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Mosses and lichens are an indispensable attribute of an old garden, especially if not looked after. What are they like? Do they harm trees? Do I need to get rid of them and how? We will try to answer all these questions in our article.
What are lichens
This is an amazing creation of nature, which is a symbiosis of a fungus and algae or cyanobacteria. Lichens have no roots, therefore, settling on another plant, they do not feed on its juices. This unusual natural species is able to fall into suspended animation in the absence of moisture and spend many years in this state. Rain or dew will revive the lichen and return it to its original state.
Experienced gardeners have long noticed the link between the health of wood and the amount of lichen it contains. Young trees, as a rule, are not affected by it. And this is understandable: their vegetative organs grow very quickly, the bark stretches and represents a very inconvenient place for a lichen to exist. In an adult state, especially if the tree is sick, the growth of the bark is greatly slowed down. Such conditions are quite suitable for the lichen, and it settles on the trunk. Does it harm him? We have already made sure that lichen will not suck out juices from it, it is not so arranged. But it is quite capable of giving shelter to various pests and fungi under its cover: moisture after rain lingers there for a long time.
Therefore, it is best not to leave it on the trunk and branches.
This fact should serve as a reason for the gardener to revise the plantings and treat diseased plants, and if this is not possible, remove them so that the infection does not affect the neighboring ones.
Lichen colonization of trees begins with the appearance of a greenish bloom on the branches, usually from the shaded side - unicellular algae have settled on the bark. Fungal spores are always present in the air. Entering into symbiosis with algae, they form lichens. Their shape and color are varied.
In nature, there are up to 25,000 species of lichens. According to the structure and method of growth, three groups are distinguished:
- scale, otherwise crusty, outwardly they look like a thin crust (no thicker than 5 mm) or like a scattered powder;
- bushy, they also live on trees and can reach a height of 7 m - such specimens grow for a long time, hanging from the trunk, they resemble a real wall. In the photo - falling asleep;
- leafy lichens; among them, the wall xanthoria is best known to gardeners - for its bright color it is sometimes called wall goldfish.
Another representative of foliose lichens is the lobaria xanthoria.
Lichens are considered indicators of air pollution; with a small amount of oxygen, they are not able to develop. The bushy species are the most sensitive, followed by foliose, then scale.
What is moss
Unlike lichen, moss is a plant. But he has no real roots. Moss eats in the same way as all plants, but at the same time it does not suck the juices from those on whom it settles. Moss needs very little soil to feed it; it can even live on rocks. Moss itself is not harmful to trees. He settles on them for the same reason as lichen.
And in the same way it gives shelter to various pests and pathogens.Unlike lichens, mosses grow very quickly and thrive even on young wood. The main condition for their existence is high humidity. It happens where the air circulates poorly. Therefore, pruning even young trees is a must.
This photo shows that the moss growing on the trunk is distinguished by a variety of species.
Unlike lichens, moss finds use in garden design. Now he is at the height of fashion, and many are happy to decorate shady areas with it. But we must not forget that moss reproduces by spores.
Reasons for the appearance
The following reasons contribute to the appearance of lichen and moss on fruit trees:
- untimely and incorrect pruning, which causes the crown to thicken;
- poor condition of the roots, and especially wetting due to the high standing of groundwater;
- abundant watering of the garden;
- damage to the bark and wood of fruit trees from the sun or frost;
- disease or old age of the tree.
Lichens grow slowly and take a long time to cover the entire trunk. If the garden is regularly inspected, the gardener will immediately notice their appearance. It is then that you need to start fighting them. Why can't you pull?
The larger the trunk area is covered with lichen or moss, the more the bark will be damaged when it is removed and the more the metabolic processes in the wood are disturbed. Not only will it take a lot of time to cover the wounds and disinfect them, there is always a risk that pathogens will get into the damaged bark, and this is dangerous for the tree. If mosses and lichens on fruit trees do not take nutrients from an apple or pear, maybe there is no point in fighting them?
Why you need to delete them
There are several reasons for this operation:
- under mosses and lichens on fruit trees, tissue respiration in bark and wood is hampered;
- lichens secrete lichen acid, it inhibits the growth and development of the tree on which they settled, although it destroys the causative agents of fungal diseases;
- pests find shelter under them;
- the appearance of lichens means that parasite fungi will soon settle on the trunk - and this is already a disaster.
How and when to clean up trunks and branches
If such a problem appears in the garden, it must be solved without fail and as soon as possible. When is the best time to clean barrels?
If mosses and lichens appear on the trees, processing should be carried out outside the growing season:
- in the spring this is done before the buds swell;
- in the fall, the best pair for cleaning trees is after the leaves fall.
It is not enough to clear trees of mosses and lichens, you need to do everything so that they do not appear again. Therefore, we will have to act comprehensively.
Oddly enough, you need to solve the problem with lichens and mosses on trees by trimming the crown. If not produced, unwanted inhabitants will reappear on the trunks. For proper growth and formation of fruit trees, for a plentiful and healthy harvest of fruit, pruning should be done regularly both in early spring and late autumn. With a thin crown, trees are well ventilated, damp air does not stagnate between their branches, which means that favorable conditions are not created for the appearance and growth of mosses and lichens.
What control methods should be used to get rid of mosses and lichens on trees?
Barrel cleaning algorithm
Helps to cope with the growth of lichen mosses on trees ferrous sulfate solution - ferrous sulfate. For fruit trees, it is bred at the rate of 300 g per 10 liters of water, for seed crops, the drug needs more: 500 g per 10 liters.
When processing young trees, one must not forget that the agent has an acidic reaction and is quite aggressive. It is enough to process the thin sensitive bark of young fruit only once, preparing them for winter. Old trees are cultivated 2 times during the season.
Treatment can be done by spraying. Sometimes it is more convenient to apply the solution with a flat brush, intended for whitewashing plants. Just a few days is enough to see fallen moss and lichens.
There is another chemical method for dealing with mosses and lichens that have occupied trees. To do this, pour 0.6 kg of slaked lime with 0.5 liters of boiling water. To completely dissolve the mixture, put the mixture on a small fire and stir well. Add 0.4 kg of sulfur and 1.5 l of water, boil under a lid for 15 minutes. The chilled broth can be stored in plastic or glass containers, but not for long. To prevent it from oxidizing, a little machine oil is carefully poured along the wall. For spraying, it will have to be diluted in a ratio of 0.1 l of broth to 5 l of water.
Another chemical remedy for lichen on fruit trees. We dilute two large pieces of laundry soap, a kilogram of salt in 10 liters of hot water and add 2 kg of ash. We mix everything well and coat the trunks of trees damaged by lichens and mosses.
There are types of lichens that are very difficult to deal with with all of the listed means. To combat them, use antifungal drug Scor according to instructions. This treatment can be carried out before the buds have blossomed.
Now let's get started to the mechanical removal procedure overgrown with mosses and lichens of fruit trees. First of all, spread a plastic wrap under the tree so that all the particles that fall from the trees can be removed from the site and burned.
For machining, use a stiff glove, wooden spatula, or plastic brush. We clean the tree with them, choosing a day with high air humidity.
Video about clearing trees from mosses and lichens:
What to do if damage to the bark still appears? They are processed Bordeaux liquid at a concentration of 1%... Then all wounds are covered with garden pitch with a layer not thicker than 1 mm. Choose a day with a positive air temperature for processing. If it is below 0 degrees, the var will harden and it will be impossible to use it. In the absence of this remedy, the wounds are covered with pure clay or its mixture with cow dung: for 200 g of clay, 100 g of manure with the addition of chopped straw. After diluting with water, the mixture should have the consistency of thick sour cream.
Lichen control on fruit trees gives a good result if used soda ash solution... It is prepared from half a glass of baking soda and a bucket of water, and applied to the lichens with a brush.
Some gardeners tie to lichens chopped sorrel leaves... You can do it easier: dilute oxalic acid with water in a ratio of 1: 8 and coat problem areas.
It will be useful and treatment of tree trunks with urea solution... Take a matchbox of the product and dilute it in a 10-liter bucket of water. This solution is poured over the ground around the trees.
If the branches of a tree or shrub are completely covered with lichen, they should be cut out, they are already old.
Prevention of the appearance of mosses and lichens
In order to prevent moss and lichen from entering the garden, preventive measures must be taken.
- Timely pruning and thinning of the crown.
- Fighting high groundwater tables with drainage ditches.
- Spring garden processing with 1% copper sulfate solution. It can be carried out at an air temperature of at least plus 5 degrees. When processing, special attention is paid to the forks of the branches.
- In the fall you will need to whitewash trees. Here, too, there are subtleties: for young and old trees, whitewash has a different composition. To whitewash old trees, 1 kg of oily clay, 400 g of copper sulfate and 2 kg of slaked lime are added to 10 liters of water. After thorough stirring, the trees are whitewashed so that the whitewash layer is about 2 mm. You can use another composition: for 2 kg of ready-made water-emulsion paint, you need to add 30 g of karbofos. To whitewash young trees, this mixture must be diluted in half with water.
- Such whitewashing will protect young trees from damage by hares during the winter.
- You can use Bordeaux liquid for whitewashing. For its preparation in 2 buckets made of plastic or enameled, but not galvanized, a kilogram of slaked lime is separately bred by adding 5 liters of hot water and a quarter of a kilogram of copper sulfate, you also need to add 5 liters of hot water. The solutions are mixed by adding a little clay or cow dung.
You can watch the video about why and how to whitewash fruit trees:
Removing mosses and lichens is a necessary procedure. Clean trees are the key to health, without which you cannot get a rich harvest.
