Grass Problems -- Fungus, Weeds, Discoloration

As a landscaper in southern California, I've run across many of the common grass problems that both confuse and plague homeowners. In another article, I detailed that the two main grass problems are thin grass and dead spots. In this article, we'll go into some of the less common grass problems out there and what you can do to overcome them if they start to plague your lawn. Having perfect grass is one of those rare joys that few homeowners get to experience. Having unhealthy grass is the unfortunate reality for most of us.

1. Fungus. Fungus is a major grass problem for a lot of people. There are 4 major types of fungus that affect grass. They are:

Fairy Ring fungus is a very common type of fungus. It grows in rings, leaving dark green and dead grass. If you have things beneath the surface such as old roots and stumps, fairy ring fungus can start to take root, decomposing the dead vegetation and also killing the grass.

Rust Fungus is a fungus that you see most often in the latter half of the summer. Like it's name implies, it changes the color of your lawn to lighter shades of green and yellow.

Pink Snow Fungus will kill your grass in patches, and has white and/or pink fungus that may resemble cotton. It comes with heavy snow cover and long sedentary periods. Difficult to avoid in some states.

Slime Fungus is just like what it sounds like, slime. It comes when a portion of the grass stays too wet for an extended period of time. If you don't rake up or bag your grass clippings but leave them on your lawn, this kind of fungus can grow and appear in different places.

Fungus generally likes to take advantage of dead matter. So if there's fungus popping up in your lawn, like mushrooms or other types of fungus, it's probably because there's dead matter about. Some fungus will grow on dead tree matter that's buried beneath the surface of the grass, like an old tree stump or the roots. Other fungi like to grow on dead grass clippings that weren't picked up after a person mowed. If you don't have any dead matter lying around for the fungus to decompose, you shouldn't have too much of a problem with it. But sometimes, like I said, the dead matter is subterranean and difficult to identify.

2. Weeds. Another common grass problems is weed infestation. Things like clover and dandelions very quickly can infest an otherwise healthy lawn, sprawling out or growing very tall, making the lawn look poor. Fortunately, specially designed weed killers exist that don't hurt your lawn but kill the infesting weeds. If you aren't sure what kind of weed is infesting your grass and you want to get rid of it, take a sample into your local garden center and they should be able to help you identify it and find a product to eradicate it.

3. Discoloration. Discoloration in your lawn generally comes because of three factors. If you have a grass that doesn't like a certain climate, such as a cold one, and the weather gets a bit cold, it can start to turn the grass yellow. The other big cause of discoloration is poor fertilization. If you haven't fertilized your grass in awhile, or if you don't regularly fertilize, your grass can start to grow thin and yellow on you. A third cause of discoloration that's more rare is fungus. In one of the above sections, we discussed rust fungus which can discolor your blades of grass and make them yellow, orange, and brown.

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