Imagine this:
You’ve worked so hard to keep your lawn lusciously green. But then after some time, you notice white tips on the grass and begin to wonder what could have gone wrong and why.
Has a disease infested your lawn, leaving the foreign tips on your grass? Was the problem with your lawnmower blade? Or is the damage because of the dry season?
Generally, the tips of your grass are white because your lawn is under attack by a disease known as powdery mildew.
White tips may also sprout because of grass damages by dull lawnmower blades. It could also be because of the dry season.
This guide will go in-depth into why your grass has white tips and what you can do right now to fix this problem.
Let’s get started.
Contents
- Why are the Tips of my Grass White?
- 1. Damage by Lawn Mower Blades
- 2. Drought or Excessive Dryness
- 3. Powdery Mildew
- How to Fix White Tips on Your Lawn Grass
- 1. Set the Mower Blades to the Right Height
- 2. Sharpen the Mower Blades
- 3. Water your lawn frequently
- FAQs- White Tips on Lawn Grass
- 1. Are the white tips on my grass deadly?
- 2. Why is there white mold in my grass?
- 3. Why is my grass white after mowing?
- Author
Why are the Tips of my Grass White?
1. Damage by Lawn Mower Blades
The pale color you see on your lawn a few days after mowing is a problem caused by your lawnmower.
Here’s the thing:
Lawnmowers feature decks with adjustable heights that allow you to decide the thickness of grass you wish to cut.
Often, keeping the height of the deck as low as possible means you’ll cut grass to a great depth.
It’s a different case when you cut the grass too short. Often, you deprive the grass of important nutrients necessary for your lawn to thrive, hence the appearance of white tips on your grass.
That’s just one scenario.
Mowing your lawn with dull blades can also cause the white tips to appear. Often, the dull blades fray the tips of the grass causing them to either lose their color or give off that white appearance.
And if you’ve made the mistake of mowing your lawn with a mower that has dull blades, you’ve definitely spread the problem to the entire yard.
2. Drought or Excessive Dryness
Water, air, and plant nutrients are important for the enhanced growth of your grass. It misses any of these, and your lawn won’t thrive nearly as much.
Drought or excessive dryness is a massive contributing factor to the white tip of your grass.
This is especially a problem for landowners who live in regions subject to seasonal drought. Or if your region hasn’t received rainfall in a while, there’s a likelihood that your grass will suffer because sufficient water doesn’t get to the root.
Lost keys in grass? What to do
3. Powdery Mildew
The tips of your grass are white because of a disease known as powdery mildew. More often than not, the ailment causes the white patches in lawn areas that either have standing water or feature shades.
By definition, powdery mildew is a dust-like fungal disease that resembles talcum powder. It can leave white patches on any grass, although it’s quite common in varieties such as the Kentucky bluegrass that develop in the cool season.
Since powdery mildew does well in conditions with high humidity and moderate temperatures, you can expect it to thrive in spring and fall.
Under these conditions, powdery mildew will produce millions of conidia pores on the surface of your grass. And given that they act fast, they can attach an entire lawn in just 120 minutes of contact.
An easily noticeable problem of powdery mildew infection is the unsightly and drastic change in the color of your grass. Although the effects aren’t at all fatal, leaving them on the grass can cause stress on the lawn.
As time passes, powdery mildew can cause your grass to weaken to the point of dying out.
How to Fix White Tips on Your Lawn Grass
You can do a few things to treat grass that has already turned white at the tips. We highly recommend that you consider the following solutions:
1. Set the Mower Blades to the Right Height
You should adjust the height of the lawnmower blades so that you’re not cutting the grass too small. We recommend setting the height to a level where it cuts the grass to no more than a third of the length of the blade.
Also: Prevent inflatable pool from ruining grass
2. Sharpen the Mower Blades
Inspect the cutting blades to determine if they’re sharp enough for the job. If not, give them a quick treat, ensuring you do so at least every 20 hours of use.
You can sharpen the blades or hire a professional near you to do the work for you.
3. Water your lawn frequently
If the tips of your grass are white because of excessive dryness, all you have to do is to water the lawn to fix this problem.
It helps to have a regular watering schedule to ensure sufficient water, air, and nutrients get to the grassroots.
Using rainwater to irrigate lawn
FAQs- White Tips on Lawn Grass
1. Are the white tips on my grass deadly?
The white tips on your grass aren’t deadly, but they are undoubtedly unsightly. Plus, they are easy to remove from your grass without spending much time or a penny on the job.
Sometimes a solution as simple as ensuring the grass gets sunlight exposure can go a long way to remove the white tips.
Also read: How to create a DIY Grass Wall
2. Why is there white mold in my grass?
The presence of white mold growing in your lawn is an indication of poor growing condition for the grass. Such conditions often encourage fungus, mold, and moss to thrive.
While these are not a threat, they can create dead spots in the lawn and become rather unsightly.
See also: What kind of grass grows in clumps?
3. Why is my grass white after mowing?
The grass in your lawn turns white after mowing because you either cut the grass too short or used dull lawn mower blades to do the job.
Because you want to have a lusciously green lawn that looks more inviting season after season, it’s best to ensure your lawnmower blades are sharp enough before you start the mowing job.
If your lawn is already diseased, you should wait until the grass dries to minimize the spread and resume caring for your lawn.
The presence of white tips on your grass isn’t exactly a death sentence for your lawn.
With the simple solutions we’ve shared in this guide, you can easily get back your lawn’s greenish and healthy look in under a week.
You must apply the treatment correctly and as soon as possible to get rid of the white tips on your grass.
