Lawn and Native Grass Weeds at all time HIGH!

Lawn manager, Lee Kral says that weeds are the worst that he has ever seen them.

Is yours or your neighbors yard turning yellow? Call us at Mountain High Tree, we can help. Weeds have been out of control this season as the weather has created the perfect condition for them to take hold.

“Fairy rings” and Mushrooms are also presenting a problem this year.

Mushrooms are the above ground, reproductive structures, of some kinds of fungi. Other reproductive structures sometimes found in lawns include inky caps, puffballs, stinkhorns, and bird’s nests. Many fungi do not produce visible fruiting structures, including those that cause many lawn diseases. Most mushroom-causing fungi in lawns however, are beneficial because they decompose organic matter, thereby releasing nutrients that are then available for plant growth.

Lawn mushrooms are simply the product of fungi in the soil. While there may be spores in many areas of the lawn, they will only grow where they find a suitable habitat. Because of this, one or more areas of your yard could have them, while other areas do not.

Lawn mushrooms feed off decaying matter such as: organic matter, dead tree stumps, old building material and the like. Because of this, mushrooms are often associated with a similar lawn problem called a Fairy Ring.

A fairy ring is a roughly circular area of brighter green grass with a dead or brown area just inside the otter green ring. This is caused by decaying organic matter under the soil. Mushrooms often appear along the leading edge of the fairy ring. Treatment for fairy ring is limited, but extra aeration along with the suggestions for mushroom control can limit the damage and spread the decay of the underlying problem.

CONTROL OF MUSHROOMS

Limit Irrigation:
The vast majority of mushrooms are associated with wet soil and/or poor drainage. Once the soil dries, mushrooms tend to go away. out. In simple terms areas with heavy mushroom problems should be watered less.

Air circulation:
Aeration and, in extreme cases, thatch removal will help with air flow which will prevent mushroom growth in many areas. This will also strengthen the roots of gasses since they will be able to breath better.

Good Fertilization:
Proper fertilization will often eliminate or drastically reduce mushrooms from springing up out from organic matter by applying proper and well balanced nitrogen fertilizer. This helps, because fertilization speeds up decomposition of organic matter.

Top Removal:
A popular method to control mushrooms is to remove the tops as they are seen throughout the year. Continual vigilance and removal will keep the appearance of the yard up and will drastically cut down on the spread of the fungi, but the source of the mushrooms will still be present. Thus, the mushrooms are likely to return in the future.