My back yard is all moss. It's in shade from tall oaks and the native soil is acidic and compacted. We had tried to grow grass there but finally gave up on it and let the moss take over. I haven't succeeded in getting all the weeds out yet but I plan to give it a try this fall by using glyphosate on a small area. I know somebody that has a homemade roller arrangement that "paints" the taller weeds without getting the herbicide on the moss and has had great success with it.

Sorry I don't have any pictures but we've had several weeks of drought and it's sorta sad looking right now. I don't water it and it just has to suffer during our typical summer drought. The rest of the year it's healthy and green except for a few weeks in mid-winter. I don't fertilize it either.

Sandy, I'd love to see pictures of your droughty moss lawn if you happen to have the camera out some time. Since I'm planning to implement the moss lawn I'd like to know what it'll look like in the summer. (I plan to just let it go dormant in the dry season.)

I'd also appreciate any suggestions for gathering more lawn-type moss in Seattle. I've thought about approaching neighbors with mossy lawns and asking if they wanted to have it raked out, and collecting it that way.

thane;

I think your moss is one of the Brachytheciums. Moss can hibernate one day when dry then if rain the next moss is up and running. If you look closely you probably have more than one Brach as well as other mosses in your lawn. To discourage the grass try Roundup or other glysophate. And/or try using a soil acidifier like sulfur that you can buy from the nurseries. Try taking the soil pH down to 5.5 gradually and this will discourage most grasses and encourage most mosses.

I have talked to several people who have had moss lawns and they just started out discouraging the grass and letting the moss take over. Acidic water soluable fertilizers like miracle gro for azaleas or petersons fert for azaleas et al will encourage the moss.

For more info on moss lawns search this forum. I found 39 matches for moss lawn.

Rick

Just in case anyone else is looking for suggestions on how to find lawn moss:

I posted today on Craigslist in the "Wanted" section, asking for people who were getting rid of moss in their lawns and didn't mind sharing it. Within 10 minutes I got an email from a woman who offered me 4 garbage bags of moss. Woo!

What effect, if any, would glysophate or a soil acidifier have on my Tulip poplar. I have a grass path around the drip line of the tree which has branches 6' off the ground because it is a specimen tree by itself?

yorknativemg;

glysophate loses all its' powers once it hits the soil. It is only effective as a general weed killer by being absorbed via the green leaf or green stem surface and disrupts some enzyme involved in the root. Check with an arborist to be sure about tulip poplar. Soil acidity is just to modify the surface of the soil but again check with arborist.

Rick