companion planting

[Cym Ladye]

Philip,

I am enjoying your accurate and illucidating info on what most hobbyists call "moss". In regard to the "Spanish moss" I have to share a story about it co-habiting with my Cymbidium collection in Ca.

About 25 years ago, a friend who had property on the gulf coast of Louisiana, gathered a half refrigerator box full of live moss blown down from his trees after hurricane winds and which would have been burned. He sent it on to me and it has thrived! I hung it from lath house cross beams, greenhouse supports, low tree branches and shared a lot with my friends. Were it not for the birds and the squirrels, it would grow more than it does off the trees. In the lath house, I remove the dead back "moss" each year and it is always fun to see the tiny yellow flowers on the new live strands. I primarily use it in orchid show displays as a temporary covering of the bulbs and partial hiding of the pot. I remove it at the end of the show and rehang in the lath house.

I was once told that it is a "poor man's orchid humidistat" as it needs humidity generally above 50% and good air circulation. I am always sharing small pieces with new growers having problems with new greenhouses. If it dies, they need to increase their humidity.

There is also a love story about this "moss" and it's growth habit and appearance in nature. I will see if I can find it.

CL