Has moss taken over your lawn?

In England, the winter of 2011 / 2012 has been warm and damp for nearly six months. This has been great for autumn-seeded grass, but also ideal conditions for moss. If your lawn has an area of shade, is overly compacted, suffers with poor drainage or is in an acidic soil area, then it will most likely have become an issue.

In the UK there are hundreds of species of mosses. Only around 30 of those are found in lawns and nearly all of those are treated in the same way. The only type which I treat a little differently is the Polytrichum species, which is a little more difficult to remove, but thankfully not very common.

Curing a moss problem in a lawn is never an easy task, nor is there a quick fix. Moss has to be literally bullied out of the way over at least several seasons. If there has been a moss problem for a long time removal will need annual control and regular hard work.

Find the cure for a moss covered lawn

The Lawn Man can provide a comprehensive lawn care programme to remove it from your lawn. Moss can be just controlled and removed. However the best practice is to identify the causes as to why it has moved in the first place. Remedy that problem, so that in future years the grass can become strong enough to not allow the moss back. I can help you to identify the causes of moss, and advise on a course of action to help.

Depending on when you start your moss removal programme will depend on the timing of the schedule, but starting now (late February / early March) you should put a moss control treatment down as soon as possible, as waiting until spring will allow it to release it’s spores and die naturally, continuing it’s life cycle and infesting the soil, being ready to come back with a vengeance the following Autumn!

Two or three weeks after a control treatment the mosses can be raked out. In more severe cases the lawn may need to be scarified. This is an aggressive process. It physically pulls the thatch and moss out of the lawn for easy removal. The lawn can then be aerated if required, fertilised and, if necessary, it can also be overseeded with new grass seed. A top dressing can also be applied over the top of the seed to improve the soil structure, plant the seed, and help to level the lawn.

Different types

If moss has been a problem for many years, this will not be the end of the story. Many millions of moss spores will most probably still be in your lawn. Given the chance it will come back in the autumn. To prevent this re-infestation, keep the lawn healthy and thick by feeding regularly with the fertilisation programme, and address any other issues which may be contributing to the problem, such as cutting back overhanging trees to reduce the shade, or applying lime in the Autumn to reduce the acidity.

If you are live within my service area in Devon, and you have an issue with your lawn, get in touch and book your free, no obligation lawn survey and quotation, and get on the road to a great lawn!

Kris Lord