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Honey fungus? Another fungus? Something else?
mxiacovou
Posts: 2
I've recently lost both a skimmia and a photinia, planted within a few metres of each other, both apparently healthy until last year, both started looking not all that bright last summer, and it's now clear they aren't going to make it. My first thought was honey fungus, since they are both classed as susceptible. However, I've never seen any mushroom type growths on or around them, and I've inspected the plants and soil for black "bootlaces" and can't see any.
Having dug both shrubs up, it's clear that both have a lot less in the way of root systems than I'd have expected, and both have white deposits under the surface of some of their roots - on the photinia particularly they have a "stringy" look to them.
We are on dry sandy soil, with a pH fractionally above 7. The perennials between/around the affected shrubs are flourishing. A nearby box hedge is flourishing, but I'm starting to have concerns about a euonymus.
The first image is a root from the skimmia, the second and third are from the photinia.
Any help would be gratefully received, or any indication of where I could go to get a diagnosis.
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