Why do I have dark green spots on my lawn? - Knowledgebase Question

anchorage, Al
Avatar for zedm9256
Question by zedm9256
July 15, 2010
I couldn't find information regarding green spots. My lawn has many circle spots in 6 inches to 12 inches in diamater that are 10x greener than the rest of the lawn. Even more, it seems that the blades in those spots are longer than the rest of the lawn, hence growing faster. I remember that when i applied Scotts Turf Builder Fertilizer, was the time this happened. Why is this? Pls help


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Answer from NGA
July 15, 2010
Might be that the fertilizer was overapplied in those extra green spots or that the nitrogen in the fertilizer prompted the greening because of an underlying fungal disease. Large, dark green circles of grass that may sometimes produce mushrooms are know as "fairy rings." Fairy rings occur there is fungi inhabiting in the soil. This fungi grows on decaying matter in the soil. This often happens in lawns where the thatch is too thick or when a tree has been removed and the roots are decaying.

Some rings take on different patterns of dark green circles with mushrooms in the center, rings of dead grass in the center of a dark green circle or arcs of mushrooms in a dark green circle. The patterns can change shapes and sizes from season to season. This dark green comes from the fungus breaking down organic matter and producing high levels of nitrogen. Whatever the case there is little you can do.

Whatever the source of the decomposition is will eventually go away. I've had good results in using corn gluten meal on the lawn. It seems to neutralize the fungi and the rings are no longer visible. You might want to apply corn gluten meal to see if it improves the appearance of your turf. Hope so!

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