3 Reasons You Might Have Moss In Your Lawn

When there’s a bad smell in your house, spraying air freshener only masks the problem. You have to find the source of the stink and get rid of it before you can expect the bad smell to leave for good. Some homeowners tackle a lawn problem with air freshener instead of finding the source and getting to the root of the problem. Moss is no different.

Another way to think about this is not how do I get rid of the moss, but how do I make my lawn healthier. A healthy lawn will crowd out weeds and other problems like moss, so create conditions that favour the grass instead of the problem. This solution may take more time, but the return will be a healthier lawn that requires less maintenance for years to come.

Moss

Moss is a living plant that grows where the conditions are most favourable. This makes sense to most people. Moss likes acidic, damp, shady soil. Removing the moss may temporarily eradicate the unsightly problem, but unless the underlying conditions are addressed you’ll have moss again.

Is there too much shade? 

If there’s a part of your lawn that gets too much shade for grass, removing the moss won’t make the grass grow. Can you trim or remove a tree or bush, somehow open that portion of your lawn to more sunlight? Another option is to try a shade-tolerant type of grass seed.

Is there too much moisture?

Is there a low-lying portion of your lawn that stays wet? Does your soil contain a lot of clay that traps and retains water? Is the moss growing in a high-traffic area where the soil is compacted? Do you have a thatch building that’s trapping the moisture on the surface of the soil? There are solutions to all of these problems, but taking the time to identify which is causing the problem will make finding a solution much easier.

Is your soil too acidic?

You can test the PH of your soil and determine if the balance favours grass or moss. In order to give the grass a winning chance, you have to tip the scales in its favour and apply lime or some other treatment to sweeten the soil for the grass. Amending the soil may take time and require well-timed fertilizer treatments.

Does this sound like too much work?

If these solutions won’t work in your situation, you may have to work with the conditions you have and make the best of it. Hostas, ferns, bleeding hearts, azaleas, kalmia, rhododendrons and hydrangeas all love moss-favouring conditions as well. There are over 200 varieties of moss. If this isn’t a high traffic area, create a striking garden with different kinds of moss and a mixture of the plants mentioned above.

The lawn care experts at Nutri-Lawn Burlington would be more than happy to help identify the root cause of the moss problem on your property and get to work on creating a long-term solution so you can enjoy a green healthy lawn for many years to come.

Contact the experts at Nutri-Lawn Burlington to get started on fixing your moss problem today.