texas Seller of Garden Stuff
Hey Ken,
Did you ever notice that Spanish Moss has a fine, sweet fragrance when it blooms? It is elusive and fleeting but it IS there! I am like you, I "garden" it. It is not common here in East Texas either but I transplanted it to my trees a decade ago and it has really done well. Many people know where I live.. "Oh, your the one that has the creepy, mossy trees in your yard"...why yes, that is my house I reply proudly.
A friend of mine once decided to "help" me while waiting for me to get back home. He pulled a ton of my moss out of the trees. I pulled in the lane and he informed me that he had gotten rid of a lot of that blood-sucking parasite out of my trees. If I would have had a cane handy, he would have gotten a severe beating. As it was, he was pretty red-faced as I made him put it all back up in to the trees.
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Feb 25, 2014 8:28 AM CST
Name: Jennifer
48036 MI (Zone 6b)
Cottage Gardener Houseplants Spiders! Heucheras Frogs and Toads Dahlias
Hummingbirder Sedums Winter Sowing Peonies Region: Michigan Celebrating Gardening: 2015
Welcome! Tim!
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Feb 25, 2014 8:32 AM CST
Name: Ken Ramsey
Vero Beach, FL (Zone 10a)
Bromeliad Vegetable Grower Region: United States of America Tropicals Plumerias Orchids
Region: Mississippi Master Gardener: Mississippi Hummingbirder Cat Lover Composter Seller of Garden Stuff
Funny, Tim. Everyone says the same thing about me. I think I must have the only oak trees (or any other trees!) in town with Spanish moss. I have read that Spanish moss has a nice fragrance when blooming, but no, I have never experienced a fragrance. I will get my nose up close when it begins blooming in the spring though. I have started an experiment, loosely wrapping some of my mounted orchids with the moss. My thought is that the natural retained moisture of the moss, and perhaps even some nutrients, will aid the exposed roots of the orchid plants. I am always experimenting.
drdawg (Dr. Kenneth Ramsey)

The reason it's so hard to lose weight when you get up in age is because your body and your fat have become good friends.
Image
Feb 25, 2014 9:48 AM CST
Name: Jay
Nederland, Texas (Zone 9a)
Region: Texas Region: Gulf Coast Charter ATP Member I helped beta test the first seed swap I helped plan and beta test the plant database. I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database!
Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant Identifier Tip Photographer Garden Sages Garden Ideas: Master Level Hibiscus
Welcome! to ATP Tim.
wildflowersoftexas.com



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Feb 26, 2014 8:16 AM CST
TX (Zone 8a)
Bluebonnets Plant Lover: Loves 'em all!
Yes, welcome to Tim !

I just wanted to say, if anyone needs to relieve themselves of CHIGGER-FREE Smiling Spanish Moss, just LMK, I will be happy to reimburse you !

I got curious about Spanish Moss and looked it up on the National Wildflower.org website, and found it is common in many states :

" USA: AL , AR , FL , GA , LA , MD , MS , NC , SC , TX , VA
Native Distribution: Primarily coastal, Virginia south to Florida; west to Texas.
Native Habitat: Hangs from Live Oak and other tree branches and telephone wires. "

If, as some theories indicate, that it (the host) obtains nutrients and moisture for the moss to use, that one host is telephone or electric wires when these provide neither water or food. Rolling my eyes. Blinking
At our ranchiito we do NOT keep bees.
They and other critters grace us with their presence, and we provide for their need to the best of our abilities.
Last edited by Lavanda Feb 26, 2014 8:23 AM Icon for preview
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Feb 26, 2014 8:53 AM CST
Name: greene
Savannah, GA (Sunset 28) (Zone 8b)
I have no use for internet bullies!
Avid Green Pages Reviewer Keeper of Poultry Vegetable Grower Rabbit Keeper Frugal Gardener Garden Ideas: Master Level
Plant Identifier Region: Georgia Native Plants and Wildflowers Composter Garden Sages Bookworm
According to the experts who have responded to this thread, the chigger-in-Spanish-moss is an old wives' tale.

If you need some, I can send a small box stuffed full lovely Spanish moss for postage. I gather it in a natural area where no chemicals are used. Just 'LMK'* in a Tree- mail.

*...by the way, I am old and had to look up your shorthand to understand that 'LMK' means' let me know'; wish people would spell out the words so all the readers can understand.
Sunset Zone 28, AHS Heat Zone 9, USDA zone 8b~"Leaf of Faith"

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