What Is Moss?
There are over 12,000 different species of moss. Moss is a small nonvascular, flowerless plant that forms dense clumps or mats on grass, hard surfaces and damp, shady areas. Mosses do not have seeds, they reproduce quickly by spores and rely on being spread by the wind.
Where Can Moss Be Found?
Moss will thrive in damp conditions and in areas where it may be darker and poorly drained. It often becomes a problem in autumn and winter. Wet conditions aid the reproduction of moss as the male moss cells use the damp to move across surfaces to reach the female cells so they can be fertilised.
Moss will grow on a variety of surfaces including hard surfaces such as driveways and paths. Despite what people think, the growth of moss on a hard surface will not damage it, it simply looks unsightly and can become dangerous as it is often slippery.
Moss can form on lawns and grassland, and can soon take over. Moss grows on grass surfaces for a number of reasons, including lack of drainage or aeration, too much shade, lack of feed, acidic soil, or poor site preparation. Moss that grows on lawns looks greenish/yellow in colour and forms a spongy mat. It usually makes lawns uneven in colour.
How To Control Moss:
Hard/Artificial Surfaces: We recommend using a product that is made up of a dynamic combination of anti-bacterial disinfectant. This makes it a perfect product for all hard surface cleaning and cleansing jobs. Sapphire is suitable for use on all exterior hard surfaces including concrete, roofs, patios, wood, tennis courts, glass, plastic & block paving and will will cover up to 4 times the area of other products such as MMC Pro.
Moss On Lawns Or In Grass: To kill existing moss we recommend using a ferrous sulphate based product. It will blacken the moss, and then can be removed by hand or by using a scarifier. To prevent moss from re-growing you need to maintain healthy grass. This can be done by vigorous growing of the grass - the best way to achieve this is by regular feeding of the grass with a fertiliser.
Acidic soils increase the growth of moss, we recommend applying lime to lower the acidity and discourage moss.
Moss on Lawns
We recommend using a ferrous sulphate based product, for example Ferro-gem Liquid Iron.
Moss on Hard or Artificial Surfaces
We would advise using a product containing a combination of ant-bacterial disinfectant. The outdoor cleaner, Sapphire, is ideal for this job.
For more information on controlling Moss, please get in touch with our sales team on 01522 246491.
