Moss in Lawns -
How to treat - kill - and prevent Moss in your Lawn.
Killing the moss in lawns is simply a short term measure.
Moss in Lawns is probably one of the least understood of
all lawn problems. Treating or killing the moss is not the answer. Moss is a
sign that something is basically wrong with your lawn. Too often, gardeners
attempt to kill moss in lawns without tackling the problem that actually causes
it. They are helped to this decision by the huge range of 'moss killers'
available at local garden centres.
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There are two basic moss killers for lawns that are available - Ferrous
Sulphate and Dichlorophen. One or the other is usually incorporated into
typical lawns Feed and Mosskiller combinations. The latter is also available as a
ready to use 'Moss Gun' for small patches. Neither do anything by way of
treating the basic problem of moss in lawns. They simply kill the moss which is
there. It will return
If you really want to eradicate moss from your lawn, then
you have to find out the actual problem that is causing it, rather
than just treating it. The
reasons are various, but not too difficult to isolate.
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They can be one or several of the causes outlined below
- Waterlogging - in winter or summer.
- Poor feeding regime - usually denoted by light green
grass.
- Acid soil - carry out a test.
- Shaded Lawns - overhanging trees or large shrubs.
- Mowing lawns too close - a common cause, for it weakens the
grass - allowing moss to take hold
- Drought - if severe enough to harm or kill the grass. Not to be
confused with a bit of summer-browning
- Sandy - free-draining soils. This can weaken the grass
and allow moss to take over. Some mosses are quite happy in these
conditions.
- Compaction - continued use by children and pets with no
remedial attention by way of aeration in the Autumn.
Generally, lawns that are well maintained - which
includes being well fed, cut properly, aerated and not allowed to develop
thatch - then the problems which result in moss will not occur in the first
place. Moss can rarely compete with strong growing grass in lawns. It is allowed to
develop and take a hold when the grass growth is weak. Get the grass
growing properly and the likelihood is that your lawn will not suffer from
moss problems.
Treating small areas of lawn moss can be carried out with a moss killer
containing Dichlorophen. After a couple of weeks, you can rake out the dead
moss and re-seed. If you need to use a feed for the area, it is better to
feed the whole lawn in order to avoid patchiness!
Assuming that you have inherited a lawn with a moss
problem, you should carry out the following maintenance regime - rather than
simply treating the moss which is there. (The details
of all operations are to be found elsewhere in this section. Quick fixes
just do not work, other than to kill the moss which is present.) Unless you
tackle the underlying problem, the moss will return!
- In Spring, apply a Ferrous Sulphate based moss-killer
to the whole affected area.
- Two weeks later, rake out the dead moss.
- Re seed the bare areas
- Early summer, apply a lawn fertilizer to get the grass
growing again
- Mow the lawn properly, regularly, throughout the summer
- NOT too short
- Keep the lawn well watered i n drought conditions to
allow the new grass to keep growing.
- Take note of any areas of dense shade on your lawn, and try to
minimize this if possible.
- In Autumn, give the lawn a good raking or mechanical
scarifying, and aerate.
- Apply top dressing at this time if the lawn is either
uneven, or in need of an organic 'injection'. Particularly useful on weak
sandy soils.
- Carry out a soil test at some stage in the
summer/autumn to assess the acidity of the soil. If in need of adjustment,
then lime can be applied in the autumn.
- Keep off lawns in the winter months in order to avoid
compaction of the surface.
If by the autumn, your lawn is growing well, then most if
not all of the moss in your lawn will have been controlled or even
eradicated. Further spot treatments may be needed, or maybe even a full
treatment for most lawns again the following spring.
- Dry soil is susceptible to mosses which tend to grow in
upright habit with small leaves.
- Damp, compacted and waterlogged lawns usually results in mosses that have a
creeping habit.
- Cushion habit mosses usually state that you are mowing the grass too short.
Click image for enlargement
First signs of moss taking hold in this generally uncared-for
lawn. It has a build-up of thatch, and has been lacking in proper care and
attention resulting in poor grass that leads the way open to moss taking
over. The maintenance regime as outlined above for moss in lawns would do
much to alleviate this problem.
Simply treating or killing the moss in your lawn is not the answer.
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