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Fescue lawn being taken over by moss

4K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  BB36 
#1 ·
Hello everyone, I am new to this forum and to the business. I have a Fescue lawn that is being taken over by moss. I aerated and overseeded in the fall. The area is at the bottom of the lawn and it does stay wet. Is there a way to kill the moss and get the grass to grow.
 
#3 ·
NCSU has the right fix. You must need more light,sounds like it stays too shady in the spot?
 
#4 ·
Fix the Fescue and your problem is solved. The moss is not competing with the fescue it is just living where the fescue is not.

The advice above will help dry and warm the area, which will make the area less tolerable for moss. You may have to look at acidity in the soil, but it sounds like it is currently too wet and cool for turf grass and fungis loves that moisture. Do the above post and aerate/till and add some soil/humus and seed again.
 
#7 ·
Pulverized lime at a light rate will KILL the moss. A second app a few months later will finish off any small areas that may have survived. I have done this several times with 100% success. Its much quicker and cost effective than any other way.
 
#8 ·
Normally lime will help balance the PH, thus creating an environment that discourages moss growth. A properly balance soil also accepts and utilizes fertilizer more efficiently. After a healthy douse of lime, I put Moss Out to kill. Here in the NW, the above routine is part of on going maintenance

Dave Kent
 
#11 ·
doing just lime will not help. moss has to have a combination of problems to thrive. If you want to get rid of the moss you have to do all of the solutions to solve the problem, cant just get away with 1 or 2.

if you went in and just sprayed a moss killer, then it will just come back because conditions are ideal for it there, so thats just a waste of time and money.
 
#12 ·
Kill the moss and reseed? Your new turf grass will eventually retreat again and the moisture loving fungis will return. You said the area is staying wet, the roots of the grass are not getting enough oxygen, fermenting and rotting off grass plant.

You will need to modify the environment, if your gonna reseed. Look at lessening shade if possible, drains, diversion or possibly some retainments.

You may consider another plant type or a completely different ground cover all together. Stick a pond, rocks and pampas down there with a walkway??
 
#13 ·
Well I've done the pulverized (granular will not work for killing it) lime app to kill the moss before on at least 10 different lawns. That was over 2 years ago for several of them. The moss died within 6 weeks and it has not returned. A bag of pulverized lime will cost you about $1.50 so why not try it? And like I said earlier, just a light coating will do the trick.
 
#15 ·
Do a "soil test" and deliver it to your county extension( the county extension will give you the soil collection kits free).They will have the soil analyzed and have the written results sent to you in about 2-4 weeks.Depending on where you live , some state will do this service free of charge or they may charge a small fee; in my area its $ 10.00 per test for a commercial lco.
These results will tell you what the soil needs ie. Ph - acid(lime) "moss" or alkaline(gypsum or sulfur),nitrogen,phosphorus,potassium and other trace elements and how to correct any problems with the soil.
 
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