Mosses may produce a thick, green mass in full sun or shade on both dry and wet soils. They may grow in areas of your lawn where both light and air movement are limited. The plant grows from a thin, long taproot. Wiry, leafy stems that radiate from the root produce a dull, blue-green mat well below the mower blade. This grass-like perennial weed with a distinctive, triangular stem is often found growing in infertile, disturbed soils along Tennessee highways.
Yellow nutsedge is tolerant of wet and poorly drained soils.
The best defense against troublesome weeds is a healthy, dense and actively growing lawn. By mowing your lawn often at an appropriate cutting height, fertilizing and liming according to soil test results and core aerifying to reduce soil compaction, you may help provide an environment more favorable for lawngrasses than lawn weeds. You may increase the amount of light reaching your lawn under tall, isolated trees by pruning limbs below 10 feet. Air movement across the surface of your lawn may be improved by thinning, transplanting or eliminating selected plants growing nearby. And, unfortunately, child abuse does occur in Tennessee.