On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 21:53:46 GMT, Frank wrote:

That time again when my neighbors trees throw ball moss to my trees.
Is there anything besides Kocide that will kill the ball moss?
Others have pretty much laid out the facts on ball moss already. I'd
just add, for those who may still have doubts about the
cause-and-effect relationship here, that you can easily confirm that
moss does not kill branches (though it can harm trees when it gets
really thick and dense, as described earlier): go to Pease park or
somewhere else that has a creek and cedar elms. You will see tons of
moss on tons of healthy elm branches. The live oak branches just
happen to do poorly in the conditions where the ball moss does well.
They would be dead regardless.

Oh, and whether you use kocide or baking soda or something else, you
will not get much improvement in the appearance. Ball moss barely
weighs anything to start with. Once you kill it and it dries out, it
will remain in the tree a long time. The only way to get rid of it
that I've found is to manually pick it or scrape it off with a pole
saw or similar tool.

incidentally, ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata) is not really moss.
It is related to pineapples. And lichen (also not a parasite, as was
pointed out) is a symbiotic organism-- a mixture of fungus and algae.

Ain't nature fun?

Keith Babberney
ISA Certified Arborist #TX-0236AT