Looking after a lush and healthy lawn in Omaha can pose problems for gardeners, especially when diseases strike. Omaha, with its hot summers and cold winters, presents the perfect environment for a wide range of lawn diseases to spread. Identifying and treating these common lawn diseases is key to keeping your lawn vibrant and green throughout the year. We’ll discuss a few of the most common lawn diseases seen in Omaha landscapes and some helpful tips to avoid them.
Common Lawn Diseases in Omaha and How to Prevent Them
1. Brown Patch Disease
Brown Patch is one of the most common lawn diseases in Omaha landscapes. It’s particularly problematic for cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue. The brown spots are caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani, which lives in your lawn thatch. This disease infects the grass blades during the hot and humid weather in late spring and summer.
Symptoms
Look for circular, brownish patches of dead grass from several inches to several feet in diameter. Often, the margins are water-soaked or darkened, and the grass blades collapse, giving them a sunken appearance.
Prevention
Brown Patch is best prevented by avoiding evening overwatering. Instead, water early in the morning. This approach allows the grass to dry before nightfall, reducing the relative humidity the fungus needs to thrive.
Avoid using nitrogen to fertilize your lawn in hot months because it spurs fungal growth. Regular mowing and adjusting the mower blades to avoid low mowing reduces stress on the lawn. Remember, if your lawn has a disease, you should avoid spreading grass clippings.
2. Dollar Spot
Dollar Spot affects bentgrass, bluegrass, and ryegrass. The fungus Sclerotinia homoeocarpa; loves to attack your lawn when it’s warm and wet.
Symptoms
Dollar Spot causes dime-to-silver-dollar-sized, circular leaf spots of bleached or straw-colored grass. As the disease progresses, these spots form large, irregular areas of damaged turf.
Prevention
Adequate nitrogen in your soil can prevent Dollar Spot; low nitrogen will make your lawn more susceptible to infection. Avoid overwatering and consider aerating the lawn once a year to reduce thatch build-up. Regular mowing keeps stress on the grass to a minimum, preventing the spread of disease and keeping your turf healthy.
3. Red Thread
Red Thread is a common grass disease infecting fescue and perennial ryegrass lawns in Omaha. It’s caused by the fungus Laetisaria fuciformis. This turf disease is most common in cool, wet weather typical of spring and fall.
Symptoms
Red Thread gets its name from the reddish-pink, thread-like structures that form on grass blades, giving infected areas a reddish hue. As the disease progresses, grass blades die, leaving circular patches of brown or tan grass.
Prevention
Feed your lawn so it gets the proper nutrients – especially nitrogen. Fertilize your yard in spring and fall with a balanced fertilizer that thickens the grass. Doing this makes it less susceptible to infection. Regular dethatching and aeration provide good air circulation, lowering moisture and humidity and creating an inhospitable environment for the fungus to spread.
4. Powdery Mildew
Powdery Mildew affects Kentucky bluegrass and other cool-season grasses in Omaha, thriving in shady areas with poor air circulation and high humidity.
Symptoms
The symptoms of powdery mildew infection appear as a white or grayish powdery coating on grass blades. As the disease progresses, the grass blades become yellowish and sometimes die.
Prevention
Increase direct sunlight to your lawn by thinning trees and large shrubs shading the area. Ensure proper air circulation by aerating the soil once a season in the late spring. Avoid overwatering and reduce the amount you water in shaded areas. Consider planting shade-tolerant cultivars if you have a shady lawn.
5. Snow Mold
Snow Mold occurs in the spring after the snow melts. It acts on cool-season grasses, including Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrasses, and fescue. This problem occurs when unfrozen ground is covered by snow for an extended period.
Symptoms
Snow mold presents in circular matted patches of grass, which are tan, white, pink, or reddish brown. The patches range from several feet in diameter to a few inches.
Prevention
Avoid late-season fertilizer applications that promote disease development. Rake leaves and other debris before the first snowfall to reduce organic matter that feeds the growth of Snow Mold.
Common Lawn Diseases in Omaha, NE
These common lawn diseases can affect both cool and warm-season grasses. Knowing what is causing issues to your lawn is the first step in caring for it. These tips can help identify and treat your lawn issues and help you maintain a beautiful lawn throughout eastern Nebraska’s diverse seasons.
JPO Lawn & Snow – Lawn Care and Landscaping Omaha
If you’re planning to aerate your lawn or need professional advice on how to maintain it, give us a call. We are a full-service provider of residential and commercial lawn care, landscaping, and snow removal services in Omaha, NE. Our mission is to provide exceptional service that exceeds our clients’ expectations and leaves them with a beautiful, well-maintained property year-round. We take pride in our work and strive to exceed our client’s expectations every time.
Contact us today to schedule a consultation and let us show you why we are the best choice for all your lawn and snow needs.
