Fairy Rings Marasmius oreades
What is it?
- A troublesome and annoying disease.
- Infects lawns across the country.
- It is one of the most annoying problems in lawns.
- Fairy Ring first appears as a circle of dark green, lush, fast growing grass. A brown dead ring of grass surrounds the lush area.
- Rings or crescents commonly vary from 3’ - 49’ (1 to 15 m).
- Fairy Ring is a form of plant life called fungi.
- The disease is spread throughout the lawn in the form of spores. These spores are spread by wind, air, water and humans.
- The fungus is contained within the soil penetrating as deep as 12 “ (30 cm). The fungus attacks a central point in your lawn and grows outward.
- The fungus can show various symptoms such as:
- circular stunted or dead grass zones
- darker green zone of grass on outer ring
- growth of grass and weeds in the center
- mushrooms on the Fairy Ring fungus
- whitish fungus located above the soil surface
Control
- The turf can be removed and the underlying soil can be replaced. This method is very expensive, difficult and not always effective due to re-infestation.
- A more practical method for controlling Fairy Ring is to poke a garden fork into the ring and water the areas heavily. The water floods the disease and carries the Fairy Ring spores away from the grass plants.
- Fairy Rings are less noticeable in a well maintained lawn.
- Your Rockford, IL Weed Man can fertilize your lawn and advise you on proper procedures to help mask the problem.
- Fairy Ring is difficult to eliminate but Fairy Ring suppression is practical and effective. Call your Rockford, IL Weed Man for more details at (866) 987-9333!