Moss in a shady bed

[sippa]

Hi!
Does anyone have some good ideas how to get rid of moss in a shady bed.  It is rather wet and the moss is choking out the plants.
Need Help.


Marianne
gardening in Vermont, US

[Michael J Campbell]

Hi!
Does anyone have some good ideas how to get rid of moss in a shady bed.  It is rather wet and the moss is choking out the plants.
Need Help.

Sulphate of Iron.

[Lori S.]

Or... If it proves impractical to fight the moss, one could go the other way and intentionally cultivate it.  See Moss Gardening by George Schenk (Timber Press).... a wonderful book.

[shelagh]

Sippa my husband Brian spends a lot of time each day getting moss out of the rock garden and he is sure someone puts it back again every night.

[sippa]

Thank you so much for the different ideas how to solve the moss problem.  The moss is beautiful, green and lush, but it is not where I want it.  I will try the sulphate of iron.

Marianne
gardening in Vermont, US

[Rodger Whitlock]

An agrologist I used to work with said that mossy lawns are due to several factors:

• shade
• damp
• poor drainage
• soil of low fertility
• soil acidity

Ferrous sulphate may kill the moss but it doesn't correct any of the underlying conditions, so the moss returns in due course.

This analysis must apply to mossy rock gardens as well as mossy lawns.

[Edited to add "poor drainage" to list of causative factors. These factors are not necessarily independent.]

[Paddy Tobin]

I agree with Rodger and have lots of experience with moss in the lawn and in some of the garden beds. The soil in my garden is slow draining, saved from being a bog by being on a slope, and moss is commonplace. Of course, when damp conditions are in shade one has perfect conditions for moss.

The solution is to increase drainage - perhaps raise the bed - and leave in some light.

Paddy

[sippa]

Thank you Paddy and Roger, The bed is on a slope and was full of ferns and brambles before we dug them out.  I will test the soil and do you think adding sand would help?  It is a wonderful place for woodland plants with old apple trees and a stonewall behind.

Marianne
gardening in Vermont US

[Paddy Tobin]

How about some drainage - a drain under the bed to carry off the water or up slope of the bed to catch surface water and divert it away from the bed? I imagine it would take a lot of sand applied to the surface to make a signigicant difference. A change of levels, raising the bed with drainage material underneath, or putting in a land drain might have a better chance of success.

Paddy

[sippa]

Thanks Paddy!  I was afraid of that, the bed is about 75 feet long and full of plants    . Something for the fall.

Marianne
gardening in Vermont

[Paddy Tobin]

Would it be possible to put a land drain above the bed, not disturb the bed at all and so cut off the water before it reaches the bed at all? It would be terrible to disturb that amount of plants.


Such things happen. I have to put in a new septic tank and percolation area. Already I have had to dig a hole, 2metres X 2 X 2.5 deep, to test the water table level in the area. I had a digger in to excavate the hole but refilled it by hand. Ouch! Fortunately, I will be able to have the work done while avoiding beds.

Paddy

[Rodger Whitlock]

The bed is on a slope and was full of ferns and brambles before we dug them out.  I will test the soil and do you think adding sand would help?  It is a wonderful place for woodland plants with old apple trees and a stonewall behind.

What is the fundamental soil type? Loam? Clay? Sand?

If it's clay, adding sand would be a waste of time and money.

Here's a suggestion: in the fall, mulch the entire bed with leaves. Apple leaves are perfect, as it happens. Just put on leaves as they fall from the deciduous trees. With a little luck, this may simply smother the moss, plus encourage the worms, which will in turn improve drainage.

Since you say the bed is full of woodland plants, I would be very cautious about trying to radically alter conditions; you might end up getting rid not only of the moss but also the woodlanders.

Yet another suggestion: treat the moss symptomatically. That is, put on moss killer and don't worry about altering the underlying causative factors. You'll have to repeat the treatment every year, I imagine, but such is life.

[Eric Locke]

Perhaps it is best to accept the moss and just keep it under control as much as time allows.

Eric

[Paddy Tobin]

I tried Rodger's suggestion on a section of a bed last year with whatever leaves I collected in the garden, ash, chestnut, magnolia etc etc and it worked very well. Obviously, it does not eliminate the underlying problem of poor drainage but it covers up the problem, a bit like ladies applying makeup, I suppose.

Paddy

[mark smyth]

Good drainage hasnt stopped in on my rockery of troughs. Both are 50/50 top soil and grit. I also have a strange deer antler fungus/moss/lichen growing on my rockery