Diseases
Diseases and fungus are caused by two factors: cultural habits and environmental conditions.
Cultural Habits
- Mowing
- Watering
- Fertilizing
- Power Raking
Environment Conditions
- Cool and Rainy
- Extreme Heat
- Ice
- Lack of rain
Treatment
There are fungicides to treat some conditions but 4 Seasons Lawn Care does not recommend treatment for a few reasons:
- They are very expensive
- They require repeat applications, sometimes every 10 days
- The ‘problem’ will go away once the cause is fixed
How to fix
- Change the cultural habit, i.e. mow higher; water more; do not over fertilize; do not stress with power rake.
- Wait for the environmental conditions to change, i.e. mushrooms appear in cool, rainy springs but once the temperatures rise and the rain slows down the mushrooms will go away; summer blight requires more watering to cure.
Four most common ‘problems’
Blight
Caused by a combination of any or all of the following:
- Hot temperatures
- Mowing too short in heat
- Not enough water for the heat
Fairy Ring
Caused by decaying organic material underground. This is the most common fungus that others treat with the expensive fungicides. Until the decaying matter is gone, no amount of fungicide will cure the problem. Aerating the area frequently and/or sprinkling dry laundry detergent and watering it in, are both ways to make it less obvious in the lawn. Often times there will be mushrooms growing in the area as well. Interesting tidbit: mushrooms from Fairy Ring are edible.
Fairy Ring
Caused by decaying organic material underground. This is the most common fungus that others treat with the expensive fungicides. Until the decaying matter is gone, no amount of fungicide will cure the problem. Aerating the area frequently and/or sprinkling dry laundry detergent and watering it in, are both ways to make it less obvious in the lawn. Often times there will be mushrooms growing in the area as well. Interesting tidbit: mushrooms from Fairy Ring are edible.
Mushrooms
Remember what mushrooms like: “put me in the dark and feed me lots of poo”. Basically, they like it shady, moist and cool. Mushrooms, other than those caused by Fairy Ring, are prolific when temperatures are cool and we have lots of moisture. Some will have them if they water too much and the area doesn’t dry a bit before the temps get cooler towards nighttime.
Snow Mold
Snow mold is common after winters with lots of setting snow. It is a fungus that develops under the ‘snow pack’ and makes the lawn look matted with a cotton candy type substance on it. As with all diseases, once the snow melts and the temperatures warm up the snow mold goes away. In severe cases, aeration helps significantly to ‘fix’ the problem.
