This is an old engraving of Spanish moss that appeared a century ago in Harper's Weekly. As I was growing up in northern U. S. cities, it was also a romanticized vision I had of the South. Little did I know that I would end up living in a house engulfed by Southern Live Oaks, all draped with Spanish moss!
These are all views of my back yard. Two giant Southern Live Oaks hover over my house, providing shade, cooler temperatures in the hot summer, and a rather exotic scenery.
Spanish moss grows in high-humidity and warm climates, from Virginia all the way down to Argentina. It absorbs all its nutrients through the air and through rainfall. There's an on-going debate as to whether or not Spanish moss kills host trees. When one sees such dense groupings as pictured above, and then a tree like the one below, it's easy to draw that conclusion.
Experts say that Spanish moss rarely kills trees, though. It can impede growth, but because Spanish moss hangs below limbs, it still allows the oaks to get the sunlight necessary to survive. Far more dangerous are vines that completely encircle tree limbs.
Spanish moss can be very decorative. Lots of people "harvest" the moss from the oaks and put it in planters, much like mulch. Friends occasionally make requests for some of my moss.
There's a flower pot on my kitchen window sill, and a little dormouse resides in it year round. He's always in a happy and contented sleep, in part because I make sure to regularly change the Spanish moss that is his comfy bed!
i love Spanish moss, it lends an ethereal,exotic atmosphere to everything-right there is your own back yard!
ReplyDeleteThese are great photos! I do find Spanish Moss a little creepy (Pardon the pun) though
ReplyDeleteThanks Gaye and David! The funny thing about your comments is that I completely agree with you both! ... Mark
ReplyDeleteDear Mark, Your Spanish Moss certainly does add an ethereal air to your Oaks. For my own part, I must confess that I should rather live without the Moss and have these majestic trees naked [or at least only covered with their own leaves]. I should certainly fear that the parasitic Moss would drain the strength from the trees and cause a long and lingering death....but perhaps I have too vivid an imagination!
ReplyDeleteDear Edith, I am constantly removing whatever Spanish moss I can reach, but it's a losing battle because the moss hangs from great heights and is air-borne! So one just has to look up and say, "Ah well, it's the ambiance of Old Florida."
ReplyDeleteSorry to say, but I've never seen Spanish moss other than in films. Do you find it spooky at night? Perhaps it is more romantic than spooky, and I am biased from seeing films like "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte."
ReplyDeleteI think it must be rather important now that we are more concerned with the ecosystem, considering that it naturally cools and shades the environment.
I didn't know that it was so light in colour. I think I've been given gift plants with it for mulch, but didn't know it was Spanish moss. It is rather coarse in texture, right?
Hi, Terry! Though I definitely don't want my trees to get too much Spanish moss (only the first three photos were from my yard), I actually do find it rather romantic. The texture of living Spanish moss is quite soft, and when removing it from a tree, it almost feels like yanking on a dish cloth.
ReplyDeleteHaha, Square With Flare and I are on the same page it seems. I was thinking of "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" as well! I've always found it unsettling, but beautiful. These are wonderful images...Mark, I adore your little dormouse. He does seem quite content in his Spanish moss bed!
ReplyDeleteH.H.
Thanks, H. H. The dormouse appeared many years ago as a surprise in an Easter basket, and he's never left.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark, Oh how I miss watching the moss swaying in the trees. I am from the gulf coast myself and have Spanish moss in my garden here in Hollywood. It never looks like it should, alas I have it. And yes people think it's spooky, but I think the people are spooky. Have a great holiday.
ReplyDeleteMark, I don't think my comment went through. So I'll try again. Love the moss and your photos are beautiful, have a wonderful holiday.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kevin, Your comments came through together, and I'm glad to get them both! Just wish I was close enough to take the Hollywood tours with you - your photographs almost had me salivating! Happy holidays to you ... Mark
ReplyDeleteHey Mark
ReplyDeleteMy experience with Spanish Moss was not so pleasant, I was trying to cover a basket full of stag horn fern and thought the Moss would make a nice back drop. Well my really big fern started to die and I didn't realize that although when you pull the Moss off of the tree or it host, the moss doesn't die. What happened next was the fern died a very slow death being starved of light, air and nutrients needed to thrive. You can however take the moss and kill it using the dead Moss to wrap around wire armatures to creature topiaries from other plants to grow on
Thanks for visiting, Peli! I can see a topiary posting in the future ...
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