Well; we see the U-shaped machines going down the groves; making them all perfectly manageable hedges. In fact sometimes it makes selling 'no-topping/tipping' a little difficult for these groves do look good; and are pro-ductive! Wee just have to point out that the citrus trees are like cattle; con-stantly managed, and not everything done for their own good; but rather for the good and ease of their keepers and harvesters. These machines are massive; and give a very unic(?) view; into man's creativity and orchestration of machinery. i am not sure if it is all to keep them uni-formally shaped and low; or if they help in forcing the fruitng in sum weigh.
The green mossy various growths on trunks and limbs; especially on ancient live oaks; can make climbing quite a slippery challenge; especially with a light layer of dew in the morning etc. Really it can be as bad as it's cousin of seaweed on a slick rock; especially as wee have evolved to not (ab)use gaffs on such magnificient giants! Also you must watch your rigging; and git a double grag; perhaps with dogging (good idea anyway) on slick, smooth cylinders! This moss usually indicates all kinds of active, abundant life being supported (in this tropical region) on that particular tree; so there is even more to look out for!
The 'air' plants; that wee call moss come in 2 varieties in my area. We half hanging moss and ball moss. Some of this we fight. All these mosses seem to favour 'Loiusiana swamp' conditions of : dark, moist, cool and still air. They find all these conditions low and inside the tree's umbrella generally. When fighting these we take out the starved branches; favorite hanging places, open air and light flow to make less habital as wee bulk it out. A lot of naturallists weep if you touch these; saying they are harmless. There is a copper based spray; that stains white to green (cars, homes, concrete) and leaves what it kills hanging stiff and black.
The hanging moss (where i get my Louisiana swamp visualization); seems realtively benign until its numbers start engulfing limbs; starving it of all light and harboring all kinds of insect nasties; including those that sting, bit and overpower! Its shear weight can snap a branch that it has weakenned; especially when it is holding gallons of rain! A lot of people after a while find it unsightly as well. It clogs saws, gets in friction hitches
; but can be nice for stuffing in a cut to keep pine sap off your rope and gear; as the warmer it is the more it flows (so we don't cut pine logs before lunch and move them later!)! They used to use it for seat batting over springs in cars; and in some junk yards can indeed be seen there! It has some florist uses too. Some trees of the same species (seemingly any way) seem to be ressitant to these things; when their neighbor is not!
The ball moss is supposed to be an 'epiphyte' -air plant; that doesn't feed off the tree; the book says that sometimes it grows on electric lines supporting that definition. I think it is feeding off mildew etc. on the line, doesn't do well there and when you see it there; it seems to be a fairly resistant to sun, wind etc.; so has hardier genetics in that particular plant. Commonly wee see dead limbs engulfed by it; then the argument goes that they died, then the friendly moss came in! Well that is not what eye see! For sometimes it engulfs the whole tree in these fist sized clumps; and that never seems to go well (for the tree at least!). An olde mentor once told me his observation was that if the ball moss forms a collar around a limb it 'shuts off its air'; don't know what the hell he meant by that; but when i see that collar around a limb; it is usually dead!
These are just some of the examples of what local conditions, lore and life might have to be taken into consideration in tree care in a region to observe all the complexities locally involved. Especially in life-prolific tropical regions that support all kinds of life and has no cycling/ cleansing winter kill; and supports unprotected /lower life forms. Every thing must be observed and put into the balance; that is the weigh! When wee speak of not cleaning out so much; well that might depend on what else is in that balance; sum times particular to that region! For hear, that might allow more growth of these mosses, by providing a safe haven of sool, dark, damp and still (hence the Louisiana, boggy swamp picture from an olde black and white horror film!). To recognize these things; or even see them we must constantly educate ourselves to name the things and their weight in this balance; for decisions must be maid by wee the house-keepers! We ahve lots of nuts loose here in Florida; not many coconuts in this particular region; they seem to favour coastal regions; a lil'further south than my central location
Did some one put this "[check massage length]" hear jest for me?
Sour-eye; eye just saw-ed it!
P.S. edit
Wee are watching safety films about how chaps bog a saw down; but it can still give a limited cut; and one of the guys said ".....oh so that works just like that 'dang' moss?.........". "Yeah"; i teld him; "that baaad". So ; i figured i'd throw this in, this hour later! "Yeah"; "that baaad"!
"....and; as always and all ways wee thank you for your Co-Arbor-(n)Ation!"
-KC
Have you ever tried to do a corrective prune on a previously 'shaped' tree? It's a nightmare! Just like topping, they'd be better off cutting the trees down.
