Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / Nov. 18, 1993, edition 1 / Page 19
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Lawn Mushrooms Harmless Fungi Also A Major Player In Decomposition Dear Plant Doctor: I have a cen tipede lawn. Irately I have white, pink anil slimy tan or brown mush rooms infesting many parts of the lawn. Can you give me some infor mation on how to get rid of this fun gus? ? Calabash Answer: Why? Mushrooms are the fruiting structure of a group of fungi known as the basidiomycetes. Removing a mushroom from your lawn is like picking an apple from a tree but. unlike a tree, the true im mense size of the mushroom "body" is interwoven in the fabric of the soil. While some of these fungi are among the most devastating diseases of small grains (smuts and rusts) and fruit trees (Armillaria root rot), the great majority are harmless sap rophytes (i.e., they live on dead plant matter). Fairy rings in your lawn are caused by some of the sap rophytic mushroom fungi. In general, mushrooms do no harm. Leave them alone. They are a major player in nature's scheme of decomposition. Even if you did want to kill them, no fungicide is ef fective and labeled in North Carolina for mushroom control in home lawns. Dear Plant Doctor: We recently purchased a second home on Oak Island which came with a beautiful stand of centipede grass. I am not fa miliar with centipede grass but my neighbor tells me that it grows very slowly and requires less main tenance than other grasses. My question... Is it feasible to have centipede grass since we will only be there on vacations and long weekends? Is hiring a landscape company necessary? ? Annapolis, Md.' Answer: It depends. If you are going to want a perfect bluegrass or fescue-like lawn at Oak Island (like I suspect you have in Annapolis), then plan on planting zoysia, St. Augustine or bermuda grass and hiring a first-rate land scape maintenance firm. If you are going to be satisfied with a yellow-green turfgrass that will probably contain assorted weeds a low-maintenance centipede grass lawn will be just fine. Some of the finest stands of cen tipede grass I have ever seen were in areas that were nearly neglected. Centipede grass is truly a low-main tenance grass. A high level of man agement will often kill it as fast as any herbicide. Depending on where you are at Oak Island, you may want to consid er a more salt-tolerant grass. Con trary to common belief, centipede grass is not well adapted to beach areas. It does well in sand but does not tolerate salt spray or saline water inundation. Zoysia, St. Augustine and Ber muda grasses are probably the best adapted to coastal conditions, but their maintenance is much more in tensive (i.e. ,you will need a land scape maintenance firm). Dear Plant Doctor: Some of the CENTIPEDE SOD Gressette Sod Farms 1-800-444-2993 FLORENCE, SC Get your pool ready for winter with BioGuard. Avoid nasty surprises next spring by winterizing with BioGuard' now. Relax. Bring your pool I? to BioGuard. Complete Line Of Pool & Spa Chemicals Dealer For Down East Spas PROFESSIONAL POOL MAINTENANCE Island Village Specialty Shops Hwy. 179, Ocean Isle Beach (Behind IGA Bldg.) Open Mon-Sat ggj 579-8828 Daily Maintenance Chemicals, Accessories & Equipment THE PLANT DOCTOR C. BRUCE WILLIAMS Extension Area Turf Specialist herbicides I use on my lawn re commend either a spreader-sticker or crop oil. What are spreader-stick er and crop oil? Are they the same? What about surfactant? ? Clinton Answer: A spreader-sticker, crop oil and surfactant are all products that improve the biological activity of pesticides by increasing spray coverage of the plant. Collectively these products are called adjuvants. The adjuvants you mention break the surface tension of water so that the active ingredients in a pesticide will be more evenly distributed over the surface of the plant. In addition some adjuvants, like spreader-sticker or crop oil. bind with the waxes on the leaf and stem surfaces to allow for better pesticide penetration and residual activity. Spreader-stickers and surfactants are chemically very similar to liquid de tergents. Crop oil is usually a processed water soluble petroleum oil. Adjuvants allow less pesticide to be used but still receive maximum pesticide activity. If the label of your herbicide says to use a certain type of adjuvant, then use it. They are not all the same. Dear Plant Doctor: I have a large oak in my yard and I want to know what kind it is. I would like to purchase another oak just like it to plant on the side of my house. Where can I gel large oak trees? ? Supply Answer: Judging from the leaves you included in your letter. I believe you have a willow oak ( Querent pliellos). I"he willow oak is one of the fastest-growing, easiest to transplant and most adaptable of all the native oak trees. I especially appreciate the courtesy of willow oaks in the au tumn because they drop all their leaves at once. I am sending you a copy of the NC'DA Certified Nurseries in Bruns wick County. This document lists nurseries anil retail garden centers registered by the N.C. Department of Agriculture Plant Industry Divi sion. The willow oak is a common landscape tree and can be easily ob tained by most garden centers and nurseries. For other interested gardeners, contact your county Cooperative Extension Service office and request to see the document titled "Certified Nurseries and Plant Collectors of North Carolina" (most recent edi tion). Send your gardening questions or comments to The Plant Doctor, P.O. Box 109, Bolivia, N.C. 2S422 ro;? o / N'*l s=fi& y.V^ V/' 'rJt l',?. - F*?- J**- F**- US' H?PP/ksgivi^! Tb^zfL^mrn ?p <3> Large Fraiser Fir Christmas Available At Most Food Lion Stores. Poinsettias V, Beautiful Florist Quality Half Gallon Flavors <. (^0111 Extra Low Prices... Everyday! Extra Low Prices... Everyday ! I* Delicious Sweet Potatoes Fresh Collard Greens 2 Lb. Bag - Crunchy Crisp Carrots / *7' 2 Liter - Diet Pepsi, Caffeine Free Pepsi, Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi, Crystal Pepsi, Diet Crystal Pepsi, Mt. Dew, Diet Mt. Dew Pepsi Cola 99* 2 Liter 1 12 p?k ? 1a o*. c?n. 7-Up. Diet 7-Up| gjjt D?w. Lb. 99 a I Pepsi Cola 1 3.49 Del Monte Vegetables 2/79 16 Oz. Cut/French Style Green Beans Or 17 Oz. Whole Kernel Corn Stove Top Chicken, Cornbread, Turkey, Pork, Herb 6 Oz. Stuffing Everyday Low Price! ft V-8 Cocktail Juice Regularly $1.39 46 Oz. Bridgford Parkerhouse Rolls 24 Ct. Regularly 994 Prices in this ad good Wed., Nov. 17 thru Wed., Nov. 24, 1993. We Reserve The Right To Limit Quantities. Food Lion will be closed Thanksgiving Day. ^ v BkJ gkV m*j m. J rn. J J J m. J - ? ?- .1 -y- ? w
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
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Nov. 18, 1993, edition 1
19
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