How much shade are they.

 

I would call it partial shade, there are alot of surrounding trees but sunlight does get through a decent part of the day. There are really no times in which the lawn is in total shade, but I dont think it ever has 100% direct sunlight either.

 

Can you post picture's ?

 

Kill it all and start over. I would say that if there was less moss then that then you could just dethatch the whole lawn and the grass would at least have a chance to take over again. But in your case of 50% or more moss to grass, it may be best to start over.

 

Lime it . Sounds like the soil is not very productive I would do a soil test .

 

Yeah my thought was to dethatch it to the point of stripping all the moss out down to the bare dirt then, then running an aerovator over it all, then seeding with some really high quality seed. Then liming several times throughout the year, and pretty heavy on the fertilizer throughout the yr as well. I think the customer wants to see what can be done without starting completely over.

 

The reason moss is out competing grass is because the existing growing environment is more favorable to the moss. A product will not change this.

Killing it & starting over will not solve the problem. You need to address the conditions that promote moss: shade, irrigation, drainage, soil pH, soil compaction, low fertility.

 

The reason moss is out competing grass is because the existing growing environment is more favorable to the moss. A product will not change this.

Killing it & starting over will not solve the problem. You need to address the conditions that promote moss: shade, irrigation, drainage, soil pH, soil compaction, low fertility.

This is exactly the case... from the description of sunlight/shade ratio, it would be said the turf lives in "dappled light"... I have lawns that way and the ones that are allowed to dry out between waterings will do well... the ones that are irrigated as though they are full sun will grow moss...

 

One of past clients had an issue with moss. I started mowing higher and grass did better in the battle. She pressured me to mow it lower. Glad I don't have to deal with that anymore.
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First and foremost do a soil test, work from there! other wise your just guessing.

 

Sunlight...you need it. Chances are the soil in the front yard has the same acid level as the soil in the back yard.
Excess shade is the real problem. I suggest trim every tree branch you can reach. Remove any brush less than an inch in diameter. Any area that receives less than 4 hours of direct sun per day, needs something besides grass. Ground covers like sweet woodruff, myrtle, ivy, euonymous, lamium, ferns, hosta, ajuga, snow-on-the-mountain.
In shade, most grass even fine fescue, will tend to fade out when leaves are maximum, days are getting shorter and the soil temp is high in late summer. Photosynthesis can no longer supply enough food to the roots when the soil temp is driving rapid respiration.

 

Sunlight...you need it. Chances are the soil in the front yard has the same acid level as the soil in the back yard.
Excess shade is the real problem. I suggest trim every tree branch you can reach. Remove any brush less than an inch in diameter. Any area that receives less than 4 hours of direct sun per day, needs something besides grass. Ground covers like sweet woodruff, myrtle, ivy, euonymous, lamium, ferns, hosta, ajuga, snow-on-the-mountain.
In shade, most grass even fine fescue, will tend to fade out when leaves are maximum, days are getting shorter and the soil temp is high in late summer. Photosynthesis can no longer supply enough food to the roots when the soil temp is driving rapid respiration.

What he said! LOL

 

First and foremost do a soil test, work from there! other wise your just guessing.

I'm curious what a soil test would tell you about moss??? of the thousands of kinds of moss that could be growing in the shady soil,I don'tthink most of them care about even pH...
Too much water/NPK on shady anaerobic soils will kill the grass and give home to moss... I don't know if grass can be grown in the shade in warm season, but cool season grasses can be made to flourish in dappled sunlight, here in Wisco...