Ball Moss Removal

WHAT IS BALL MOSS?

Ball Moss, despite it's name, is actually not a type of moss but a small flowing plant belonging to the epiphytes or 'air plants' group. Epiphytes grow on the surfaces of other plants or trees and are normally harmless since they obtain their nutrients and moisture from the air, not the plant they are living on.

Ball Moss (Tillandsia Recurvata) is round with gray or green vines intertwined, and can range in size from 3' to 12' diameter. They are normally found clinging to trees, especially oaks, in the Southern US, and they will bloom with small blue to purple flowers during the spring.

CAN BALL MOSS HURT MY TREES?

In most cases, ball moss is harmless to your trees. However, if you see a very large infestation where the ball moss is covering the entire tree including the canopy, a removal is recommended. Some people may also want the ball moss removed before it gets out of hand if a tree is showing itself to be susceptible to ball moss. Numerous ball moss can hurt a tree by blocking sunlight from getting to it's leaves and also prevent growth in the areas where it is attached.

HOW DO YOU REMOVE BALL MOSS?

If you have more ball moss than you are comfortable with, and/or you think your tree may be in danger because of it, there are a few different ways to remove ball moss.

• You can hand pick them all off individually, which can be extremely tedious depending on how bad the infestation is.
• The second option is removal via trimming or pruning. Just Trees can perform your ball moss removal service along side of a scheduled tree trimming appointment. A lot of the ball moss will be on deadwood limbs that need to be trimmed anyways.
• The third option is a chemical treatment which will not harm the tree when properly applied. After the ball moss dies a week later, they will eventually fall off from wind, rain, or animals knocking them off.

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