Fungicide In December

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Smolenski7
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Fungicide In December

Post by Smolenski7 » November 29th, 2021, 10:55 pm

I was told by the owner of a local lawn service that it would be a good idea to put down a fungicide on my lawn in late November or early December to help protect against snow mold, particularly because I had my lawn over seeded this past fall.

The over seed took well, I'm happy with the results, and I certainly don't want to put the new grass at risk, but I'm really not sure if this advice is good or not. Any one have any opinions?

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by MorpheusPA » November 30th, 2021, 1:19 pm

You can certainly apply something like DiseaseEx or any other fungicide to prevent snow mold if you like. I've never bothered, being in the zone where snow coverage over winter is a hit or miss thing, more often miss than hit. A lot more often.

Here's an article with research because I like research and don't like word of mouth: https://www.gcsaa.org/uploadedfiles/cou ... ontrol.pdf

You're probably more likely to get gray snow mold. Gray snow mold is, however, less likely to do significant damage even over a hard winter (which this one isn't supposed to be, but...) I've never actually lost lawn to snow mold, nor seen lawn lost to snow mold, except where a lawn service talked somebody into replacing a slow-to-return lawn area because snow mold slowed it down. That's usually all gray snow mold does, slow the return of the lawn.

At less than 40 days of snow coverage, damage will usually not be significant at all. Above that, damage starts to rise. As the article notes, at 120 days (4 months of constant snow cover), damage can be severe. Snow mold can't stand warmth and goes dormant as soon as the snow is off it and the sun returns, however.

Other preventatives include...mow shorter for the last mow. An inch to an inch and a half leaves less greenery for the mold to live on. Don't apply a lot of potassium in your last feeding. It seems to make things worse.

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by Green » November 30th, 2021, 6:01 pm

Like Morph said, there are some people who apply a preventative, both pro and DIY included, and it is a legit thing, but doesn't seem to be done often in our area. I've never done it, but I have applied biofungicide late on the season (last year? Year before? Not sure which) to see if it helped. That year had less than average snow, so go figure.

I have seen pink snow mold around here a few times, but not in any widespread way. Just a patch here or there, but gray snow mold everywhere.

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by Smolenski7 » November 30th, 2021, 8:50 pm

Thanks for the help.

I have had small patches of snow mold in the past, nothing major. I couldn't tell you what type of snow mold it was, just that it was obviously the case. It didn't do any real damage, but since I over seeded the lawn back in September, I don't want to go backwards this year.

To prevent anything, I certainly cut lower as the fall goes along. I usually lower the blade every other mow starting in October so that by the time the last cut comes around I'm down to somewhere between 2" - 2.5". Maybe that's still a bit too high? I'm not sure. I guess putting down something this year couldn't hurt, but I'm really not sure how much it will help either. I know I won't regret putting it down, so maybe that should be the deciding factor?

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by Green » November 30th, 2021, 9:55 pm

According to the article Morph posted above (which I found independently, too), Azoxystrobin is useful against gray snow mold. But not pink. If you had pink, you'd know it by the color. The next week or so is probably a good time as the ground is still soft. Just make sure you research timing, as you don't want it washed out of the soil. New grass tends to be more susceptible to almost everything, so if your gut feeling is to treat as a preventative, that would be a reason. I bet this will be a more snowy Winter than last year...which wasn't really below average, but had all of the snow dumped at once in large part. Then again, who knows...too many variables. Just betting on averages.


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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by MorpheusPA » December 2nd, 2021, 12:05 pm

I don't have a feel for Connecticut, never having lived there, but have a mental image of sleighs and people needing to eat each other to survive until April. Or maybe that's Sweden. It's currently 68° in the house and I'm mildly chilly.

But yeah, if it makes you feel better, I'd say go ahead. It'll stop gray snow mold, which is generally less harmful, but might still damage a new lawn. Pink will kill any lawn, but DiseaseEx isn't going to help.

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by Green » December 2nd, 2021, 8:39 pm

Morph,

It's the same as where you are with similar mad temp swings, though probably about 3-5 degrees colder in Winter, and it lasts about maybr 2 weeks longer here. I say this after having read a lot of your posts about Winter weather in your area.

I know you swear by coated urea in your Winterizer. Methylene urea incorporated in the blend works very well here. Dare I say better than just regular urea. SCU not so much.

Coastal areas (zone 7a) tend to get into low single digits to 0F multiple times per year. Inland, 0 to -8F a few times.

Zoysia has been fully straw brown for one month now in my neighborhood. At a coastal family member's it still had some green at Thanksgiving.

Grass greens up fully in early April here. The process starts late Feb to early March, snow or not generally.

Hope that helps.

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by MorpheusPA » December 3rd, 2021, 11:53 am

So not that dissimilar, but rather much colder (15 is rare. Zero is, lately, unheard-of, but I think I saw it once in my life). It's not yet winter here, and my grass is still green. There are still one or two bits of durable greenery in my gardens. Somebody (a rather...well, insistent sort) yelled everybody down and absolutely demanded that one of my plants is a mustard variant, but it tolerates the teens, which mustard won't ever do, and looks fantastic in the twenties. Ditto.

So I'd be OK with Methylene Urea or Sulfur-coated if freeze-thaw during the winter is normal. I'd use fast release if freeze with no thaw is more normal.

And I'd be more comfortable with the fungicide if freeze with no thaw is normal, with long-term snow cover as well.

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by Green » December 3rd, 2021, 2:29 pm

Morph,

Yes, lots of freeze-thaw at the surface, snowfall, and snow melt. The ground doesn't seem to freeze deeply when it does freeze, either. Snow cover is variable. Usually not continous, but can seem nearly so some years.

As of now, grass growth has slowed to a crawl...I've been getting half inch or so clippings weekly, including yesterday, but I have a feeling it may have been the last true mow for the year (usually happens around this time). I do want any high-activity methylene urea to wear off by the time the ground freezes, which is usually Jan. Mid Jan. to mid Feb. is the real cold stretch, and typically snowy. During that time, average daily highs are 30 to 40 or so, and you feel it, but it can thaw at times even then. The Canadians would say that's nothing, but it's enough for me!

Smolenski7: I think if you are going to apply the fungicide, you should make sure it's not going to just leach out. More reading is probably in order. Again, I have heard pros talking about it as an option. you just want to time it correctly. They used to say right before they first snowfall.

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by Smolenski7 » December 11th, 2021, 11:51 pm

Unfortunately one thing lead to another and I never got the chance to apply the fungicide. Temps seem to be warming up for the next 7-10 days though, so the ground has yet to freeze. Maybe there is still time?

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by Green » December 12th, 2021, 1:27 am

Yes, still time if the ground isn't frozen (no way it is). Check to see if your product label has cold temp restrictions.

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by Green » January 22nd, 2022, 3:15 am

What did you end up doing?

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by turf_toes » January 23rd, 2022, 3:25 pm

I suspect the OP did like most users and put the lawn work to sleep until March or April.

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by MorpheusPA » January 24th, 2022, 2:19 pm

I dunno about him, but I'm staring out at a light layer of snow, with extremely cold temperatures at night. Lawn care, while not quite the furthest thing from my mind, is pretty far off. I'm starting to think of gardening, with the wax begonias sprouting now.

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by andy10917 » January 24th, 2022, 6:32 pm

Only three weeks to Soil Test season...

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by MorpheusPA » January 25th, 2022, 8:47 am

Only three weeks to starting to sprout the double Profusion zinnia. :-)

I realized it's been five years since my last soil test. Life's intervened. Even with an EC of 15, it's time.

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Re: Fungicide In December

Post by bolson32 » January 27th, 2022, 9:25 pm

andy10917 wrote:
January 24th, 2022, 6:32 pm
Only three weeks to Soil Test season...
Lol, not in Minnesota 🤣

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