lawn & garden tips > snow mould

Over the past several years, we’ve been noticing large amounts of snow mold on Homeowners lawns. These grey or pinkish circular patches reek havoc to lawns. The picture shows how it can look very much like the results of female dog urine.

Once your lawn is dry you can mow your lawn in the early spring.  This will cut most of the dormant tips of the blades off and once the grass grows just a little bit it will look lush green before any other lawns.

Once you notice these rings rake them out immediately!  By doing this you allow air to get at the crown of the plants. Otherwise the grass plants could be smothered and have the potential to die.

We would highly suggest a heavy raking over the entire area. Once you’ve “raked out” the snow mold; in a month or so your lawn should bounce back.  If it does not, you could repair the lawn by over-seeding. (Follow over-seeding guide on page 15.) However, if you would like instant repairs you may want to sod the areas that were heavily infested.

The best thing to do in early spring is to rake your lawn even if you aren't sure you have snow mold. A little raking is good, but a good aggressive raking is a lot better. The idea is to get the thatch out of your lawn so it can breathe right down to the crown of the plant. In addition, the heavy snow and ice can cause the blades of grass to lay over, so you’ll want to get them standing straight up. Don’t worry too much about tearing off good blades because the overall results will cover the loss in no time.

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