What causes fairy rings, and what is their significance?

Question

We've just moved house, and there's a fairy ring on our lawn- does it mean fairies are close? or can we just mow it and get rid of it?

Answer 1

"Fairy rings" are a fungi, and if that is what you want in your garden, fairies (or at least the myth) enjoy :-) If it is not what you want, the only way to get rid of it is to remove the soil in that area, to a depth of at least three inches, and replace with new. Mowing will not get rid of it.

Answer 2

The answer a few above is good, but he didn't say what the cause was. Fairy ring fungus'...there are many types...are beneficial fungi that breakdown dead plant material. This could be a dead root underground, a thick thatch layer in the soil, generous organic matter in the soil, etc, etc. They attacks manicured lawns as well as natural lawns. They don't exactly hurt the turf, but the mycellium of the fungus does get so dense it inhibits water penetration and brown rings develop. You can get something like a Ross Root Feeder and push it into the brown rings and flood the area while also breaking the mycellium mat a bit. The deep green ring often seen with Fairy ring is the nitrogen the fungus has released when it broke down the organic matter. No cure...just let it grow out of your lawn and into your neighbor's. Do keep ahead of the mushrooms as they will send their spores to other lawns.

Answer 3

Fairy rings appear in any lawn, golf course or other turf areas during spring and summer months. The rings appear as either dark green or brown circular bands ranging in size from a few inches to 50 feet in diameter. The fairy ring fungus grows outward from a central point at a rate varying from a few inches to as much as several feet a year. Where several distinct rings converge, fungus activity stops at the points of contact. As a result, the circular shape of the original rings is replaced by a scalloped effect.

Mushrooms frequently develop in a circle outside of the dark green or brown ring during spring and fall after a period of heavy rainfall or irrigation. Centuries ago people thought that the mushrooms appeared where "fairies" had danced the night before-hence, the name, fairy ring.

Answer 4

What's a fairy ring look like ? Quite good for visual questions -> http://www.irecognisethat.com

Answer 5

I guess I have a slightly different take on the meaning of "fairy ring". I've always thought of it as a ring of mushrooms and that it was caused by the spores sprouting more mushrooms after they had been released by a previous mushroom (toadstool). As to any mythic meaning. I have no belief in that kind of stuff but if you like to believe that it means you have fairies in your yard, far be it from me to burst your bubble.

Answer 6

It only takes one 'mushroom' to make a ring, as the spores are released around it then around each one as they grow and so on. -BUT- now heres a thought - if they can produce square tomatoes for sandwiches I guess they can produce a square 'mushroom' -that'll take out any homosexual connotations and also upgrade the status of the fairies -henceforth living in a square.

Answer 7

fairy rings are a ring of fungus
because fungus grow in a ring the mushrooms they grow 2 reproduce end up growing in a ring

- sorry no fairies :( :(

Answer 8

It can be mowed, however toadstools & mushrooms have a rather unique means of rooting themselves. They should not be bestroyed by mowing.

Answer 9

It is wrong to use the word "fairy", because we all know what it means. You are being very bigoted toward our homosexual "community" when you use a word like "fairy", or the "Q" word. Please do not violate Y!A's community standards in this way. Thank you.