Spanish Moss and Cold Damage

[NC_Palms]

Has anyone noticed cold damage on Spanish moss in Virginia or North Carolina? This past winter was extremely cold for our stantards, damaging our sabal minors and defoliating evergreens including live oaks and bays. 

[PalmTreeDude]

13 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

Has anyone noticed cold damage on Spanish moss in Virginia or North Carolina? This past winter was extremely cold for our stantards, damaging our sabal minors and defoliating evergreens including live oaks and bays. 

The Spanish Moss at First Landing State Park in Virginia is completely fine, and the area it is in got hit hard this winter. I was just there on July 3rd and it looking great, it seemed like there was more since I was last there a year ago. Pictures I took from when I was there July 3rd. 

Edited July 24, 2018 by PalmTreeDude
Added Pictures

[NC_Palms]

19 hours ago, PalmTreeDude said:

The Spanish Moss at First Landing State Park in Virginia is completely fine, and the area it is in got hit hard this winter. I was just there on July 3rd and it looking great, it seemed like there was more since I was last there a year ago. Pictures I took from when I was there July 3rd. 

Im actually surprised that the Spanish moss didn’t get damaged, as the plant is less hardy when compared to sabal minors. Nice to see Spanish moss flourishing in Virginia. It seems like it’s declining on the Outer Banks. 

[PalmTreeDude]

46 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

Im actually surprised that the Spanish moss didn’t get damaged, as the plant is less hardy when compared to sabal minors. Nice to see Spanish moss flourishing in Virginia. It seems like it’s declining on the Outer Banks. 

Spanish Moss is pretty hardy when it is in zone 8a and higher (as long as the place has hot summers). I know people who have it growing in warm areas of zone 7b around swamps, ponds, rivers, etc. I never see it out of an area that does not have water right below or around it growing naturally until I get to Southeastern North Carolina, then I see it going inland and in forests with no swamps or lakes around (that are still humid). 

Edited July 24, 2018 by PalmTreeDude
Typos

[NC_Palms]

On 24/7/2018 18:36:05, PalmTreeDude said:

Spanish Moss is pretty hardy when it is in zone 8a and higher (as long as the place has hot summers). I know people who have it growing in warm areas of zone 7b around swamps, ponds, rivers, etc. I never see it out of an area that does not have water right below or around it growing naturally until I get to Southeastern North Carolina, then I see it going inland and in forests with no swamps or lakes around (that are still humid). 

Spanish moss is native here, but you’ll only see it in bottomland swamps and along the rivers. Just a little farther south to around New Bern is where it seems to be everywhere, regardless of the ecosystem. 

Farther south you go, it seems like spanish moss increases in density on trees. In Florida, Spanish moss can take over an entire tree and suffocate it. As in North Carolina or Virginia, Spanish moss will never get that invasive. 

[PalmTreeDude]

57 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

Spanish moss is native here, but you’ll only see it in bottomland swamps and along the rivers. Just a little farther south to around New Bern is where it seems to be everywhere, regardless of the ecosystem. 

Farther south you go, it seems like spanish moss increases in density on trees. In Florida, Spanish moss can take over an entire tree and suffocate it. As in North Carolina or Virginia, Spanish moss will never get that invasive. 

I saw multiple trees there that were completely covered in Spanish Moss. Just not as many as farther South, as you said. 

Edited July 26, 2018 by PalmTreeDude
Added More / Typos

[NC_Palms]

16 minutes ago, PalmTreeDude said:

I saw multiple trees there that were completely covered in Spanish Moss. Just not as many as farther South, as you said. 

Here is Spanish moss growing pretty abundant on the Tar River about halfway between Greenville and Washington. I’ve taken these photos this past spring. 

[PalmTreeDude]

9 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

Here is Spanish moss growing pretty abundant on the Tar River about halfway between Greenville and Washington. I’ve taken these photos this past spring. 

How common is it in Greenville? I have seen it West of Greenville. 

[NC_Palms]

8 minutes ago, PalmTreeDude said:

How common is it in Greenville? I have seen it West of Greenville. 

It’s fairly common along the Tar and in bottomland swamps. I’ve also seen it on some of the live oaks on the campus. How far west from Greenville have you seen Spanish Moss? I’m trying to pinpoint a range of how far up the Tar River Spanish moss will grow. 

[PalmTreeDude]

6 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

It’s fairly common along the Tar and in bottomland swamps. I’ve also seen it on some of the live oaks on the campus. How far west from Greenville have you seen Spanish Moss? I’m trying to pinpoint a range of how far up the Tar River Spanish moss will grow. 

It was somewhere around the circled location. I just remember pulling out my phone and looking on Google Maps to see where I was, not becasue of the Spanish Moss but becasue I was a bit lost. But I saw it there (this was on my trip to South Carolina to visit a friend). 

Edited July 26, 2018 by PalmTreeDude
Typo

[NC_Palms]

4 minutes ago, PalmTreeDude said:

It was somewhere around the circled location. I just remember pulling out my phone and looking on Google Maps to see where I was, not becasue of the Spanish Moss but becasue I was a bit lost. But I saw it there (this was on my trip to South Carolina to visit a friend). 

When I find time I’ll have to take a drive up the river to explore any Spanish moss populations. I also have seen a few sabal minors growing wild in the nature parks on the Tar. I wonder how far west they will grow too. 

[ledrobster]

I know this is a REALLY old thread, but for anyone interested in growing Spanish Moss in Nashville, read on.  So last spring I purchased a box of Spanish Moss ob Ebay that was picked from some trees in southern Alabama.  I think it was 4x 1 gallon ziplock bags.  I live in the far western side of Nashville, and just wanted to throw some up in my trees for the heck of it.  It seemed to grow just fine, and in fact flowered a bit (even with the really dry and super hot summer we had (2024).  I pulled some of it down to bring inside for the winter, but much of it remained in my two trees.  We got down to near 0 degrees F two different mornings in mid January, and during the 3 day cold bubble, the temperature never exceeded about 22 degrees F.  To my surprise, today it is 70 degrees and this stuff still has a LOT of green and is showing signs of life!  Unsure if you can see in the photo, but there is a good amount of green in all of the pieces remaining on both of the trees I had it on.  So, there ya go!