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Weed & Moss Control

Lawn & Grass Care

All lawns will suffer from weeds and moss from time to time unless they are regularly maintained with a variety of treatments and yearly programs. Lawns should be treated in the same way as you would maintain your borders, shrubs, plants, and trees. Weeds should be removed to stop taking up well-needed nutrients and moss within lawns will create a poor lawn surface. If left Moss will gradually take over and can create fungal problems, it does not allow nutrients into the soil, and acts as a barrier for moisture to be taken up by the grass.

Weeds

Below are just a few of the common weeds found in amenity and ornamental lawns:-

These weeds can be treated with a selective herbicide over the course of a year. A heavily infested lawn should be treated twice in the first year and then once a year thereafter to ensure the weeds do not reappear. Once the weeds have gone, it is easy to sit back and assume they will not return, however, like every plant within your garden, weeds will send out seeds and germinate just about anywhere, and lawns are usually a comfortable environment for them to do so.

Selective herbicides on lawns are much more effective if the grass is growing strong therefore any application of herbicides should be carried out from spring through to autumn. An application of fertilizer prior to spraying the weeds will encourage the grass to grow stronger and ensure the herbicide is much more effective. Weed treatments should be avoided in times of hot weather and drought and if the onset of rain is likely within four hours of the application. It is vitally important not to mow the grass 3 days prior to, and 3 days after an application as the herbicide will not have the full effect.

Moss

Moss within a lawn is a sign that something is wrong, this could be down to several factors, including:-

• Water logging
• Insufficient fertilizer program
• Acidic Soils
• Shaded Lawn
• Drought
• Free-draining soils can weaken grass and allow moss to take over.
• Compaction
• Lack of air flow

Lawns that are well fed, cut properly, aerated and not allowed to develop thatch will suffer less from moss problems than lawns that are poorly maintained. Moss can rarely compete with strong growing grass. If the lawn care program is set up correctly, the probability is your lawn will not endure moss problems. Quick fixes or one off treatment does not work in the long term; a detailed program should be implemented as a preventive measure throughout the year as detailed below:-

• In spring and autumn, apply an iron based granular or liquid based moss-killer to the entire lawn. Moss spores can hide in many places and may not be seen during a general inspection.
• Approximately two weeks after the treatment the dead matter must be scarified out of the lawn.
• Re- seed any bare areas when the soil temperature is on average above 10 degrees Celsius

Apply a balanced fertilizer with trace elements, or a stress based product , this encourages the grass to grow stronger and replaces lost nutrients.

In autumn scarify again if required followed by hollow tine aeration to the entire lawn.

Apply a top dressing

Carry out a soil test at some stage in the summer/autumn to assess the acidity of the soil. If in need of adjustment, lime can be applied in the autumn.

Whist this type of program can seem intense and time consuming it will eradicate any moss and each year the program should become less prevalent and considered part of the yearly lawn care cycle.