Snowmold recovery
This spring began with the very early snowmelt in mid-March that left in its wake one of the highest incidences of snow mold on many residential and commercial lawns in recent memory. Much of that could be attributed to the very wet snow that fell around Christmas time on unfrozen or barely frozen lawn surfaces. The high moisture content of the snow combined with the mostly unfrozen lawn conditions provided nearly ideal conditions for the snow mold fungi to grow and thrive. In addition, that snow cover was maintained throughout the winter months providing a very long period of total snow cover and good conditions for snow mold growth. However, as is often the case, even with as much snowmold as was evident this spring, most lawns will have recovered on their own and returned to healthy growth and good green color by early May. The severity of snowmold on some lawns did result in the need for some reseeding to fill in thin areas resulting from that injury. Photos 1 and 2 show a commercial site affected with snowmold earlier this spring that has now grown out of those symptoms without the need for reseeding or other repair. A light application of fertilizer and some watering as needed this spring will help further restore and invigorate those areas.
