Finding moss growing where you’d like healthy grass to be thriving can be a source of frustration.
Moss is a non-flowering, rootless plant that grows in moist areas. It’s common in rainforests and wetlands but it can also show up in the suburban lawn during wet conditions. While moss is not “bad” for the lawn, most people find it unattractive. Moss is also a clear indicator that you have compacted soil or a lawn drainage problem.
In this article, we’ll dive into how to get rid of moss in the lawn and how to prevent it from growing in the first place.
Getting Rid of Moss in Your Lawn
A quick Google search for “treating moss in a lawn” will reveal a number of suggestions, including spraying it with vinegar and raking it up. While vinegar might be successful at killing moss in your lawn, it’s also going to kill your grass. That is definitely not something you should try on your lawn.
As far as raking it up, because moss is rootless, you could definitely easily rake it up. However, it’s important to know that this is only a temporary solution. The moss is going to come right back.
The key is to get to the root cause (no pun intended) of what’s actually causing moss in the first place.
Moss typically grows in shady, wet areas of the property where there is poor drainage. That means you need to think about changing those conditions in order to prevent moss from growing.
Here are some important ways that you can do that.
Aerate Your Lawn to Reduce Compaction
One key way that you can improve the drainage in your yard is with lawn aeration.
Aerating your lawn will help to break up compacted soil and allow it to drain better. During lawn aeration, a lawn care professional will use a core aerator to pull small cores of soil and deposit them back onto the lawn’s surface. Over time, these soil cores will naturally break down and add more nutrients to the soil.
Improve Drainage with a French Drain or Other Solution
Compacted soil is commonly a reason for poor drainage. But sometimes a particularly soggy yard requires a more extensive solution, like a French drain, or another solution, like an extended downspout, re-grading, or a swale. If you have a significant drainage concern, you may need to talk to a landscaping professional about how to better move standing water on your property.
Reduce Shade
Shade is another problem that can lead to the growth of moss. Getting rid of moss in your lawn might mean looking at ways that you can reduce shade such as trimming your trees. Healthy turf can struggle to grow without ample sunlight, but trimming your trees may allow more light to filter through.
Of course, sometimes you don’t have control over your shady areas as they might be coming from the neighbor’s trees. Making an effort to improve drainage will still help, even if you have some shade.
Properly Fertilize and Care for Your Lawn
Adding vital nutrients to your soil will help support the growth of thick, healthy grass. It’s important to work with a lawn care provider that uses high-quality fertilization to help your lawn get what it needs.
The goal is obviously to grow a thick and healthy turf, not allow moss to spread. Any efforts that you can make to promote healthy turf growth (and keep the environment favorable to grass growth, not moss growth) are key.
Invest in Lawn care services in Cincinnati, Dayton, OH and Northern Kentucky
When you’re working with a professional lawn care company, they’ll be able to help provide guidance that will allow you to grow a healthier lawn. While moss can certainly be a source of frustration, usually there are ways that you can deal with it with regular lawn aeration and overall good lawn care habits.
Obviously, in some extreme cases (heavily shady properties) where you might already be struggling to grow grass, moss could continue to be a struggle. If you don’t want to get rid of your trees in these spots, you might consider adding some plant beds and growing some shade-loving plants instead.
But in most cases, moss can be addressed by changing its environment.
At Oasis Turf & Tree, we care deeply about our clients’ happiness and we’re always available to troubleshoot problems like this. We’ve dealt with some of these very same problems that you have in our own lawns and we know it can be frustrating.
However, we’re on your side. When you partner with a lawn care company, you’re not on your own in figuring out how to deal with issues. We’re always here to help.
Ready to learn about professional lawn care services in Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio, or Northern Kentucky? Request your quote, choose the lawn care program that’s right for you, and then sit back and relax as the pros take away your worries and help you get the lawn of your dreams!
