Helpful tips to combat snow mold

After snow has been on the ground covering the turf for a long time during the winter season, it can cause snow mold. The deeper the snow and the longer it stays covering the turf, the more symptoms of mold develop. There are two forms: pink snow mold and gray snow mold.

Pink snow mold, or Microdochium nivale, is present spring, summer and fall in leaf litter, thatch and soil, according to Penn State Extension. Winter brings the ideal conditions: slightly above freezing at the snow/turf interface. This mold does not need snow cover to occur, just the ideal wet conditions at the soil surface. The symptoms will appear on turf that is close-cut, or too lush and fertilized with too much nitrogen, or newly seeded and not yet mature before winter starts.

The symptoms can range from matted leaves with a pink coloration or copper-colored patches from 2-10 inches in width.

Gray snow mold, or Typhula incarnate and T. ishikariensis, the true snow mold, has symptoms of matted grass with white-to-gray halo of fluffy fungal growth as the grass dries. When the grass dries, it will appear bleached, tan or gray. This will not kill the grass, but does appear when the turf is subjected to long periods of snow cover with deep snow. 

What can you do? Rake the affected areas to break up the matted leaves. Do not water the grass thinking it needs more water. In the fall, do not add nitrogen in late fall, just before freezing temperatures. Add nitrogen fertilizer to help the grass recover in spring. Lastly, this may be challenging, but do not compact the snow over any lawn area.

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