With this winter’s unusual amount of snow, there may be an unwanted disease lurking in your beautiful lawn. The disease is known as pink or grey snow mold. When we have dry winters with no significant snow, we usually will not see this type of fungus. When cool wet weather is in play the fungus develops and can infect grass plants. Though any lawn can still attract this type of disease given the right weather conditions this particular type is more prevalent in extreme winter conditions.
Preventive measures can be taken to avoid the snow mold fungus from becoming a problem this year. There are excellent fungicides that will either help prevent or treat this very ugly fungus. In today’s market, there are two types of fungicides available, restricted and non-restricted. Restricted meaning only a licensed company may purchase and apply the treatment, and a non- restricted, meaning a product sold at your local box store.
Depending on the severity of the disease, more than one application may be necessary. The non-restricted use fungicides may not give you the quick results you need as the restricted use products.
Another concern might be your irrigation system. If you did not use a qualified licensed irrigation contractor to winterize your sprinkler system, you may have compromised your irrigation investment. During the end of year blow-out, the time on the air flow has to be sufficient enough to clear the lines of moisture and residue. Too much moisture and residue left in the lines allows for freezing and pipe breakage during extreme cold weather leaving you with costly repairs. Typically a non-licensed landscaper or the guy who drives around in a pickup truck with an air compressor doesn’t have this expertise or knowledge.
It is wise choice, after this recent extreme winter, to have a certified licensed professional thoroughly inspect your sprinkler system as they know the signs of damage a harsh winter can have on it. However, be sure they are inspecting each individual head as the zone is in operation and not observing it from a distance. There could be unforeseen issues they would not see at a distance and in the end could leave you with an inefficient system costing you money on your water bill. A good contractor will always want to save you time and money not cost you more.