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Moss on shrubs

tasteytapirtasteytapir Posts: 4
in Problem solving
I've got a lot of moss starting to grow on gooseberry bushes, and creeping up various other shrubs and trees in the garden... I've read moss is pretty benign but it's spread across the garden on less than a year! The soil is clay but years of no dig, natural mulch and zero chemicals means it's all quite healthy.  Can anybody tell me if they have had this kind of moss invasion or if gooseberries can handle moss all over their twigs? 

Posts

  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    Everything in my garden gets covered in moss and the trees have lichens too. The climate here is perfect for them, but it doesn't seem to do any real harm except to small slow growing plants that can get smothered if not watched. The higher stems are too dry for it to survive well on gooseberries and blackcurrants and it doesn't affect their growth.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Same where I am - moss is just part of the garden here. Lots of nearby tree and hedging have lovely little clumps of it on the bare branches   :)

    Unlikely to be a problem, as @Buttercupdays says, but if you get lots of moss, it might be worth moving the plants to a sunnier spot so that the moss is less likely to get a hold, but it may not be worthwhile. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited February 2023
    Moss thrives in high humidity environments.  But do you mean Lichen?  Neither does much harm, though some think both unsightly.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    They do provide a home for both good and bad insects so you do need to keep an eye open for nasties lurking in the clumps.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I wonder if it's lichen you have [as @Buttercupdays mentions] on the twiggy parts @tasteytapir.
    These  are examples of lichen


    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    edited February 2023
    I love lichen. I think they are beautiful.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    One of my favourite things @B3  :)
    I always take pix of any I see when I'm on hills. It's all that good clean air  ;)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • tasteytapirtasteytapir Posts: 4
    We have both moss and lichens. The currant bushes and gooseberry shrubs seem to have moss all up the lower half's and our tea trees seem to have lichen on them. I think last year's extraordinary heat and then humidity has caused all sorts of changes. Surprising and concerning in different measures. Will take some photos today 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Are you in the UK @tasteytapir ?
    I only ask because of the term 'tea tree'  :)
    The climate in general has been swinging from one extreme to the other over the last year or two, which has certainly affected many plants, regardless of type. 
    Some photos and more info [climate, location etc] will certainly help with any advice people can offer  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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