There is an area in my front yard that sits lower than the surrounding land, which is always deeply shaded by trees and shrubs. The ground here is sticky, heavy, wet clay. I have tried growing Lily-of-the Valley, Jack Frost Heart-Leaf Brunella, Hostas, Sweet Woodruff with varying degrees of unsuccess. Aside from the weeds, the patch of cotoneaster groundcover that existed from the start seems to be slowly winning the survival contest.

I do not want to spend that much time maintaining this area, so I intend to let the contoneaster keep spreading, even though long blades of grass keep emerging between the cotoneaster, which is quite annoying to have to weed. In addition, a thick layer of moss grows underneath the cotoneaster.

My question: Is the layer of moss beneath the cotoneaster bad for the cotoneaster? Should I rip the moss out from under?

Thank you in advance for your input.