February 2021 Snow Mould Alert

Disease Warning for Snow Mould

A high incidence of Snow Mould is expected where there has been a snow covering on the lawn. You will start to see grey or straw coloured irregular patches (often looking like stains or puffy clouds) in the lawn now that the thaw is occurring. This disease is a variant of Fusarium which is also common at this time of year.

Snow Mould or Fusarium can also be a sign of poor turf health, high thatch levels, poor air circulation, compaction or just persistent wet conditions. If you do experience an attack it is usually of little consequence in a domestic lawn though ornamental or older lawns may fair poorly. Do look for possible causes as you can resolve any problems ready for next year.

If you have just layed a lawn this could also be badly damaged as the turf will be young and very tender.

What to do Next

Once the snow starts to thaw try and remove any build-up of snow that may take a while longer to thaw. These may be along paths where you cleared the snow by shoveling it on the lawn or if the kids built a snow man.

If your lawn is your pride and joy and you want to go that extra mile to keep it in tip top shape then follow our advice and apply Soluble Iron at the 'turf hardening' rate every year in late autumn. This will colour the lawn beautifully but also give the grass an extra level of protection against disease. It’s great if you have a moss problem as well.