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Advice please! Is this honey fungus and should I take some action?

GeorgPGeorgP Posts: 5
in Problem solving
For background about 2 years ago this hedge was a mix of laurels, various shrubs, a very large sycamore stump and several smaller sycamore stumps. We removed some of the smaller sycamore stumps ourselves but some gardening ‘professionals’  were hired to ‘clear’ the area and plant about 8 4ft laurel to make it into a uniform hedge. The professionals basically removed the shrubs and planted Laurel in some cases about 4 inches proud of ground level around the remaining sycamore stumps. Fast forward to today and I’m concerned that the now rotting sycamore stump (which can’t be seen in the photo as it’s on our neighbours property) has attracted honey fungus and that it’s spreading to the Laurel.  Does anyone know whether this is honey fungus for sure? I’ve seen a list of tree species affected by honey fungus and Laurel is one that is rarely affected. Should I just hope for the best or do something and what would you suggest I do. Thanks.

Posts

  • robairdmacraignilrobairdmacraignil Posts: 782
    It's very normal to have fungi breaking down dead wood in the garden. Your hedge and grass look to be growing fine so I don't see a problem. The mushrooms will break down once they have done their job of spreading spores and I don't see the point of interfering with the natural processes you have going on in your garden when they are not doing your garden any harm. A lot of fungi are saprophytic and just live off dead material and actually benefit your plants by making nutrients in the dead material available for the plants to use.
    https://www.youtube.com/user/sustainableveg/videos
  • GeorgPGeorgP Posts: 5
    That’s great and exactly what I wanted to hear. Thanks for your advice. I’d seen a few posts with people seeming to be really alarmed by it so it’s good to hear there’s nothing to worry about.
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    That does look like honey fungus and as you have already read it can be very damaging in gardens. It lives on both dead and live wood. Although the mushrooms will dissappear in a few days the rhizomorphs (like black bootlaces) will be spreading out underground looking for more victims. As it is also growing through the grass it is living off the roots of your sycamore stumps and is spreading.

    The only remedial action you can take is complete excavation of the contaminated stumps, roots and soil. Removing the mushrooms has no effect other than if you want to eat them, it is quite tasty, but never eat any wild mushroom unless you have a positive I.D. from an expert.

    If you don't have any susceptible trees or shrubs in your garden it may not make much difference to you but it will also be spreading in your neighbour's garden. Search the RHS website for lists of susceptible and resistant plants.
  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    Yes, I think that's honey fungus as well.  Although it can be worrying to see that it's in your garden, I don't think there's any need to panic.  We found we had honey fungus this summer, after a mature rowan blew over in a storm, and it became evident that the fungus had spread to it from a number of large tree stumps left by our new house's former owners.

    Since there's no chemical control available to stop its spread, your options - as Steephill has said - are limited to monitoring the situation, or going for the "scorched earth" option and trying to eliminate all the rhizomes (or sink a physical barrier in the soil outside the affected area).  Unless you have valuable but susceptible plants in danger of being attacked, I wouldn't pesonally go down the barrier/massive digging route - for one thing, I can confirm that it's really difficult to identify the rhizomes, which look like the roots they surround.  

    Planting shrubs or trees which are on the RHS "least susceptible" list makes sense.  Non-woody perennials and annuals are rarely attacked (though strawberries and potatoes are susceptible), so a pretty garden is definitely possible.  Keeping the soil in good heart by applying compost, and making sure your plants aren't stressed, is important.    :)
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • GeorgPGeorgP Posts: 5
    It’s been good to get different viewpoints, thanks for your input. I will have a chat with my neighbours. The sycamore formed our boundary and now the Laurel are in place I can’t really get access to the sycamore from my property. They have some trees in their garden that have been double asterisked for vulnerability on the RHS list so they can at least keep an eye on them.  I suspect it will be a case of wait and see as the sycamore stump is a good metre in diameter so would be hard to remove manually and it’s position isn’t great for using machinery. 

    As for eating the mushrooms, I will have to resist temptation as I’m not sure it is safe to do so - pity as they are one of my favourite things to eat.



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