Dark, rich, glorious green. This is the lawn you crave. One that highlights your property perfectly and draws you out to bask in its cool comfort. One that you can enjoy while playing catch with the kids, throwing the frisbee to the dog, or chilling with family and friends at a summer barbecue.
We understand. That’s the definition of a healthy lawn.
But tan or beige spots that linger or just keep growing and growing, taking over that green lawn you love are just not cool.
Seeing spots is always a problem. It might even startle you a bit. You might think your lawn is dying. Brown and beige are certainly alarming colors in a green lawn.
If you’re seeing spots, don’t panic. These blotches are likely dollar spot lawn disease. Let’s take a look at what it is, what causes it, and how to treat it so you can get your lovely lawn back.
Northern Virginia Lawns & Disease
No one likes lawn diseases, but – and we hate to break it to you – all lawns have diseases.
You probably didn’t think we’d say that, but it’s a fact. And it might make you worry about your lawn a bit more than you did before.
But even though lawn disease may be there, they aren’t always visible.
Lawn diseases, like dollar spot lawn disease, come out only when your lawn is stressed out. It’s similar to how you might get sick when you’re run down. While you might be feeling ill because of a lack of sleep and tons of responsibilities, your lawn becomes stressed in other ways.
You might mow improperly, for example, and that might irritate your lawn. In Northern Virginia, you want to mow your lawn to a 3.5- to 4-inch height. In the spring and summer, this amounts to mowing weekly so you’re cutting off no more than one-third of the grass blades during each mowing. You also want to sharpen your mower blades so you get a clean cut.
A lack of water or too much water can also stress your lawn. For instance, if you irrigate too much or at night when your lawn can’t dry out before evening, you can encourage disease-causing conditions, such as persistent humid and wet spots.
Proper lawn fertilization is also important to reduce lawn stress. A soil test can help show what you’re lacking so you don’t under- or over-fertilize since nutrient imbalances can also bring about disease.
Starting with these proper cultural practices can get you off to a good start in avoiding lawn spots, like dollar spot lawn disease.
Dollar Spot Lawn Disease Treatment 101
If you see beige or tan circles in your lawn, it’s certainly troubling.
When you take a closer look, you’ll see these spots are definitely different, standing out in your lawn. Lawn diseases are usually the culprits.
Learning how to identify what causes lawn spots can help you quickly assess the situation and prevent diseases from causing further damage.
Let’s dive deeper into understanding one particularly troublesome lawn disease in Northern Virginia – dollar spot lawn disease – so you can learn more about how to properly identify and control it.
What Does Dollar Spot Lawn Disease Look Like?
When you hear some names of these lawn diseases, you might wonder if they look anything like their name implies.
With dollar spot lawn disease, it actually does look like spots the size of silver dollars. These tan spots are 2 to 6 inches in diameter. They appear in late spring and early summer when temperatures are between 60 degrees and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
Since quite a few lawn diseases or issues can cause dollar spot, you want to make sure you properly identify what you’re seeing in your lawn.
So if you look close, you’ll see grass blades infected with lesions that have bleached centers and brownish borders. As these hourglass-shaped lesions grow larger, individual grass blades will slowly die.
Another thing you can look for to truly identify the disease as dollar spot is a material called mycelium in the infected spots. Mycelium is a web-like coating that has a bit of a silvery appearance. To see this, try looking for it during early morning hours when you will still find dew on your lawn.
What Causes Dollar Spot Lawn Disease?
Dollar spot lawn disease is actually caused by a pathogen called Clarireedia jacksonii, and any lawn can be susceptible.
For the disease to appear, the environmental conditions have to add up. This usually means poorly managed lawns with low mowing heights and low nitrogen levels. You’ll find this pathogen when days are warm, nights are cool, and dew is a bit heavy. If you have high humidity and long periods of wet grass – likely 10 to 12 hours – this is when the disease will strike.
Where Will You Find Dollar Spot Lawn Disease?
Dollar spot lawn disease likes areas with excessive thatch buildup, which can happen when your lawn becomes compacted from heavy traffic and rainfall. Annual aeration can help break this up to prevent thatch. Aeration services can come with overseeding and topdressing to further thicken up your lawn and improve the soil.
Once you have dollar spot lawn disease, you can also spread it through lawn equipment and machines or even your shoes. Wind and animals can also pass this disease from place to place.
How to Treat Dollar Spot Lawn Disease
So, you can’t control Mother Nature – or the wet weather or humidity she brings. It’s just a fact of life. You have to focus on what you can control.
This is because if dollar spot lawn disease shows up, and you ignore it, it will just continue to spread, starting in small spots and then growing into bigger circular patches that turn into larger and larger areas.
You want to treat the problem before it becomes worse.
In addition to correct lawn care like those tasks we mentioned above (including adequate fertilization; precise mowing; proper watering; and annual aeration, overseeding, and topdressing), you may need some extra care or treatment for dollar spot lawn disease, such as a fungicide application. You may want to inquire about curative fungicide treatment options. If your lawn care provider knows certain turf diseases are a problem in your Northern Virginia lawn, their professionals can also try a preventive fungicide application as a part of your program.
With lawn disease being such a major concern in Northern Virginia lawns, you want to really work with a lawn care service professional who is educated on lawn diseases, so he can properly identify and eliminate your lawn troubles.
Disease-Free Lawns Are The Goal In Northern Virginia
With dollar spot lawn disease, remember that a healthy lawn is the best defense against the development of fungi and pathogens.
What’s more is a thriving, thick, green lawn can better battle back to health if disease does strike.
If conditions are present for dollar spot lawn disease to infect your lawn, it can rapidly spread once it strikes, so you want to be ready.
Maybe you’re seeing spots, or maybe you’re not sure what you’re seeing. It’s OK. Turf’s Up can help. We know how Northern Virginia lawn diseases work and can help you swiftly get that green lawn you love back.
Ready to learn why Turf’s Up could be your totally awesome choice for lawn care disease control services in Northern Virginia? We’re stoked to learn more about you and help you have the best lawn on the block. Get started today with a free quote. Together, we can prepare a customized plan that is perfect for you and your lawn.
Image Source: Dollar Spot
