I have several stumps in the ground left from chopped-down leylandii. The
stumps have been there for about 5 years. Under the soil, I think one of
the stumps has honey fungus (it's white and smells like mushrooms). The
surrounding plants are (touch wood) healthy. Should I treat the stump or
should I leave it? It can't really be removed without damaging surrounding
plants.

Thanks.

In article ,
"Mel" writes:
|
| I have several stumps in the ground left from chopped-down leylandii. The
| stumps have been there for about 5 years. Under the soil, I think one of
| the stumps has honey fungus (it's white and smells like mushrooms). The
| surrounding plants are (touch wood) healthy. Should I treat the stump or
| should I leave it? It can't really be removed without damaging surrounding
| plants.

1) Why do you think that it is honey fungus? There are a zillion fungi
that grow on dead stumps. Actually, assuming that you mean its mycelium
is white, it isn't honey fungus :-)

2) Remember that Fungus is the bogeyman. Few of them are half the killers
that they are made out to be - we wouldn't have any ancient woodland if
they were - and honey fungus is no exception to that.

3) There isn't anything that you can eliminate it with that won't poison
the soil for yards around, and even the groundwater. No, Armillatox will
NOT kill it all once it has infected a stump.

So - Don't Panic.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren"

| I have several stumps in the ground left from chopped-down leylandii.
The
| stumps have been there for about 5 years. Under the soil, I think one
of
| the stumps has honey fungus (it's white and smells like mushrooms).

1) Why do you think that it is honey fungus? There are a zillion fungi
that grow on dead stumps. Actually, assuming that you mean its mycelium
is white, it isn't honey fungus :-)


Thanks, Nick. I won't panic! I haven't bothered with it for 5 years, but I
saw something on Gardner's World yesterday about honey fungus and it got me
to wondering. The stuff under the stump's bark is white and smells like
mushrooms, which is what Pippa Greenwood described and what I've read on
various websites. Anyway, I'll leave it to do its natural work.

Regards.

Mel wrote:
The stuff under the stump's bark
is white and smells like mushrooms,


That's Honey Fungus, it will sit eating the sugars in the stump it has
infected and sending out bootlaces to find and infect other vulnerable woody
plants.

Not much you can do now but memo for the future : Do no leave stumps in the
ground!

In woodland Honey Fungus is endemic but is competing with a host of other
fungi, in gardens it has few competitors and can run riot. A garden I look
after has lost approaching 100 roses over the past 10 years as the infection
has spread across the garden taking many other shrubs with it.

Good luck!

& Remember there are no such things as problems, only solutions and every
dead shrub is a free planting space!



pk