Learn about snow mold and how to prevent it.
Snow mold is a cold-weather fungus that typically affects cool-season grasses. Signs that your grass is affected with snow mold won’t show until spring when the snow melts, but the key to treating it is prevention. Continue reading to learn more about snow mold and how to prevent it and keep your lawn looking healthy.
Causes Of Snow Mold
As the name suggests, snow mold is caused by heavy snowfall on your lawn. It causes the most problems when your area receives a large amount of snow before the ground has completely frozen, so the snow seeps into your grass and plants. The weight of the snow on fragile grass plants mixed with winter moisture and lawn debris results in gray snow mold or pink snow mold.
How To Prevent It
As we officially enter winter, the end of the year is a crucial time to prepare your lawn and prevent snow mold. Before the first snow of the season, it’s important to mow, as extra-long grass is more susceptible to gray snow mold. You don’t want to scalp the lawn, but you should make your last cut of the growing season 1 to 1 ½ inches shorter than you normally cut.
Also, don’t let leaves or snow pile up on your lawn. Leaving a thick layer of leaves on your lawn will prove to be a bad decision in the spring, as the leaves create a welcoming environment for mold. Snow mold also develops under a cover of snow, so you don’t want to create deep snow piles while clearing snow from your driveway.
If you have dealt with snow mold before and know that your lawn is susceptible, you can apply a preventative fungicide. This should be applied soon, as winter is almost here and the first significant snowfall may be just around the corner!
Repairing Damaged Grass
If you do find snow mold damage on your lawn in the spring, it will take some time and effort to get it looking healthy and green again. The first thing to do is to gently rake the affected moldy areas to loosen the matted grass and help the lawn dry quicker. By allowing the grass to breathe, it will give the unaffected grass more room to grow. If you still find that your dead or discolored grass is not returning to its healthy state, you may need to use a patch and repair product on the damaged areas.
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