We just got an email from one of our customers.  She writes:

As our grass begins to appear from under the snow I’m noticing dry little patches that look like hay. What does this mean? 

Kyle says, “I also saw this on my lawn as the heavy snow load I had also melted and receded. It’s normally worse when we have snow that persists for longer periods of time in the winter.

Without looking at a picture of the issue, I am 95% confident that it is snow mould, a fungus which is probably also occurring on bent grass, annual bluegrass or other susceptible grass species.

Grey Snow Mould - image by William M. Brown Jr., Bugwood.org

It usually looks like a bit of a fuzzy web like mass is growing on top of the blades. These are mycelium that are part of the fungus. You’ll notice it’s usually on the areas where the snow was slower to melt. Make sure to mow your lawn between 2 3/4″-3″ before winter sets in. Be sure to rake leaves and other debris off the lawn before snow falls. It doesn’t normally kill the grass. Re-seed with cultivars of grass like LawnSavers custom blend which contain varieties of seed that are bred to be resistant to this fungus.

A closer view of grass blades showing rust pustules

Rust, a fungus of the Pucciniaceae family, is starting to stain lawns. Rust is ugly on a lawn but is usually harmless to grass. It does work as a good indicator of your lawn’s current overall health and care regimen though, since it does not appear on grass that is growing optimally. Rust appears as tiny red-orange pustules on the face of the grass blade, which can rub off and colour your pants, shoes and lawn tools. It spreads down the grass blade slowly, so it will only become noticable if the grass is growing slowly due to stress, lack of water, low fertility, or a combination.  More often than not, we at LawnSavers see it appear on lawns that have not been mowed frequently enough.  Currently, the heavy night time dews and more frequent rains are largely responsible for allowing it to flourish.

Getting rid of rust is simple – just get the grass growing vigorously again.

1. Have a professional fertilization done that has a healthy amount of nitrogen - all of LawnSaver’s customers on lawn care packages receive regular fertilization, and we also offer individual applications, as well as winterization treatments that are a big help. LawnSavers Custome blend of fertilizer contains the right mix of nutrients for our areas unique needs.
2. Water deeply, early in the morning - lawns need one and half to two inches of water every week. Proper lawn watering focusing on morning watering prevents the lingering dampness which fungus loves which is more often encouraged with evening watering.
3. Most importantly, mow frequently (every 5 – 7 days), and bag the clippings if they are longer than one inch - removing the infected tops of the grass will stop it from spreading.

You can learn more about common lawn fungi here.

The hot weather and frequent rain are creating ideal conditions for fungus to thrive. 

Rings and crescents of dead grass are a telltale sign

 The most serious issue we see in the heat of summer is necrotic ring spot. Caused by the fungus Leptosphaeria korrae, in its advanced stage the damage takes the form of rings or crescents of dead grass.  It’s main host is unfortunately the most common grass on home lawns, Kentucky bluegrass. 

 At early stages, the damage appears as scattered patches that coalesce and pull out easily. The roots and crowns have been killed, so nothing holds the grass in the soil anymore. The fungus spreads outwards in an arc form by spores and mycelia. New grass can grow back in the region the fungus has abandoned, resulting in the characteristic ring shape. Cool wet weather promotes its growth in spring and fall, but the dry hot summer reveals its symptomatic arcs and rings more blatantly. Unchecked over years, the rings of dead grass can grow to over a couple feet in diameter. 

 There is no cure for necrotic ring spot. There is no product registered for use in Ontario or North America for that matter which will kill the fungus or stop it from infecting grass. You CAN make your lawn resistant with good cultural practices.

 If you already have it: 

•  Clean your lawn mower:  Mycelia tend to attach themselves to the underside of dirty lawn mowers and are carried from lawn to lawn.  We most often see necrotic ring spot on lawns that have a mowing service.
• Sharpen your mower blade: Torn grass blades are more easily infected because they have larger surface areas to become infected by most lawn diseases
• Fertilize with Nitrogen: LawnSavers professional fertilizer contains a high amount of slow release nitrogen which helps the lawn grow through this disease quicker. 
• Syringing: (only recommended to help reduce an identified Necrotic ring spot problem)  Water very lightly during the high heat of the day, essentially to activate the fungus and expose it to the sun, therefore decreasing its life expectancy.
• Aerate: Aerating the lawn reduces compaction thereby reducing the amount of infection.
• Over-seed with resistant varieties of Kentucky bluegrass and resistant perennial rye-grass. (LawnSavers special overseed blend is very resistant)
• Let it run it’s course!: any efforts to seed or dig it out will only be met with disappointment as disturbing it helps the fungus spread and new seedlings become infected quickly.

PREVENTION
Strong roots and resistant strains of grass will both help shield your lawn from this attack. 

• Water deeply, once or twice a week. Grass will grow roots to where the water is. Creating a deep reservoir and allowing the surface to stay drier will encourage the roots to grow long.
• Mow frequently and high, to prevent thatch build up which can snarl root growth.
• Core aerate every year to break up excess thatch and reduce soil compaction, so the roots have a better base to grow into.
• Over seed, not only to replace any grass damaged by fungus, but to introduce new, stronger varietals which resist necrotic ring spot better.

We can over seed starting at $59.95 + tax and core aerate starting at $60.00 + tax, and both services can be bundled together for bigger savings.