How to Banish Lawn Moss from your Backyard Lawn
by
Karin Mangan, All About Lawns Columnist
January 19, 2009
The best way to remove lawn moss from your backyard lawn is to tackle the problems that cause it. Lawn moss removal is temporary. You can treat it and remove it, but if you don't get to the causes of lawn moss, it may keep coming back.
What Causes Lawn Moss?
Lawn moss develops for a variety of reasons. The main underlying cause is that moss tends to be hardier than grass, so it is able to thrive in conditions that may damage grass. Mowing the lawn too closely can weaken the grass and is one of the surest ways of allowing moss to take hold. Drought and overwatering are other conditions that can weaken grass and enable moss to thrive. Similarly, acid or sandy, free-draining soils, shaded lawns, compaction, and a poor feeding regime can lawn moss to invade your property.
Reclaim Your Backyard Lawn
Instead of fighting a constant battle against lawn moss, the answer is to take care of your backyard lawn so that lawn moss does not develop.
Start by removing the existing lawn moss by treating the lawn with moss killer and raking out the dead moss. Fill in the resulting patches with grass seed and feed and water the lawn. Then maintain your moss-free backyard lawn by:
- mowing regularly
- applying fertilizer
- keeping it watered
- aerating in the fall
- cutting back overhanging plants to minimize shade
- adding lime if the soil is acidic
- ensuring that your backyard lawn has proper drainage
- letting it rest in the winter
By following these maintenance techniques you can make sure that grass, not lawn moss, provides the green in your backyard lawn.
Sources
Gardenseeker, Moss in Lawns--How to Treat, Kill, and Prevent Moss in your Lawn
Lawn and Mower, Moss
About the Author
Karin has worked as a writer and researcher for the past 10 years, writing on a variety of subjects. She has a research-based PhD in English studies and is engaged in an ongoing battle to tame her backyard.
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