Getting Rid of Snow
Mold
The
snow is finally gone…well for now this is Northwestern Pa. What was a beautiful
dark green lawn, now contains white and yellow spots. The questions you are
asking yourself are: What happened to my lawn over the winter? Is my lawn dead?
It looks terrible!!
NO WORRIES!!
Your
turf is not dead. It is affected by the presence of a lawn fungus commonly known
as SNOW MOLD! Its damage is usually
concentrated in circles three to twelve inches in diameter, although yards may
have many of these circles, sometimes to the point at which it becomes hard to
differentiate between different circles. Snow mold comes in two varieties: pink
or gray. While it can affect all types of grasses, Kentucky bluegrass and fescue lawns are
least affected by snow mold.
This disease comes as the snow melts, exposing the grass to the cool, wet temperatures of early spring. Keep in mind snow is not always necessary for the disease to occur! Snow Mold can only affect the grass blade, so fully recovery of the turf plant is common.
How to get rid of Snow Mold
You can always prevent it, but like
in my case…I already have it!
So what
can you do, you can lightly fluff up the matted areas in the spring with a
rake. This includes areas matted with leaves and/or packed snow from the plow
over the winter. Be careful not to
damage the live grass, just to loosen the dead, diseased parts. With
this light raking it will help bring air and sun within the turf to help
recover and begin to green again.
As you
are raking if you notice bare spots now would be a great time to seed these
area but remember if you are seeding you should not be applying any crabgrass
control if you have any more questions, please give us a call.
