Allen,
I guess with all the rain last year it stands to reason why I have talked to so many customers about moss issues. So, you are not alone. All this rain has caused our soil to be more compacted than usual. Lawns need to be aerated in order to loosen this compaction and allow oxygen to get into the soil. This is the first step in controlling moss growth ( aeration ). Secondly, again with all this rain – it may have affected your pH level. Your soil may be too acidic – another reason for moss growth. Test the pH. If it is below 6.5 then I would recommend liming in order to “sweeten” the soil. Where you see heavy moss growth – you may want to try to “scrap” it up. Then sow some new grass seed in these bare spots. Good luck, Doug

Karen,
thank you for reading our blogs and then taking the time to send me your question. You have an area that is very similar to one that I have. What I finally ended up doing is spreading mulch on this area in order to give it a define look. Then I started adding a few boxwoods since then like the shade and are shallow rooted. And, I start adding some shade loving perennials to the area such as hosta, ferns, heuchura, etc. With each planting I amde sure to add some compost with each hole that I dug. Good luck. I hope it works out for you whatever you decide to do. Doug

Jules,
Glad that you have the pre-emergent down now. If you are converting your lawn from fescue to Bermuda then you want to begin this transition starting in May. We need to be warm and we need our soil temperature to warm up before you put down any bermuda grass seed. With this said, you can’t be seeding and using a pre-emergence at the same time period. Good luck. I hope your conversion is a success for you. Doug

Margann,
Thank you for reading our blogs and then taking the time to send us your question. Yes, you can use a combination of some new mulch and some Preen to help fight weed growth. I would suggest edging this area that is around your mailbox in order to cut away the grass. You don’t identify the grass. Is it wiregrass? If so, you could use a product called Grass B Gon or Over the top that should kill the grass and not hurt your daylilies. Doug

Sylvia,
Thank you for reading our educational blogs. And, I am glad you find them helpful. Homeowners will be installing sod in March. The advantage of sod over seeding is that with sod the grass has an established root system. No question in that it will require timely watering to maintain through a hot summer. But, it can be done and done successfully.