I've been doing some reading up on Mycorrhiza. mainly because ive seen it
as aproduct offered at local nursery. Its mainly spoken about in realtion
to black pines. And some controvery about Mycorrhiza and fertilizer. im
interested in if it would be a good addition to all plants no just the
pines. eg. japanese maples, oaks, sweet gum etc. And what is you opinon
to add it yo juvenille plants?

Oy! It's complicated.

a) Some trees (mostly conifers) are "ectomycorrhizal". Some (mostly
dicots) are endomycorrhizal. Some (ericaceae) have
ectendomycorrhizae. You can't just buy inoculum in the store; it has
to be the appropriate kind. I think most of those products are a
racket (IMHO).

b) Young trees often have different mycorrhizae than older trees.

c) Some of the fungi are very specialized and grow on only a few
species of trees; others grow on most.

d) some of these relationships are regional; you can inoculate a
plant with a certain mycorrhizal fungus, but if it isn't a good fit,
the tree will lose it to a local mycorrhizal fungus better adapted to
the area.

e) Some mycorrhizal relationships go bad in the presence of fertilizer.


For the most part, a well-fertilized, well-watered bonsai does not
need a mycorrhizal fungus. It makes sense to inoculate young trees
if you are transplanting them to barren, strip-mined land. But for
the most part, a tree that needs one will find it itself.

On the other hand, it will do absolutely no harm to inoculate a tree.
And, as we have discussed so often, anything that encourages a
healthy soil flora helps reduce stress on a tree.
--
Nina Shishkoff

Riverhead, NY

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