How to Identify Snow Mold
Snow mold forms on grass during the early months of spring. You find snow mold after winters where the ground didn't freeze for prolonged periods of time. A badly timed fertilizer application can cause mold to form on your lawn. Identify snow mold by realizing that two types exist: pink and gray. Keep your lawn safe from snow mold by preparing your lawn in the fall for the upcomming winter months.
Things you'll need:
- Mower
- Rake
- Identify the usual pattern that snow melt forms on a damaged lawn. Snow melt forms in circular patches on infected grass. The size of these circular patches ranges from 3 to 12 inches. The grass under the snow mold patch is usually dead or tangled.
- Recognize pink snow mold by noting its pink, web-like appearance on your lawn. The mold, which comes from a fungus disease, starts out appearing similar to white cobwebs that form over the grass. This type of snow mold turns to either a pink or salmon color as it goes through its growing cycle on your turf.
- Learn how to pick out gray snow mold by noticing the fungus's similarity to pink snow mold. The web-like patches on your grass appear the same as the ones formed by pink snow mold. However, the fungus that makes up this type of snow mold are both gray and white in color. Black masses form on the blades grass associated with with gray snow mold. Pink snow mold does not produce black sclerotia (a solid mass of mycelium.) Mycelium is defined as the vegetable part of a fungus.
- Refrain from placing excessive amounts of fertilizer that contains high nitrogen levels on your lawn during the fall months to help prevent snow mold from forming in the spring.
- Keep mowing your lawn until the grass stops growing during the middle to late fall months. Where you live dictacts how early or late you should stop mowing your lawn.
- Rake and pick up any leaves on your lawn to prevent the moist and warm conditions that allow snow mold to form on your grass.