If the grass on your lawn is strong and healthy, it should, in theory, be able to resist an invasion. Knowing what moss needs to thrive is your weapon against the plant and helps to understand how to treat moss on your lawn. Plenty of moisture, an undisturbed surface and minimal competition from other plants, and moss will find its way there. That means that it needs a certain set of conditions to survive. It doesn’t have stems, leaves or proper roots and it reproduces with spores – rather like a fungus. Moss is a primitive plant which is biologically quite different from grasses, trees and flowering plants. In this blog post, you can learn more about how to remove moss from your lawn and other moss treatment tips, including how to fight against an attack, how to restore your lawn’s vigour and how to prevent it from happening next time. It is important to follow label directions so that these products are used safely and correctly.How to stop moss – Controlling moss in your lawn calls for a twofold approach first removing existing plants and secondly preventing a new invasion. Unfortunately, they also can burn desirable turfgrasses if used improperly. Other products containing salts will dehydrate or "burn" the moss. Products containing fertilizer and iron sulfate sold at retail garden centers can turn moss black and reduce encroachment. Unfortunately, there are very few products that can be used to control moss. Only when the limiting factors for good turf growth have been corrected should moss eradication with chemicals be attempted. For more information about these species, refer to Turfgrass Species for Pennsylvania. Neither species will survive under extremely heavy shade or soils that are saturated for long periods of time. The fine fescues are the best-adapted turfgrasses to shaded, well-drained soils, whereas, rough bluegrass is better adapted to shaded, moist soils. If shade and/or moisture are the limiting factors for good turf growth, steps should be taken to correct the situation or plant grasses that are adapted to shaded or moist areas. Over time, the improved soil conditions resulting from fertilizer and lime applications will help the turfgrasses compete with the moss. If the soil is deficient in nutrients or in need of liming, the soil test report will indicate how much fertilizer and lime to apply and when to apply them. Soil test kits are available from your county extension office for a nominal fee. The first step in a moss control program is to test the soil for nutrient content and pH. If any of these factors are limiting turf growth, moss can invade the lawn and establish a permanent residence. Moss is most commonly associated with shallow, rocky soils poor soil fertility low soil pH (acid soils) heavy shade and excessive moisture. Attempts to eradicate moss from a lawn are rarely effective unless provisions are made for a dense, actively-growing turf to take its place.Įncroachment of moss into lawns is usually the result of conditions that are not conducive to good growth of turf. In order to obtain effective control of moss, one must carefully consider the reasons why it began to grow in the lawn. Sporophytes of moss plants in early spring. Moss does not "crowd out" turfgrasses, but once it is established, grass plants will not spread into those areas.įigure 1. Moss is an opportunistic plant that will develop and grow in bare soil areas or where turfgrasses are weak and thin. The protonemas will produce buds that develop into the short, leafy stalks that most people recognize as moss. Unlike seed-bearing plants, mosses produce structures called sporophytes (Figure 1) which produce spores that can be wind-blown from one area to another and germinate to form thread-like structures called protonemas. There are several species of moss that grow and persist in home lawns. Moss does not persist in stands of dense, vigorously growing turf. Basically, it is an opportunistic plant that will grow where turfgrasses are thin and weak.
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