Frost Damage On Cool Season Lawns

A Frosty Lawn Can Be Beautiful!

You wake up Saturday morning. As you wander into the kitchen to make that first cup of coffee, you glance out the window. Outside, the world is a glare of frosty brilliance. Beautiful! The trees look as though they are shimmering! The lawn looks as though it has been sugar coated! It is mornings like this that make many love the winter months. Cool Season grasses are built to withstand this type of weather. They have adapted to survive long periods of cold weather and the frost and snow that comes with it. But all that beauty could lead to frost damage.

Frost Makes Turf Susceptible To Lasting Damage.

While a frosty lawn may be beautiful, it is also sensitive. Inside the blades of grass, water has frozen within the cells of the blade. Walking or driving a machine across this frozen turf can cause damage to the tissue of the blade.

Any activity on the lawn while it is frosty, such as walking on it or mowing it, can break the grass blades. When a heavy object presses on frozen blades, the expanded water molecules slice through the grass and cause significant cellular damage. Quite often during this time of the year you will see golf courses with frost delays or sports fields where managers request no traffic on frosted turf.