Moss - Lawn Alternative for Shady Areas
Monday March 1, 2004
Curious about the types of moss that are out there? Often despised as a lawn weed, moss is starting to get some good press these days. Even Paul James of HG-TV has good things to say about moss. If your property is plagued by shady areas, consider growing a type of moss that appeals to you as an alternative to recalcitrant lawn grass.
Comments
I heard of a new moss created to use as a lawn. It doesn’t require watering, and thrives in shade. I neen to find the creator of this product? Any ideas?
Sorry, I haven’t heard of this moss product. But here’s a site you can search (this site specializes in moss): http://mossacres.com/
My parents have a moss lawn in the Adirondacks. It is beautiful and a huge pain. It is very time consuming to weed. Far more work than mowing a lawn of equal size.
Does anyone know a way to control quaker ladies without damaging moss? That is the biggest issue. I could handle weeding just the little saplings that come up every year, but the quaker ladies choke out the moss and look ratt except when thay are in bloom.
Quaker ladies, or “bluets” spread both by seed and by rhizomes. Your only chance in getting rid of them is to dig them out, rhizomes and all, then replant the area with moss. But it’s tough to remove every single rhizome in one fell swoop, so this will probably be an ongoing project.
True, this is a lot of work. However, my guess is that most people who have moss lawns aren’t looking for such a uniform look as you are, instead welcoming a patch of wildflowers like bluets here and there amongst the moss. In other words, I would say most moss-lawn enthusiasts are more interested in a “natural” look than a “manicured” look — which is the reason they don’t have just regular old grass lawns.