A cluster of small mushrooms growing in a lawn

Fungi

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Monday, 18 March 2019 at 3:00 pm

Learn which garden fungi are damaging to plants and how to remove them.

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Don't panic the moment you find fungi in the garden. They thrive in moist, warm conditions and many are harmless. The two most damaging are the honey-coloured honey fungus and fairy rings. The former is a killer and spreads through the soil between diseased and healthy plants via tough, leathery, bootlace-like rhizomorphs. Fairy rings attack grass roots and produce brown toadstools in summer.

Symptoms

Individual fungi or clusters of toadstools appear in the garden, often after a spell of warm, wet weather.

Find it on

lawns, trees, just about anywhere around the garden

Organic

With honey fungus, remove and destroy the entire root system, as well as the stump of the affected plants and any adjacent planting to at least 1.2m either side. You'll also need to remove the surrounding soil and replace it with fresh. With fairy rings, remove the affected turf and soil, and replace.

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