The Kansas City summer is coming to a rainy ending. Continuously wet soil has promoted more tree and lawn mushrooms than usual this year. Mushrooms are the fruiting body of a much larger fungus.
Tree Trunk Mushrooms grow on tree trunks from fungi feeding on the dead wood of the tree. The only way to get rid of that fungus is to remove the dead wood or the tree itself.
Lawn Mushrooms consume organic material in the soil. Old tree roots and buried construction materials can sprout sudden, dramatic and long-lasting concentrations of mushrooms.
Fairy Rings are some of the oddest of lawn mushroom. They produce dark green or brown circles of grass and mushrooms that grow larger each year until they dissipate. Above ground mushrooms may even be spotted in a circle-type formation.
What to do about Tree & Lawn Mushrooms:
- Mushroom forming fungi in lawns are not attacking the lawn. The only concern is that they become so thick that the lawns roots are unable to penetrate. Call us if this is a concern in your lawn.
- The body of the fungus is always present in the soil and can be hundreds, or thousands of times larger than the visible mushroom itself.
- Some lawn mushrooms are edible, but it is best to assume they are poisonous unless you are an expert.
- If the appearance of the mushrooms are bothersome, break them off using a broom, rake or just the side of your foot.
- Removing tree stumps can be somewhat helpful, but the decaying roots will remain as food for the fungi.
- The good news is that in time, most of the fungi and all of the mushrooms they sprout will dissipate.
If you have any questions about mushrooms or fungus in your lawn or on trees, do not hesitate to contact us ONLINE or at (913) 789-9333.
