Natural Green Lawn

I tell you what guys, this year has been one of the worst ever for the very common lawn disease called “Dollar Spot.” In most years, in fact, dollar spot isn’t some thing I am very concerned with. But this year is very different.

Dollar spot appears mostly in lawns that are “sod on clay” which means areas of the country where sod was laid directly on top of clay soil. That pretty much covers a good portion of the midwest and south. It’s a fungus that resides in the soil and attacks weakened root structures in turf causing small brown spots that start out the size of silver dollars. In the picture below, you can see the start of dollar spot in a very healthy lawn.

I have seen it in all kinds of grass from kentucky blue, perennial rye and st augustine. Like I said, in most years, I don’t see it as that big of a deal. But this year we have had sustained dumping rains pretty much all summer with intermittent super high temps and humidity. Now, I know we get these kind of conditions every year, but this season they have been long sustained over and over and over. This has made the disease spread faster and further in lawns where permanent damage may be seen.

In the second picture below, you can see a severe case of dollar spot. This is in a “heat zone” between the street and the sidewalk and the added heat allowed the fungus to spread very fast.

So How Can We Stop Dollar Spot Fungus?
The best way to cure dollar spot disease in your lawn is to prevent it using a natural fungicide called Serenade Disease Control. This product works very well on many lawn fungus problems, including dollar spot.

But you are here because you already have brown spots in your lawn! And the good news is that Serenade Disease Cont32 Oz Con is still the product of choice because using it will STOP the spread of the fungus any further. You will need to apply it a few times following the label instructions.

In addition, I would suggest cutting your watering and irrigation habits down to about once per week. When you do water, water for a solid hour in each spot. We want to go with infrequent yet deep waterings when dollar spot is evident.

I also want you to mow very tall and catch your clippings. Dollar spot can be spread through contaminated clippings so catching them and disposing of them is best when the disease is raging in your lawn.

Finally, I want you to fertilize normally using one of my recommended organic natural fertilizers. This will give you slow release nitrogen that will keep the lawn growing throughout the course of the problem.

Probably one of the most difficult to diagnose lawn problems I see amongst my customers are those that include lawn fungus problems such as Dollar Spot. There are many lawn fungal diseases, but this one is one that can cause some pretty major issues. Here are some tips, and also a video near the bottom that I did last year on my other lawn care blog.

Here is a small area of my grass hit with Dollar Spot

How To Identify Dollar Spot Lawn Fungus

Dollar spot is caused by a fungus. The fungus survives over winter by taking hold on plant matter that appears in the layer of thatch that occurs in the lawn, it also inhabits plant matter in the soil. In winter time the fungus is not actively growing but when the warmer temperatures (70-90° F) are reached in spring the fungus will start growing and spreading.

Here are some things that contribute to Dollar Spot Fungus

Keep in mind, even a lawn that is perfectly cared for can and will still get dollar spot disease if out side conditions are right.. but keep these 3 points in mind to REDUCE the issues…

* Lack of soil moisture – dollar spot will thrive in lawns which aren’t watered properly. A low soil moisture content will help dollar spot continue its advance. So far in 2010, we have had a dry and warm spring. This is great for dollar spot fungus and the disease is shoring signs VERY early this year.. VERY early!!!
* Lack of Nitrogen – lawns require Nitrogen for leaf growth and a lawn that has adequate nitrogen levels in it will be more vigorous and resistant to disease. If you are on my fertilizer program, you will have plenty of nitrogen in your lawn.
* High levels of thatch – prevent water penetrating into the soil and provide good conditions for the disease to survive over winter. This is why I always recommend you aerate your lawn in the fall.

My lawn gets dollar spot EVERY single year no matter what I do (but only a little, not serious in my case…keep reading)! I get some dollar spots because my own lawn is 100% turf type tall fescue. If I had it to do again, I would probably have added in some other lawn grasses..but anyway… the first pic above is of my lawn… the one here on the left is one I took a couple years ago of a very bad infestation of dollar spot in the summer.

Fungicides To Stop Dollar Spot Disease

For those of you who have some kind of lawn disease, but are unsure what it is, just follow the rest of the advice that follows and you will be fine…

You definitely should put down at least two applications of fungicide in the early spring and late spring. If we have a wet summer, then plan on a third application in July. Now you guys probably know by now that I am NOT big on slathering a bunch of chemicals all over the grass willy-nilly, but when it comes to lawn fungus problems, sometimes these controls are necessary. It is also a good idea to aerate your lawn every fall just to keep things opened up and breathing right.

Here is the video I did on lawn fungus controls that I happen to use when needed.

So that answer is to just apply the fertilizer in the right amounts (not too much nitro) and use fungicide controls when you need them. Identifying the disease is not necessarily over important all the time… just stick with the basics and you will be fine.

Here you can get some good lawn fungus controls at a cheaper price: