The sad, gray crepe myrtle at the corner of North Boulevard and Seventh Street is local landscape architect Suzanne Turner’s “poster child” in her battle to control ball moss.
As 225 details in a new feature, the tree—much like its neighboring crepe myrtles—is smothered in ball moss, a round, gray, tentacled plant that grows on tree branches. Turner has been outspoken about controlling ball moss infestations.
“Even if trees aren’t dying,” she says, “ball moss is unsightly on the live oaks, crepe myrtles and sweet olives. And it will go anywhere. It’s out of control.”
Ball moss is similar to the various species of air plants that have become trendy in home decor recently. Air plants are low maintenance because they don’t root in soil. But when ball moss attaches itself to trees, it’s not so aesthetically pleasing.
The phenomenon isn’t new to Baton Rouge. Fred Fellner, LSU’s assistant director for landscape services, has battled the plant for more than 20 years. The unsightly moss has become such a problem, that Fellner, Turner and Downtown Development District Executive Director Davis Rhorer all agree Baton Rouge needs a community-wide plan to eradicate it.
“On North Boulevard, the integrity of the trees is compromised,” Rhorer says. “I don’t know how it wouldn’t kill a tree.”
A heavy infestation of ball moss can endanger a tree but not necessarily kill it, Fellner says. The moss occupies budding sites along the limb, which will prevent those buds from getting sunlight. “It’s like wrapping a towel around a branch,” he says.
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