I Didn’t Know That!
By Donnetta Wilhelm, Colorado Master Gardener
Snow Mold
Gray snow mold, the most common of the snow molds in Colorado, requires extended periods of snow cover (40-60 days) AND soil temperatures in the 30°F to 40°F range1. Those endless days of frigid teens, zero, and sub-zero temperatures we’ve experienced? Not ideal for the snow mold fungus Typhula incarnata. Fungus symptoms appear as the snow melts and are straw-colored or grayish brown patches in the lawn. The color comes from the gray-ish mycelium of the fungus. The good news is in lawns where snow mold occurs, only the lawn blades are killed, not the crown of the plant. Typhula incarnata dies off when exposed to the ultra-violet light of the sun. After the snow melts, a thorough raking of the matted areas can encourage new lawn growth. Remaining dead spots can be aerated and easily overseeded, as noted by Dr. Tony Koski CSU Extension Turf Specialist.
1 https://pddc.wisc.edu/2019/11/12/typhula-blight/
