Since our talk about Spanish Moss in February there has been much local action raising awareness of this problem weed. We have been working with community environment groups covering all of northern Sydney. The actions taken to date are summarised below. If you have other ideas for action please let us know.
Letter to councils
In May we sent a joint letter from several local environment groups to the nine councils in the northern Sydney; Northern Beaches, Mosman, North Sydney, Lane Cove, Hunters Hill, Ryde, Willoughby, Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby, asking them to:
- send out educational material to residents in newsletters, social media etc
- advise residents to remove Spanish Moss from their gardens
- instruct parks and bushland managers to remove it from trees and gardens wherever possible
- discourage the use of Spanish Moss in displays by gardening clubs etc
The council responses have all recognised that Spanish Moss is a problem. The amount of action varied depending on the level of infestation. Parks and bushland managers are being made aware of this weed and are acting on it if possible. Hunters Hill Council has already provided funding for the removal of some Spanish Moss festoons.
Weed risk assessment by Ku-ring-gai Council
Ku-ring-gai Council undertook a Weed Risk Assessment using the questionnaire developed by the Department of Primary Industries. This assessment is a checklist to assess whether a weed is a serious risk and the feasibility of control action.
The weed risk section considers invasiveness, impacts and potential distribution.
The feasibility of control section considers control costs, persistence and current distribution.
The risk score is used to define the level of action that should be taken to manage a weed.
Council examined the risks separately for conservation areas many of which have significant infestations such as Grayling Reserve. They categorised Spanish Moss under 'protect priority sites’ for bushland reserves, prompting targeted measures such as surveillance, mapping and focused control actions.
This could involve a trial of removing Spanish Moss from some taller trees in some reserves. Unfortunately, this may require the lopping of some branches.
In residential areas such as streets and private gardens they will apply a ‘limited action’ classification that involves allocation of resources to areas of highest risk.
We note that the weed risk assessment process needs to be modified for a weed that is an aerial plant that flourishes in trees that are part of a threatened ecological community, namely Turpentines.
Spanish Moss is in the early stages of exponential spread and growth and has not been researched in Australia sufficiently to give accurate answers to many of the questions in the form. Also, many of the questions are aimed at regional impacts rather than a weed like Spanish Moss that currently is most damaging to certain trees and ecological communities that are mostly present over a local area like northern Sydney.
The continuation of action by councils and our local environment groups in monitoring infestations, and removing where possible, will be vital in controlling this problem weed.
Letterboxing information leaflet
We have developed a leaflet that has brief information about Spanish Moss and asks residents with it in their gardens to remove it as much as possible. Several members of local environment groups have been letterboxing in neighbourhoods where Spanish Moss can be seen. There are other locations where leaflets can be placed on show such as public libraries and council information centres.
Please continue to put any new sightings up on iNaturalist.
Contacting other organisations
We have printed a large quantity of leaflets so please feel free to email Helen at
We have approached the ABC Gardening Australia in the hope of getting a segment on the show.
Invasive Species Council action
In the Issue 230 of STEP Matters we wrote about the campaign by the Invasive Species Council to stem the spread of garden weeds, particularly weeds in the early stage of invasion. They have contacted us for information to help with their education program.
Spanish Moss can be regarded as one of these sleeper weeds as it is found in a limited part of Sydney but has the potential to become a major problem.