Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Mushrooms in the lawn
This is an enquiry email via http://www.hamiltonturfking.ca/ from: Lana
Hello we bought a home four years ago and had a stump removed. Last summer mushrooms started to appear. Do you treat lawns for this?
Thank you
Hi Lana
Thanks for your enquiry.
The mushrooms in your lawn are most likely due to various wood decaying fungi that are decomposing the wood fibres in the roots of the tree/stump that was removed. It is likely that even if you removed the stump, that there are still a lot of roots beneath the surface.
The mushrooms are not damaging to the lawn. They will not harm it. In fact, as they break down the roots they will add valuable humus and organic matter to the soil.
The mushrooms will often appear during rainy weather and damp conditions as this is when the reproductive spores are formed and sent off to find new homes.
If the appearance of the mushrooms bothers you, I normally recommend (to golfers, at least) that a 5 Iron does a good job of removing them. They do normally disappear after a few days.
There is no way to prevent their appearance without removal of the roots that they are decomposing. Any treatments otherwise are not available. I do remember that there used to be a product for mushrooms 40 years ago, but it seems to me it contained mercury and this would not be a very environmentally friendly product.
Gerry
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
