Question
I live in North East Georgia about 50 miles north of Atlanta.

I have been looking for the answer to this question for about 3 years.  Hope you can help.

I have a fairly large moss covered yard that is shaded. Hickory and oak trees fill the yard.  I guess it is considered dense shade in some areas. I love the moss and would love to get it to grow thicker.

My problem is that I do not know how to get rid of the variety of weeds that grow in the yard.  I was wondering if I can pretreat for weeds without killing the moss.

What can I do to solve this problem.  I would appreciate any suggestions.

Bonnie smith

Answer
Buy a spray bottle of round-up (available at walmart, home depot, lowes, or a garden center) and spray on the leaves of the weeds. Use a cardboard piece to create a screen between the moss and the weeds (if the round-up drifts onto the moss or drips down onto the moss, the moss will be killed, too). Once the product dries on the leaves of the weeds, the weeds will die in a matter of days.

Once eradicated, you can limit weeds and improve moss strands by improving growing conditions for moss and discourage growing conditions for weeds.

Encourage a hard compact soil (do not fertilize, do not add organic matter). Water lightly but frequently. In hot summer months, spray the area several times per day. Consistently but shallow moisture levels favors moss. Infrequent but deep waterings favor other plants (grass, weeds, etc).

Do not lime.