Moss and thatch. What are they? Why do they cause problems in your lawn? How to treat? How to scarify? What lawn care afterwards is best to avoid them? Cheshire Lawn Doctor provides a lawn scarifying service throughout Warrington, Lymm, Frodsham, Knutsford, Northwich and Cheshire.
Moss and thatch can cause lots of problems for your lawn. If allowed to grow moss will eventually suffocate the grass in your lawn. It can act like a sponge soaking up all the water and making your lawn a wet bog. Thatch is a build up of grass roots, stolons, rhizomes and crowns that form a spongy layer between the grass roots and soil. This prevents the roots from gaining access to much needed moisture and nutrients within the soil. The thatch layer quickly drys out in warm weather and the grass will die quickly where thatch is thick.
Good lawn care will prevent both moss and thatch appearing. Scarifying or lawn raking will remove the thatch layer and moss allowing light, nutrients and air to circulate around the roots and give a healthy lawn. Aftercare is important to prevent the return of moss and thatch in the future.
The level of moss and thatch within your lawn will depend on how heavy a scarification is needed and also whether your lawn will need over seeding afterwards.
Poor drainage and poor lawn care can lead to moss becoming a problem. Left untreated bare patches within your lawn will soon become moss infested. Shady areas under trees and bushes are also an area where moss can be found and again if left untreated will spread to other areas. The appearance of moss in your lawn is generally a sign of some underlying problem. This could be a blocked drain, shady areas or lying water due to soil compaction. Our aim at Cheshire Lawn Doctor is to not only remove the moss but solve the underlying problem that caused the moss in the first place. Regular lawn aeration, scarification and a lawn treatment programme should ensure a moss free lawn.
Thatch in your lawn is again down to poor lawn care management. Regular scarifying, aeration and the correct nutrients will prevent lawn thatch. Thatch is an accumulation of dying grass blades, roots, stolons etc. Slow decomposition can lead to all these matting together to form a barrier between the grass roots and the soil. Over time this thatch layer thickens, grass roots grow in to it rather than the soil, it acts like a sponge soaking up available water and then drys out very quickly in warm weather. As the grass roots aren’t in the soil the grass will soon turn brown and die. The thatch layer needs to be removed to prevent this from happening and allowing the roots to grow deep in to the soil acquiring water and nutrients.
We recommend regular scarifying, aeration and seasonal treatments to prevent moss and thatch. Contact us on 07798718569 for your free lawn treatment quote.