Fairy rings in the lawn: causes, control & prevention
Have you walked through your garden and discovered mushrooms on the lawn? They form a circle and look like a ring? Then it is probably a so-called fairy ring. This fungal disease causes circles to form on your lawn, which can damage your lawn over time.
In this article, you will learn how to recognize fairy rings and why they occur. We will show you how to combat the lawn disease and how to prevent fairy rings in the future. We will also introduce you to some products from RasenExpert that can help you.
Fairy rings in the lawn: How to recognize the fungus:
Fairy rings can be recognized by mushrooms that grow in a circular shape.
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What are the causes of fairy rings in the lawn:
Fairy rings are caused by a lack of nutrients or suboptimal soil conditions.
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Fighting witch rings: How to do it:
You should dig out and remove the fairy rings – after that your lawn needs care.
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How can I prevent fairy rings in the lawn?
You can effectively prevent fairy rings by strengthening your soil and lawn.
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Fairy rings in the lawn: How to recognize the fungus
You can recognize fairy rings by the two to five centimetre large mushrooms that grow on your lawn. The mushrooms often grow in the shape of a circle - hence the name fairy rings. The grass within the circle may change colour and die over time. Once your lawn is infected, you should act quickly.
Fairy rings are characterized by gray to brown mushrooms: these are often non-toxic fungus or navel mushrooms. A fungal mycelium grows underground, spreads over a large area and feeds on organic substances. The mushrooms are the fruiting bodies of this mycelium and indicate that a lawn disease is present.
As a rule, mushrooms do not harm your lawn. However, the grass around the mushrooms in the lawn often dies. The cause of this is the underground fungal network, as it is impermeable to water and dries out the soil. Your lawn therefore suffers from a lack of water and dies. You can find more information about lawn damage in our knowledge library.
What causes fairy rings in the lawn?
If you have discovered the small mushrooms between the grass, you are probably wondering how they suddenly appeared. Fairy rings often attack sandy soils that have few nutrients. If your soil is suffering from a lack of nutrients, the circular fairy rings have an especially easy time settling on your lawn.
Other risk factors are a matted lawn and heavily compacted soil. This is why fairy rings, also known as dwarf rings, are found in many gardens and are not a rare lawn disease.
Fighting witch rings: How to do it
To minimize the effects of the fairy ring, you should take care to combat it as quickly as possible. To do this, you should dig up the affected areas with a digging fork. Remove both the fruiting bodies and the visible mycelium in the soil.
Since your lawn is probably already suffering from a lack of water, you should water it thoroughly afterwards. This will supply the roots with water again and your lawn can recover. If individual areas have already died, you should remove them.
Ideally, you should reseed the lawn immediately so that no further lawn diseases can take hold. You can find the right seed at RasenExpert.
How can I prevent fairy rings in the lawn?
Fairy ring infestation can damage your lawn and keep recurring. That's why it's important that you prevent the fungal disease as best you can.
Fortunately, there are relatively simple methods you can use to prevent the appearance of fairy rings:
Supply your soil with nitrogen:
Soils that contain too little nitrogen are particularly susceptible to fairy rings. That's why you should add enough nitrogen and other nutrients to your soil by fertilizing. You can find the right fertilizer in our range.
Ensure good soil structure:
If the soil in your garden is very compacted, you should improve the soil structure. For example, you can apply a soil activator that promotes soil life in your garden. At the same time, it also ensures greater soil fertility and promotes the formation of humus.
Maintain your lawn regularly:
To prevent fairy rings from forming, your lawn should be as robust as possible. You can achieve this with extensive and regular lawn care. Fertilizing, scarifying and aerating strengthens growth and ensures a dense turf. This reduces the risk of lawn diseases.
Measure the pH of your soil:
To ensure that your lawn grows as thickly and as strong as possible, you should test the pH value of the soil. This will tell you what the conditions are like. For lawns to grow optimally, the pH value should be between 5.5 and 6.5.
Fungi are a widespread lawn disease that often occurs due to incorrect conditions and inadequate care. We therefore advise you to be conscientious when caring for your lawn: This will strengthen your lawn and effectively prevent lawn diseases. Fertilization is particularly important in order to provide the soil with nutrients.
You can order the right products from us. For example, we offer you a selection of lawn fertilizers. At the same time, you can also buy your pH soil test to find out what your soil is lacking.
Frequently asked questions about soil, nutrients & more
No, fairy rings are not dangerous for people. They are an underground fungal mycelium that forms above-ground mushrooms. However, fairy rings can be dangerous for your lawn because the mycelium is impermeable to water and can dry out your lawn.
Yes, fairy rings can spread quickly. The fungus spores spread uncontrollably throughout your garden via the mushrooms. It is therefore possible that your entire lawn will be affected by the fungi in just a few weeks.
You should fertilize your lawn about two to three times a year. In spring, the fertilizer ensures that the lawn sprouts. Shortly before summer, you prepare it for the high temperatures. With the third fertilization in autumn, however, you strengthen your lawn before winter.
Conclusion: Prevent fairy rings with care & fertilizer
If you want to prevent fairy rings from spreading in your garden, lawn care is the best way to do it. The stronger and more robust your lawn is, the lower the risk of lawn diseases. Make sure you fertilize correctly: if the nitrogen content in your soil is sufficient, you are making it particularly difficult for fairy rings to grow.