After spending months and months taking care of your grass, it would be a shame to have it turn yellow in winter. Below we discuss some of the reasons why your grass is turning yellow in winter and also how you can avoid that.
Table of Contents
Why is my grass tuning yellow in winter?
Dormancy
The reason why your grass is turning yellow in winter is because of dormancy. A lot of grass that grows well in summer time like Bermuda grass cannot tolerate cold conditions so they go to sleep in winter which is why they turn yellow. However, in summer they will sprout up again and become green. So if your grass is turning yellow in winter you should not be extremely worried about it as it is part of nature.
Desiccation
Desiccation basically means the removal of moisture from something and in this case it would mean the removal of moisture from a plant. This mainly happens when snow covers the grass entirely such that the roots become too frozen and cannot absorb any moisture. Furthermore, it can also happen when the grass is too exposed to the wind and the turf is dry either because of lack of irrigation or snow cover. In order to curb this you need to water you grass every 2 weeks in winter especially when the soil is not frozen on when temperatures are slightly above freezing.
Rust
This is a fungal disease that usually causes grass to turn yellow in winter. Although rust is a fungal disease which affects grass in summer, it also causes grass to turn yellow in winter when not properly dealt with during the summer time. When grass is affected by rust it usually turns into a yellowish orange colour and then dies. In order to prevent your grass from getting rust you need to ensure that you maintain good lawn practices by mowing it regularly, watering it and also applying fertilizers. Applying fungicides to your grass before winter can also help protect it from rust.
Salt
Salt is also one of the main reasons why your grass is turning yellow in winter. There is a good chance that you use salt to clear out the snow in your driveway or your local municipality uses salt to clear out snow from the roads. Salt damages grass and causes it to turn yellow. Therefore you might need to find other alternatives of clearing out snow from your driveway if you intend on retaining the green colour of your grass.
Snow Mold
This is also another fungal disease which causes your grass to turn yellow in winter. Snow mold causes grass to turn yellow in patches and this is caused by snow which would have covered the grass in patches. In order to avoid snow mold you need to ensure that you mow you lawn before winter time. This helps to ensure that the molds do not have anywhere to grow. Furthermore, you can also apply fungicides to help stop the snow mold from attacking your grass.
How to prevent snow mould
Instead of having to look for fungicides to kill snow mould, there are actually a number of ways in which you can prevent snow mould from affecting your grass during the winter.
Cut your grass
This is one of the most important things you need to do especially if you want to prevent snow mould. Cutting the grass will help to ensure to get rid of any organic material which can contribute to snow mould.
Remove leaves in your yard
If there are any leaves which are lying on top of your grass make sure that your rake them up. This helps to ensure that the leaves do not prohibit the supply of water to your grass. Furthermore, it eliminates the chances of mould building up on the grass.
Fertilize the grass
You should also fertilize the grass 6 weeks before the first snowfall. This helps to ensure that the snow mould does not affect your grass in winter.
Why is my grass turning yellow in summer?
Grass can also turn yellow in summer because of several factors as stated below.
Temperature
Summer time brings with it high temperatures which can cause a lot of stress to the vegetation around us including the grass. In order to curb this you should water your grass on a regular basis so that it does not wilt.
Diseases
The reason why your grass is turning yellow in winter is mainly because it has been affected by diseases like rust. This is a fungal disease that usually affects grass in the summer time. In order to avoid it you need to ensure that you are mowing and watering your grass on a regular basis. Furthermore, you need to apply fungicides to protect your grass from rust.
Dog urine
If you have a dog in your house then you need to make sure that you train it so that it does not urinate on the lawn. This is because dog urine is concentrated and can cause harm to the grass. So you need to train your dogs so that they are not the reason why your grass turns yellow in summer.
Pests
There are also certain pests that cause the grass to turn yellow. Chances are that the pests might be feeding on the roots of your grass such that there is no steady amount of water supply from the roots to the leaves. In order to curb this, you need to ensure that you apply pesticides on your grass so that you can kill all the pests affecting your grass.
Conclusion
It is normal for grass to turn yellow in winter especially if you have grass that does not adapt well to cold climatic conditions. However, it is also important to regularly monitor your grass in winter so that it does not get affected by fungal diseases. Remember to also cut your grass before winter time so that you eliminate the chances of your grass being hit by snow mould.
