The winter months can bring a unique host of problems to your landscape’s health. It’s the one time of year where your trees are constantly at risk, which is why you need to take so many precautions before the snow falls. If you make a misstep, you could be putting your landscape’s health at risk! One of the problems that can arise from improper maintenance is snow mold. If this is an issue that you’re facing, it’s important to know how to identify it and the proper steps to combat it. We give you a crash course on snow mold below!
Identifying Snow Mold
Before you diagnose your lawn as having snow mold, it’s important to know exactly what you’re looking for. The best way of detecting snow mold is to wait until the snow in your yard melts. Ideally, your grass should look around the same, with no miscolorings to be seen. This is the first identifying factor of snow mold. It comes in two main colors: gray and pink. There are some key differences between the two types of snow mold, with pink being a far deadlier variant of it. Pink snow mold can kill grass roots in addition to blades, which means that your grass won’t grow back if you get it!
Treating Snow Mold
If you’ve noticed snow mold when the snow begins to melt, it’s already too late to treat it! You can lightly rake the affected area if you see it, but that’s about all you can do (especially if it’s pink snow mold!). The best way of treating snow mold is prevention. If this has become a recurring problem for you, you can apply a lawn fungicide to your grass before the winter starts. This works as a preventative and helps protect your lawn from further snow mold development.
Preventing Snow Mold
If snow mold isn’t a recurring problem, you should still take preventative measures anyway! Start by mowing your lawn as close to the first snowfall as possible. This prevents the grass blades from trapping too much moisture and giving good breeding conditions for snow mold. Making sure your leaves don’t pile up, ensuring your lawn has proper drainage, and dethatching your lawn are also important preventative measures.
Tree Care With Elliott Tree and Landscaping
If you’ve succumbed to the problems that the winter season brings, there’s no better place to call than Elliott Tree! We can remove any dead or decaying trees from your property to ensure that your landscape is performing at its best. To learn more about what we can do for your property, click here to contact us directly!
