AusBonsai

Greetings everyone.

I acquired a Melaleuca linariifolia with a decent area of moss growth at the base of the trunk. I got this in a club sale and I suspect it had been in a smaller container then repotted for on-selling.

I’m wondering if I should remover the moss - I suspect it won’t do the papery bark any good. It does feel a bit spongey if I poke my finger in there.

Any advice gladly received, thanks in advance.





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I honestly have not had bark rot under moss despite all the claims but I do try to minimise moss on trunks - more for aesthetics.
I've found that vinegar spray is safe and efficient at killing off moss.

You will probably find it’s the moss that is spongy as some mosses are thicker than others they all vary pending on the variety of moss.
Fully agree with Neil I have never had any issues with moss on the trunks of my trees. As suggested brown vinegar sprayed on moss will kill it. However it may regrow over winter once everything gets cool and damp with rain. Just keep spraying as it appears will all sprees are dead.
Cheers
Kirky

From my experience it depends on the tree.

Moss in itself isn't going to effect the trunk. However....

...having moss on the trunk means the area will be staying more damp than a trunk that doesn't have moss. In turn, if the trunk is a tree that doesn't appreciate having the trunk more frequently wet, then it can lead to problems. Some trees permanently sit in water, so those will not have a problem obviously. A lot of paperbarks live in swamps, and are not bothered at all by moss. But the same philosophy cannot be applied to all genus of trees.

Thanks for the advice everyone, much appreciated.

I had a bit of an investigative dig in the moss and found it’s got a lot of roots theougb it. I’m hestitant to remove it and potentially kill off important roots, I might remove it if it were a good time to repot, but maybe getting too late in the season in inner Melbourne?

But then the roots are quite high up the trunk so they probably have to go anyway, now’s as good a time as any?

Thoughts anyone?


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Wouldn’t worry about the roots in the moss you can remove them at any time with no detriment to the tree. You can still repot now just don’t get as aggressive with the root removal as you could during the warmer weather. (Not counting the moss roots they can all be removed).
Cheers
Kirky