There are many lawn fungus strains that can attack your grass and ruin a whole year's worth of hard work. The key to winning this battle with grass fungus is to become educated on the various types you may face, as well as how to rid them from your lawn. With a little bit of information and your local home improvement center, you can survive a bout with lawn fungus. As much money as you spend caring for your grass, fungus can come right along and set you back months. Here are some of the more common types of lawn fungus and what you can do to stop them.
Grass Fungus Types
- Fairy Ring. This type of grass fungus leaves unsightly rings of dark green and dead grass, with brown mushrooms in some extreme cases. The fungus feeds on dead vegetation, including stumps and old thatch, beneath the surface of your lawn. Spike the rings so water can penetrate.
- Pink Snow Mold. Irregular and brown patches of brown and yellow grass, with white or pink cottony fungus after a heavy rain. This is the result of a heavy snow cover, such as hills or banks. Keep the grass mowed and avoid nitrogen application in late fall.
- Rust. This grass fungus turns your lawn light green or yellow, with yellow to brown spots in late summer. Heavy dew favors this disease and activates in warm or moist weather. Maintain vigorous growth with water and a nitrogen fertilizer.
- Slime Mold. This is a white to yellow to grey slime that clings to beads like leaves. Occurring during prolonged wet periods, this grass fungus is helped by raking or mowing.
By knowing what you're up against, you can effectively defeat the grass fungus strains that threaten to destroy your lawn.
Kelly Richardson has obsessive compulsive lawn disorder and is
afflicted with the need to share his knowledge with the world. Kelly
writes lawn columns for a variety of home and garden magazines and
e-zines.
