Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Cultivation => Cultivation Problems => Topic started by: Brian Knights on February 09, 2010, 01:57:24 PM
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For about five years now I have had the phenomenon of moss growing widely on the soil surface in my garden. Most of it can be removed by careful raking with a hand fork to yield substantial handfuls but some species are more adhesive. Moss is now growing through low growing plants like Thymes and Campanulas and, worse, small Rhododendrons such as R. kiusianum . I associate this with climate change in the form of dull, cool, moist conditions and, if correct, would expect other gardeners to report the same circumstances. The question therefore is: "is my problem purely a local one or is it quite widespread in Scotland?" I would welcome some feedback.
Regards to all,
Brian Knights
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Brian I am sure others will reply, but we have exactly the same problem in East Anglia, it is the bane of my life and even grows up the trunk of our pear tree! As East Anglia is not "dull, cool, moist" I wonder if there is another explanation.
Brian
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We certainly have problems, its everywhere.
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It's invasive in my garden also
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.... and mine, particularly in North(ish) facing places. It also grows well on my roof tiles and the local birds make heavy use of it at nesting time.
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Hasn't it always been so in some parts of the country? Rochdale has a Mossway; Bolton a Moss Bank Park; other towns have areas such as the Great Moss; Mossy Vale, etc., etc.
It is absolutely rife in our vicinity but, as far as I know, it always has been. If seedlings don't germinate very quickly here then they face an uphill battle against the fast encroaching moss and liverworts.
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and Ashton Moss used to produce the best celery around in my boyhood days. People used to travel by train from Ashton under Lyne to Huddersfield and sell the celery door to door. Ah! the good old days.
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The term "Moss" used to be used - maybe still is - as meaning a boggy area or swamp, as in Stirling Moss, which stuffed up the English at Bannockburn, so that could be the origin of some mentioned above; Ashton Moss, Mossway etc. Of course I've never been to any of these or know their history, just a suggestion.
Except that it seems too widespread to have this cause, I'd point out that the use or overuse of Roundup weedkiller promotes moss growth very strongly. The weeds are killed but are replaced after a short time by mats of green, velvety moss. The more one sprays, the more the moss grows and especially so in damp, cool or shady places.
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The modern word "moss" derives from Old English "mos" meaning boggy place. In Old Norse the equivalent word was "mosi" which suggests the root of the word probably stems from the ancient Germanic languages.
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A moss in N Ireland is a peat bog
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Yes, the same applies in lots of other parts of the GB eg The Pennines
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I have it as a lawn now all the grass has died. Much less mowing.
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In the Swedish language the plant is "mossa" and the bog is a "mosse". There are many different species of moss in the world but they are not so easy to recognize.
In my place most mosses are no problem due to the soft nature. Actually they are in a way helpful since they are easy to roll off the ground leaving all weed seedlings very prominent.
The moss I try to eradicate is Polytrichium since that one can be very substantial and difficult to pull out.
Liverworth is also called "Mossa" in sweden and this is of course a very obnoxious weed.
Cheers
Göte
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Moss prefers to establish on hard moist surfaces. Well cultivated soil tends to dry out to quickly at the surface. Once moss gets established it tends to become self-sustaining by retaining its own water. The last two summers were very wet at times and this seems to have encouraged moss growth. If you don't get rid of it from a spot then it will just keep spreading.