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You have
probably seen moss growing on trees and rocks in the forest and perhaps you are
growing some right now in your home lawns. In lawns, it’s that soft, dense,
cushiony green mat competing for space with your lawn. Moss is a rather
primitive plant that forms a dense mat on the soil surface. It absorbs
nutrients and water primarily through its leaves and needs some sunlight to
photosynthesize and make food. Their rhizoids are not true roots and serve
primarily to anchor the plant to the soils; not absorbing water and nutrients. Mosses
spread primarily by movement of spores via wind or water. That’s enough of the
biology lesson.
Why is it
growing so happily in certain lawns? It is an indicator of potentially poor
growing conditions like poor drainage, over-watering, shade, compacted soil,
poor fertility, and low pH soils in many cases. The long-term solution to
keeping moss out is to change the factors that favor the moss infestation and
create more favorable conditions to grow grasses.
I would
suggest starting the process by treating the moss and raking out the dead plant
material. There are several good moss-control products that usually include some
form of ferrous sulfate and come in sprays or granules. This is usually done in
70 degree weather and causes the moss to turn black. (Keep off the walks
because it can turn them orange.) It should then be raked out. After this, I
would aerate heavily and reseed the area with a shade loving grass and keep the
mowing height above 3 inches if possible to favor the grass over the moss. If
the area is heavily shaded, the surrounding trees could be thinned out to allow
more sunlight. Don’t over water lawns, and address poor drainage issues as
needed. A soil test will tell you if you need to correct the soil pH. Soil pH levels below a pH of 6.0 should
receive a lime treatment. Regular feeding of the lawn should also favor a
healthier and more competitive lawn as well.
Moss is growing there for a reason. Without some
positive changes in cultural practices it is not likely to go away completely
any time soon. These steps may need to be repeated for a few seasons to make
significant changes in the lawn density. You should aerate and feed the lawn
regularly, mow high, let proper light in, and treat, rake, and seed as needed
in spring or fall.
If you have questions about moss, moss treatment, aeration,
proper fertilization, irrigation, or any other lawn problems call us at Weed
Man
(559) 266-1624 or visit our website at Fresno.WeedManUSA.com.
