With moss as a ground cover, you can transform low-light niches in the garden into a lush green feast for the eyes. The gentle alternative to ivy, carpet medlar, shadow green and colleagues does not unreservedly meet expectations. Read here when and how moss is perfect for ground cover, with tips on the advantages and disadvantages.

Moss is a beautiful, low-maintenance ground cover

The right location sets the course

In order for moss to be useful as a ground cover, the location should be equal to the general conditions of natural occurrence. Most types of moss attach great importance to these light and soil conditions:

  • A place with indirect sunlight through to shade
  • Gladly humid near a pond or stream
  • A fresh to moist, nutrient-poor garden soil
  • Ideally with an acidic pH between 5.0 and 6.5

Moss preferably lies at the foot of your deciduous and coniferous trees or spreads under hedges as a decorative ground cover. In addition, within the large family of moss plants there are lime-tolerant species that decorate stones and walls with a green dress.

This is how you settle moss as a ground cover

Assign moss plants the ideal location and the green carpet will spread itself out. You give the growth additional impetus if you spread a thin layer of peat or leaf compost as a base and compact it with the lawn roller. Place small pieces of moss, 4-5 cm apart, that you have loosened from the ground or stone elsewhere in the garden and water.

Advantages and disadvantages

Moss is a good and inexpensive solution for greening a damp, low-light area in the garden in an apparently natural way. On the other hand, moss plants are too weak to compete for weed suppression because they do not root in the soil. Furthermore, the slip resistance leaves a lot to be desired. This is especially true on rainy days, when pieces of moss come loose even with little stress.

tips

Contrary to its name, star moss (Sagina subulata) is not moss in the botanical sense, but nevertheless develops a lush green, dense carpet. Tiny, white flowers make pretty accents during the summertime. In contrast to moss, the little plants take root in the soil, so that they can be used as a substitute for walking on the lawn and do not become unpredictably slippery when it rains.

Category:

Vegetable garden