Weed of the Week – Moss

Moss is a common problem in lawns that have areas with unfavourable growing conditions for the grass. Poor soil drainage, acidic soil conditions, dense shade, and compacted soils all contribute to the unfavourable conditions that encourage growth and development of moss. To help eliminate moss, a combination of cultural practices and control products are required to control and prevent moss from coming back. Typically speaking, coastal regions commonly have moss problems in lawns and require annual control treatments or cultural practices to help control this problem.

Control product treatments such as iron sulphate will kill the existing moss, however this will only be temporary if the unfavorable growing conditions are not improved and the dead moss be removed. After the moss is treated it will commonly die and turn black, which then it will have to be manually removed by raking it out. It is very important after the moss is removed to aggressivley overseed or slitseed these areas right away to promote new turf growth in the areas where moss was. A thick dense turf establishment will make it much more difficult for the moss to infest.

Pruning large tree limbs to allow for more light penetration, increasing air flow circulation by clearing out low small shrubs, improving irrigation practices to ensure the areas are draining well and not being over watered, core aerating compacted areas, and applying lime to improve soil pH conditions are all good practices to help combat potential moss infestations.