Ring around the trees

[barrentine]

I live in central Georgia and i have a couple of sawtooth and water oaks that i planted about 12 years ago.About mid summer the grass forms a ring about 20' around these oaks where it looks like the grass is not near as thick as everywhere else.what is this.

 

[oosik]

Look up fairy rings on google. Or its the trees drawing nutrients & moisture from the lawn. Fertilize & water these circle areas. If the circle has an outer darker green ring - its most likely a fairy ring. I get them - they come/go with the seasons.

 

[s219]

I live in central Georgia and i have a couple of sawtooth and water oaks that i planted about 12 years ago.About mid summer the grass forms a ring about 20' around these oaks where it looks like the grass is not near as thick as everywhere else.what is this.

Not sure about a "ring", but the large trees in my lawn (beeches and oaks) have a full circle around the trunk, roughly the size of the canopy, where the grass never does well. Pretty sure it's from the tree roots drawing in all the available moisture and nutrients.

If it's a ring, is it aligned with the tree's drip line by chance? If not, and if it grows outward with time, it's probably a fairy ring (fungus). May have been brought in with the trees and is slowly growing outward. A lawn fungicide should take care of it. Lawn fungus is common in the south, especially in humid areas and/or where grass is allowed to grow high.

 

[smstonypoint]

I agree that the thinness of the grass is likely due to the trees denying the grass of water and nutrients. Also, some grasses are less shade tolerant than others, so the trees may also be denying sunlight to your grass.

Steve

 

[hosspuller]

When is the best time to plant a tree for shade. Answer : about 30 years ago ....

Instead of trying to grow grass... grow the tree. Place a layer of mulch in the circle formed by the canopy. Trees in a lawn are starving. They 're competing with the grass for water and nutrients. Trees in a forest grow in natural mulch. I value my trees for shade more than grass. After all, Your Oaks took 12 years to grow.

PS .... Don't mound the mulch against the tree's root flare. Many commercial landscapers do it... but it's WRONG. You don't want anything to shelter bugs and fungus against your trees.

 

[MossRoad]

I don't think he's describing fairy rings. That's a fungus and looks like this:
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=fairy+rings
Could be mistaken, though.

 

[oosik]

He probably isn't. They are pretty easy to recognize. MY single ring looks like those in your link.

Hosspuller - I found that either I don't have the right type of mulch(chipped pine trees) or do something wrong. My "mulch" attracts many types of bugs this time of year. It could be that the mulch is damp. Believe me, its the only damp thing around here this time of year - at least until the fall rains.

 

[Pilot]

A few kinds of trees emit toxic chemicals that harm some other kinds of plants. Black walnuts are famous for this--tomatoes don't do well around walnuts. The effect is called allelopathy. Some kinds of grasses won't grow under some kinds of oaks. Here's a link:
Oak Trees Allelopathic?