Michigan Gardener

SIGN UP for our Free E-Newsletter!
We will send you occasional e-mails with valuable gardening tips and information!

Digital Editions

Click on the cover to read now!
Sponsored by:

  • Home
  • Departments
    • Ask MG
    • Books
    • Clippings
    • Garden Snapshots
    • MG in the News
    • Janet’s Journal
    • Plant Focus
    • Profile
    • Raising Roses
    • Thyme for Herbs
    • Tools
    • Tree Tips
  • Garden Event Calendar
    • Garden Event Calendar
    • Submit a Calendar Listing
  • Resources
    • Alternatives to Impatiens
    • Garden Help
    • Soil and Mulch Calculator
    • Public Gardens
  • Web Extras
  • About
    • Publishing Schedule – 2023
    • Editorial Content
    • Bulk Subscriptions – 2023
    • Where to pick up Michigan Gardener
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Advertising
    • Print / Web / E-Newsletter Advertising
    • Classified Advertising
    • Material Specs & Terms
    • Make a Payment
Home Ask MG Mushrooms appearing in lawn and mulch

Please note that Michigan Gardener has a new schedule in 2023. We will publish one Print Magazine in the spring. This Spring issue will be in stores in early May 2023. We will also publish 10 E-Newsletters from spring through fall. Click to sign up for our free E-Newsletter.

Mushrooms appearing in lawn and mulch

January 6, 2010   •   

I have a couple large patches of mushrooms coming up in my lawn and in bark mulch I put down last fall. Should I dig them out? Should I do anything else to make sure that they do not grow back? Or should I just leave them alone to die on their own?

The sudden appearance of mushrooms in our lawns always sets our blood racing. What caused these “alien life forms” to appear overnight? In reality, mushrooms are just the fruits of a fungus caused by rotting wood in the soil that may have come from past construction or old tree roots and stumps.

Since you are seeing them in bark mulch you applied, the fungus spores were probably in the mulch and while still dormant, hitched a ride into your yard. This doesn’t condemn your mulch source nor do you need to remove the existing mulch and put down fresh. Mushrooms do not harm the grass or the mulch.

They should, however, be hand-picked or raked out to prevent the fruiting bodies from producing more spores and increasing their numbers. If you mow over them, you may carry spores to other parts of your lawn on your mower blades. There is no chemical that will prevent them.

Since a fungus prefers moist, shady conditions, you may want to check how often you water your lawn and the amount of air circulating in that area. Removing the mushrooms present and monitoring your maintenance methods should decrease their colonization.

Filed Under: Ask MG

Previous Post: Keeping the lawn green
Next Post: Preventing animal chewing on tree bark
Copyright © 1996-2023 Michigan Gardener. All rights reserved.