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Perennials best resistant to honey fungus?

janebuckingham71@yahoo.co.uk[email protected] Posts: 279
in Problem solving

Hi all

I've been away from the forum for a while - too much work and not enough gardening....and having just discovered honey fungus in my garden (privet hedge infected by an old tree stump) of 5 years I thought I'd call on the experts here.

I know what to do to try to deal with it (as much we can, must admit to be being a tad depressed by the discovery), but I'm keen to use more plants that are resistant to it to limit casualties - I understand once it's in your garden you have it forever (?).

I love cottage garden style perennials, especially those for the bees and butterflies - can I ask the forum which of these are most resistant to honey fungus? Esp those that can cope with chalky/flint soil. 

A list of toughies that I can use/plant will cheer me up! (Hopefully I'll have some in the garden already and can seek to propagate and use these more if they're known HF winners.. ).

Thanks all

Jane 

Posts

  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700

    They tend to attack woody based plants. For perennials, there really is no ideal plants. I think it is best to insert a pond liner to around half a meter deep around the areas you have seen plants affected. Make sure at least a couple of inches is above soil level. Really dig over the soil on the other side. Hopefully, it will control the areas a bit. 

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090

    I think you'll find that honey fungus affects woody plants so herbaceous perennials will be OK.   The RHS publishes a list which includes the trees and shrubs most likely to be affected and another of those which have never reported infection.   You can peruse that list and find out which will grow in your soil and climate - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/pdfs/honey-fungus-host-list.pdf

    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601

    I have honey fungus in my garden, very wide spread. It is slowly finishing off the older or more challenged trees but I have never seen any problems with perennials.

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    Here's another excellent fact sheet (pdf) from the Guernsey government site:

    https://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=4797&p=0

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • janebuckingham71@yahoo.co.uk[email protected] Posts: 279

    Hi all, thanks for the tips, busy reading the fact sheets tonight.... 

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