"Bigjon" wrote in message ...
We appear to have the symptoms and bootlaces of honey fungus, as well as
one or two suspicious deaths to go with this. I found out that Armillatox
has been removed from sale in the UK, (but seems to be available as a soap
product now ??).

1. Can it still be used to kill Honey Fungus ?
2. Is there anything else I can use ?
3. Where can I get this by Mail order ?

I try to be as organic as possible, and I have a large wildlife pond nearby
!
I am deeply sceptical.
(a) About the alleged virulence of A. m as a plant pathogen.
(b) The efficacy and desirability of sloshing a tar oil based product around in quantities sufficient to do any
harm to the Armillaria.
I can't prove any of this but I have had the privilege of closely observing 10 Ha of largely woodland garden and
several nearby woods over nearly 30 years. All of those areas are full of Armillaria - on every piece of fallen
wood or dead tree. The only trees dying are large Beeches that have reached the end of their natural lifespan
(around 2-300 years) - those woods have been there for several hundreds of years and will be for several more
centuries unless somebody destroys them deliberately. Same in the garden - the odd thing dying here and there but
plenty of woody plants. I assume you'd find a similar picture in any wood anywhere in these islands. My proposition
is that dead plants found infected by Armillaria were already dead or in serious trouble for some other reason
before the Armillaria came along. It may also be that the mycelia of the fungus can't run so easily in an old wood
as they can in a well cultivated garden. So don't automatically blame the Armillaria - probably the only correct
verdict in many cases would be an open verdict.
As for the 'treatment' This stuff is highly toxic and will kill many beneficial and indeed essential organisms in
the soil and the effect on the Armillaria is likely to be marginal. I never see young healthy plants killed by
Armillaria so forget any 'treatment' - keep planting and enjoying your garden. Again, just because you see
bootlaces on a dead plant does *not* necessarily mean the Armillaria killed it.

Rod