Moss Removal & Lawn Replacement After Winter
Is your lawn more moss than grass this spring?
A typical damp and dark UK winter can create the perfect conditions for moss to thrive.
As your lawn becomes weaker over winter, this is when moss will take the opportunity to take hold and spread rapidly.
As experts in lawn care, we'll help you determine whether your lawn can be restored or if starting fresh with our high-quality turf is the faster, more cost-effective solution.
Why Has Moss Taken Over My Lawn This Winter?
Moss tends to appear after Winter as the damp and dark conditions are ideal for it to spread. A lack of airflow and sunlight over the winter months puts your grass into dormancy mode, which allows moss to take over and thrive.
With your lawn being weaker, the moss will outcompete the dormant grass and rapidly take over your lawn.
Unlike grass, moss doesn’t have traditional roots, instead it has 'rhizoids' which allow it to absorb water and nutrients through its leaves, meaning it can usually survive where grass can’t.
Smothering
Moss will thrive in areas with a lack of airflow.
Over Winter, debris like fallen leaves, branches and stones etc can be left to pile up on your grass, especially as you won’t have been going outside much to regularly clear the garden!
If left to pile up, they can smother the lawn and block airflow from reaching the grass roots, allowing moss to develop and thrive. It may also encourage fungal lawn diseases to develop.
Compaction
Over winter, the increased rainfall and constant freeze-thaw cycles can cause your soil to become compacted.
If you notice areas of water pooling on your lawn, this is a key sign that it’s not draining correctly.
A waterlogged lawn will essentially 'drown' the grass roots, weakening your lawn and allowing moss to thrive. As moss doesn't have deep roots, it will sit on the surface of the lawn, soaking up the moisture and competing with your grass for nutrients.
Shall I Repair or Replace my Lawn?
One of the hardest decisions to make with moss removal is whether to try and repair the lawn or simply cut your losses and replace the grass.
Whilst most grass can bounce back and self-repair if the moss is treated and removed, sometimes, a larger, more prevalent moss infestation means it may be easier and better for your lawn health to dig up the grass and lay new turf.
Generally, if moss is covering more than half of your lawn and the grass appears yellow or brown, this means it’s going to be very difficult to try and repair. The cost, effort and time it would take to try and treat the moss, scarify, aerate and then overseed the area to encourage new growth would likely outweigh the cost of simply buying new turf.
We’ve made a handy checklist below, so you can see which route is best to take for the health of your grass:
Repairing:
Moss Coverage: Under 40-50%
Grass Health: Sparse, patchy growth but still green in areas
Timeline: 6-8 weeks for recovery
Cost: Lower (Treatment, seed, fertiliser)
Replacing:
Moss Coverage: Over 50%
Grass Health: Yellow or Brown colour and sparse / non-existent growth.
Timeline: 1-2 days for removal and laying fresh turf.
Cost: Higher (turf cutter, topsoil, turf, landscaper)
Removing Moss and Repairing your Lawn
If you’ve decided your lawn is still salvageable, then you should follow the below steps to try and repair your lawn effectively.
Treatment
It’s important to treat the moss first before trying to remove it. If you go to rake it straight away without treating it, you risk spreading the spores around, meaning it will just take over even more of your lawn.
Treating the moss dries out the rhizoids, meaning it will be looser and easier to remove from the grass.
There are lots of different lawn moss killers available which you tend to find in most garden centres.
The best one for moss on grass would be one that contains Ferrous Sulphate (Iron), as this kills the moss but doesn’t harm the grass. You can use it in spray format for large coverage, or in granular form, taking care to not burn the lawn.
You may also want to use a combined lawn moss treatment and lawn feed to help both kill moss and give your ground a nutrient boost to help the grass re-grow and fight back against moss growth.
Scarifying Moss
Around 2 weeks after applying the treatment, the moss should have turned a brown / black colour. This means it has died and you can then scarify the lawn to remove all the dead moss so that the grass can try to repair itself.
You should also aerate the lawn to help improve airflow to the roots and to help improve drainage. This will help the grass recover naturally.
If, after a few weeks, you’re still seeing patchy areas in the lawn, you can overseed to encourage re-growth in these areas.
Replacing Your Lawn
If you’ve decided that moss has totally taken over your lawn and it’s probably best to remove it and start again, then there’s still important steps to consider to make sure you’re removing your lawn properly and effectively.
Firstly, you need to make sure you’re still treating the moss before trying to remove the lawn, so you don’t accidentally spread more spores all over the garden, ready to take hold of your new turf.
Let the moss killer work for a week or two, and once the moss has turned brown or black, you can then look to remove the lawn. You can use either a spade / turf cutter to do this.
We'd recommend using a turf cutter as, this way, you can remove the lawn at a consistent depth for the cleanest and easiest removal. You should set the blade depth to roughly 25-35mm, this is to make sure it’s deep enough to dig up the moss and grass roots, but not too deep that you’re pulling up topsoil with it and altering your garden levels more than needed.
Use the cutter along the lawn, cutting in rectangular strips for the easiest removal, you can then use a spade later on to chop the grass up into smaller lengths so that they’re easier to dispose of.
If you have a smaller lawn and want to use a simple spade to dig it up yourself, then it may be easier to split the lawn into sections, so that it’s easier to dig up smaller chunks of grass slowly. Moss has shallow roots, so you wouldn’t need to dig deeply, keep it similar to the turf cutter recommended depth, around 20-25mm in depth to take the grass out by the roots.
You can then dispose of the turf in a skip, or put into a compost pile - make sure this pile isn’t near your new lawn, to avoid any leftover moss spreading!
Once the old lawn is removed, you can either seed your new lawn, or invest in some high-quality turf to get a new lawn, fast.
Healthy, dense turf is the best natural barrier to moss. Our hard-wearing Stadium Turf is a great option for a family lawn, or, if you’re looking for a more ornamental looking lawn, then our fine bladed Rye Gold has a strong and stable root system, which allows it to thrive in a range of growing conditions.
You should make sure your ground is prepared correctly, so that you minimise the chance of any moss returning: aerate, add fresh soil and fertilise to give your new turf a healthy base for it to root into, preventing future moss growth.
Spring Aftercare: Preventing Moss Growth
While successful removal restores the appearance of your lawn, the most effective long-term strategy for a moss-free garden lies in your aftercare. Moss is likely to come back if the actual cause of the problem is not looked at.
To try and tackle the problem properly to help reduce moss growth in the long term, start by identifying the cause of the problem and make sure you’re keeping up on your garden maintenance to keep moss at bay:
Waterlogging
Moss will take advantage of waterlogged lawns, it’s the ideal conditions for them to thrive. You can improve drainage by aerating your lawn in Spring / Autumn which should minimise the chance of water pooling on your lawn.
Acidic soil
Mosses will grow in most soils but acidic soil is their favourite – you can buy a pH testing kit and add some lime into the soil to make it more alkaline, to try and help prevent moss growth. Use with care to avoid over-treating the grass or irritating your skin.
Lack of Airflow
If you leave debris on your lawn, it can limit the airflow to the grass. The damp and dark areas under the debris are where moss thrives. Make sure to clear your lawn regularly either by hand or with a rake to allow plenty of airflow and sunlight to reach the grass.
Mowing grass too short
This will weaken your lawn, causing patches and allowing moss to take over. Avoid cutting more than one third of the length of the blades of grass off in one cut and setting your blade height high for the first few and last cuts of the season.
By keeping your lawn well maintained making it strong and healthy, moss will struggle to compete allowing the grasses to dominate.
For everything you need to keep your lawn healthy and moss free, check out our turf, seed and topsoil products available for next day delivery.
FAQs
Can I just mow the moss away?
No, mowing alone will not kill moss, it will only spread the spores more across your lawn, worsening your moss problem.
Should I rake out green moss?
It’s best to avoid raking green moss as a initial tactic, as, if you rake it while it’s still green and healthy, you risk spreading the spores across the rest of your lawn, encouraging more growth. Instead, apply a moss killer treatment, and only rake after the moss turns black and dies.
My lawn is black after treating moss, have I killed it?
The black colour means the treatment is working as it means that the moss is dying. This usually happens around 2 weeks after applying the treatment. Once it turns black, rake it out and the lawn will slowly recover.
Will moss grow back after I replace my turf?
New turf provides a fresh start, but it doesn’t mean the moss won’t return. Moss grows in damp, shady areas, so make sure your grass is getting plenty of sunlight and aerate your soil to improve drainage.
When is the best time to remove moss in the UK?
The best time to remove moss would be in early Spring (March/April) or early autumn (September/October) when the climate is mild. Avoid removing moss in the middle of summer or winter, as the grass will likely be too stressed by heat or frost to recover after the removal.
