How to deal with lawn moss

If you love a lush, well maintained, well-manicured lawn, then there’s probably one thing you hate – moss! If you’re among the lucky few that don’t have moss, then you probably have no idea what I’m talking about! But that’s OK because it’s important to understand why moss grows in lawns and how to avoid lawn moss.

Lawn moss is a symptom of poor growing conditions for the grass and/or incorrect lawn care. It will always keep coming back unless you cure the underlying problem(s).

The answer lies in the soil

Moss is always worse where the soil remains overly wet, becomes waterlogged, or is badly drained, if the lawn is in shade, or if the soil is extremely alkaline (high pH) or acidic (low pH). This means it is usually worse on heavy clay soils, which become compacted over time, preventing soil water from draining away; the compaction also makes the soil airless, and grass roots need air to breath. All these conditions ensure that the moss thrives, and that the grass grows poorly.

• If drainage is a problem, then you can improve it in small areas by forking deeply with a garden fork. But it is far better to use a hollow-tined aerator. On a large area, this is easier to do with a powered machine, which you can buy or hire from a tool hire shop. Then fill the holes with sharp sand. This is usually done by applying it as a lawn topdressing all over the lawn and brushing it into the soil and the holes.

• Before aerating, scarify the lawn to remove all the dead grass and moss (but see below before you start raking or scarifying) using a spring tine rake or an electric powered lawn raker or slitter.

• Both aerating and scarifying should be done in late winter to early spring &/or autumn.

• If shade is an issue, then try and do something to reduce it and ideally re-seed with a shade-tolerant grass mixture and address the soil pH if that’s an issue.

Overcoming moss

Moss can also be a problem where the lawn isn’t mown or fed properly, so make sure the grass is growing strongly.

Mowing is the most important factor – it should be done so that the grass is more-or-less kept constantly at a height of around 4cm (1.5in) high all year; scalping the grass shorter weakens it, creates gaps, and ensures that moss can really get a grip. In shade, the grass should be allowed to grow longer – up to 7.5cm (3in) high.

A well-fed lawn that is thick and lush is far better equipped to fight off moss and prevent it starting in the first place. Feed your lawn regularly throughout spring and summer and give an autumn feed too to build up strength against winter damage. Lawn Magic is a brilliant feed to build up the strength of the grass, thicken it up and help in your battle against moss. Use it every four to five weeks from March until October.

Bear in mind that you should never try to rake out live moss – if you do, you will just spread it further and make the problem worse. Always kill it first.

Easy, peasy moss control

Richard’s Moss Remover is the perfect product for dealing with moss in lawns. It is the easy, care-free way to a beautiful, moss-free lawn, Just sprinkle it over the mossy lawn and let the organic-based ingredients feed the lawn, while naturally removing the unsightly moss. The naturally-occurring, ‘friendly’ bacteria it contains ‘eat’ the dying moss, which gradually disappears as your grass grows. There’s no need to rake out the moss, which can be back-breaking work – nature does all the hard work for you! It feeds the grass too, so that it starts to cover up the gaps left after the moss has gone. So essentially Moss Remover is a rake free, easy way to control lawn moss.

Got weeds as well?

The other scourges of the proud lawn owner are weeds. If you want the perfect lawn that doesn’t contain what, after all are wildflowers, then you can use what’s known as a triple-action product. Flower Power Feed, Weed & Moss Killer gets rid of lawn weeds, deals with moss and feeds the lawn to help the grass fill in any bare gaps all in one simple application. But you will need to rake out the dead moss.

Put back the grass

If the lawn contains a good covering of moss, then you’re bound to have lots of gaps in the grass where the moss has died. You’ll then need to re-seed these areas with fresh grass seed; Triple Use Grass Seed is perfect for this.

If your lawn is more moss than grass, or just moss!, then it will be far easier if you kill it all off, dig over the soil adding lots of bulky organic matter, such as soil improver or peat-free compost, and sharp, gritty sand if it’s heavy clay, and start again by re-turfing or re-seeding.