table of contents
- Moss plants take care of themselves
- Benefits of moss
- Remove moss
- Moss or lichen?
- frequently asked Questions
When it comes to moss on trees, many hobby gardeners ask themselves whether the green carpet harms the tree. But are the green plants really harmful and need to be removed?
In a nutshell
- Removal of moss is not absolutely necessary
- Mosses do not impair the supply of nutrients to the trees
- Moss plants do not damage trees
- Removal mostly for optical reasons
- Moss plants can be removed with a wire brush and little pressure
Moss plants take care of themselves
Many gardeners fear for their trees because they fear a lack of nutrients. The moss plants do not use the nutrients in the trees at all. The moss clings to the bark of the trees with small rhizoids. However, these cell threads have no management function. This means that the moss plants cannot access the tree's water and nutrients. On the contrary, Moos operates photosynthesisto feed yourself without harming other plants in the area.
Note: The moss takes care of the nutrients and the water itself. Consequently, moss on trees is not harmful to trees.
Benefits of moss
Anyone looking to remove moss from trees should think about the benefits. It is no coincidence that moss has been around for over 300 million years. Moss offers the following advantages if you do not remove it and leave it on the tree:
- Food source for numerous insects
- suitable for nest building of birds
- good habitat for small insects
- possibly. Function as Pointer plant
Note: Moss plants can act as pointers. This indicates acidic conditions, a musty environment or too much moisture.
Remove moss
Despite all the advantages, it happens again and again that gardeners want to remove moss from the trees. Mostly this is on optical reasons traced back. Then you should hard wire brush to use. Do this easily over the mossso that it falls off.
Note: It is imperative that you do not pressurize the wire brush. Otherwise, you will damage the valuable bark of the trees.
Moss or lichen?
When the tree trunk is covered in green covering, many gardeners believe that it is moss. But moss is not necessarily the culprit. The so-called lichens can be green, yellow or even orange. These are not plants. Rather, lichens are a community made up of fungi and algae. You can also touch them with a soft brush.
Note: Lichen and moss are not the same thing. Nevertheless, both have in common that they do no harm to trees.
frequently asked Questions
Moss regularly grows on a tree on the north or north-west side. However, this can vary with a different microclimate. Especially in dense forests, the moss plants grow in all imaginable directions.
The moss on the tree can have different causes. Rainy years and a humid environment favor the growth of the moss plants. At the same time, dense trees are particularly vulnerable. Sometimes the mosses can indicate that the tree is not doing well. However, moss plants themselves are not harmful and therefore never the cause of damage.
Nothing is known about human poisoning by mosses or lichens. However, tree moss can cause allergies in people. Sensitive people in particular are at risk. However, some species of lichen are poisonous to wildlife.
