Status: 14.10.2023, 09:05 a.m.
By: Ines Alms
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All of a sudden, they are sometimes there, the witches' rings: mushrooms grow in a circle in the garden. Lawn disease requires treatment.
The mushroom circles seem quite mystical, but they are not created by witch dances. It is a natural network of fungi that spreads symmetrically underground from the center, allowing the fruiting bodies to come to the surface at the end of its so-called mycelium threads – sometimes the visible mushrooms appear only as a semicircle. Even though witch rings can sprout in the lawn all year round, they find particularly good growing conditions in wet autumn and spring. Since this lawn disease is very persistent, it makes sense to fight the fungus.
Removing witch rings is not a must, but it is recommended
Sometimes the mushrooms in a witch's ring are edible, such as meadow mushrooms. If you're not sure, don't do it. © Zoonar/Imago
In most cases, witch rings do not pose a serious threat to your plants and lawn, but are rather a curious phenomenon. They are often a sign of poor soil quality or a lawn that is not fertilized enough. According to My Beautiful Garden, laying a rolled lawn can also promote fungal growth. Often the mushrooms are accompanied by a ring of withered or particularly succulent grass. Permanent dryness and discoloration of the grass are considered lawn diseases. The fungi can also spread throughout the garden via spores.
Gerhard Schuster from the German Society for Mycology explained to myhomebook.de that edible species such as clove mushrooms, meadow mushrooms or purple red-throated knightlings often grow in a witch's ring. But poisonous species such as the green tuberous leaf mushroom can also sprout there. So it's better not to eat the mushrooms.
You can find even more exciting gardening topics in the regular newsletter of our partner 24garten.de.
Remove witch ring step by step
Retailers recommend fungicides to combat the fungal network. But since these have no place in a near-natural garden for many hobby gardeners, you can get to grips with the fungus in a different way - but you need a little patience.
In his book "Garden Docs", gardener Peter Rasch recommends getting to grips with the witches' ring step by step:
If all else fails, a 30-centimeter-deep soil replacement in the area of the circle is an effective step.
How to Prevent Witch Rings
It is not possible to completely protect the lawn from the fungal circles. But good lawn care, which ensures that the soil is well aerated and fertilized, will help prevent witch rings. Mowing grass should be removed from the lawn quickly. In autumn, a potassium-rich fertilizer is recommended.