A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Plant pests and problems Moss in our bearded iris bed...How do we get rid of it???

Hi everyone!
Our large iris bed in our backyard is doing well....keeping out borers now me have a new problem...
Green moss growing on the south side of the bed...
We have a larger spruce right behind the bed....We trimmed it up to let the light on but we are still getting the moss...
Any suggestions on how do get rid of it??

Greg

Are these bearded iris' with nearly surface rhizomes? I just don't have much of a moss issue here in my desert-y existence. I think I would be tempted to put something in a spray bottle and carefully spray just the moss. Something like bleach? I just don't know. I hope someone with more experience comes along with a better suggestion for you.

The moss by itself is not really a problem as it doesn't compete for nutrients the way other vigorous weeds do.

I think it is a concern because it indicates that the soil may be too wet, too shaded or too acidic. It seems unlikely that the drainage has become suddenly worse, so I suspect the soil is too acidic.

Cutting back that tree might do the trick after a while but you might want to buy a soil test kit and see what you are dealing with. Once you know what the pH is, try to adjust it to pH 6 by adding lime in the fall.