We had a large conifer chopped down and the stump ground out last year. In the last couple of days something that looks horribly like honey fungus has popped up. I've read up about it and apparently it can grow on roots. We can't do anything about the roots - they go under the lawn, into next door, and, probably, under the house!
I know I need to clear the area, but what is the best chemical to treat the ground with??

You could just harvest it and eat it. http://www.mssf.org/cookbook/honey.html

It's not a problem on dead wood.

Granity - I thought it was a threat to plants growing in the area, e.g. I have an astilbe which is looking pretty sickly, plus various grasses now surrounded by fungi.

Granity wrote:


It's not a problem on dead wood.





errm yes it is!

It feed of the dead wood and sends out bootlaces to find its next host!

In an area of endemic HF, alaways stump grind any felled tree and remove
as much root as possible

pk

In article ,
PK writes:
| Granity wrote:
|
| It's not a problem on dead wood.
|
| errm yes it is!
|
| It feed of the dead wood and sends out bootlaces to find its next host!

Perhaps, but it's grossly overstated as a problem. If it were half
as lethal as is made out, none of the older English woodland would
exist.

As far as I know, there is no proof that it ever transfers between
hosts via the bootlaces or other mycelium but no clear evidence that
it doesn't.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...

In article ,
PK writes:
| Granity wrote:
|
| It's not a problem on dead wood.
|
| errm yes it is!
|
| It feed of the dead wood and sends out bootlaces to find its next host!

Perhaps, but it's grossly overstated as a problem. If it were half
as lethal as is made out, none of the older English woodland would
exist.

As far as I know, there is no proof that it ever transfers between
hosts via the bootlaces or other mycelium but no clear evidence that
it doesn't.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Fungi are positively beneficial and serve to dispose effectively of dead
material which would otherwise polute the environment.

In article ,
Granity writes:
|
| I suppose it depends what is around it within about 30' or so, quite a
| lot of trees are immune to it. Also if it wasn't about we'd be knee
| deep in dead trees :-)

Actually, almost no trees are immune, though the rest vary between
being very sensitive and fairly resistant. It isn't the only fungus
that breaks down dead wood, by eany means - there are at least
hundreds in the UK, more probably thousands.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I suppose it depends what is around it within about 30' or so, quite a lot of trees are immune to it. Also if it wasn't about we'd be knee deep in dead trees :-)

On 27/9/08 22:35, in article , "Granity"
wrote:

Janet Conroy;817338 Wrote:
We had a large conifer chopped down and the stump ground out last year.
In the last couple of days something that looks horribly like honey
fungus has popped up. I've read up about it and apparently it can grow
on roots. We can't do anything about the roots - they go under the
lawn, into next door, and, probably, under the house!
I know I need to clear the area, but what is the best chemical to treat
the ground with??

You could just harvest it and eat it.
http://www.mssf.org/cookbook/honey.html

It's not a problem on dead wood.

It can be, so it's worth being vigilant. Some things are more susceptible
than others and weak or damaged plants are possible victims. The old apple
tree I had in a previous garden died some time before I bought the house and
the owner kept the stump and grew things up it, which died. I put a
Kiftsgate rose up it (silly moi!) and the stump was attacked by honey
fungus. This was in a walled garden and within a year or two a lilac and a
couple of pear trees had died. But for the OP the first question is, does
the fungus actually smell of honey? You used to be able to get Armillatox
to treat the ground with but I don't know if it's still available or is one
of those EU 'banned substance' thingies.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

In article ,
Sacha writes:
|
| But for the OP the first question is, does
| the fungus actually smell of honey?

There are other ways of identifying it! Without any description, it could
be anything.

| You used to be able to get Armillatox
| to treat the ground with but I don't know if it's still available or is one
| of those EU 'banned substance' thingies.

It is, but you can still buy it. However, it doesn't work at all well.

The best form of alleviation is to remove all woody material near the
surface, and cover with a layer of earth, as Armillaria mellea spreads
primarily by spores, and will produce fruiting bodies only on exposed
wood.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 28/9/08 15:36, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:


In article ,
Sacha writes:
|
| But for the OP the first question is, does
| the fungus actually smell of honey?

There are other ways of identifying it! Without any description, it could
be anything.

| You used to be able to get Armillatox
| to treat the ground with but I don't know if it's still available or is one
| of those EU 'banned substance' thingies.

It is, but you can still buy it. However, it doesn't work at all well.

The best form of alleviation is to remove all woody material near the
surface, and cover with a layer of earth, as Armillaria mellea spreads
primarily by spores, and will produce fruiting bodies only on exposed
wood.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Didn't the OP say one of the stumps was against the fence - or something?
That might make it more difficult to remove all the woody material, so
Armillatox or similar might be the answer in terms of saturating the ground
round about.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)

On Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:16:56 +0100, Sacha
wrote and included this (or some of this):

On 27/9/08 22:35, in article , "Granity"
wrote:

It can be, so it's worth being vigilant. Some things are more susceptible
than others and weak or damaged plants are possible victims. The old apple
tree I had in a previous garden died some time before I bought the house and
the owner kept the stump and grew things up it, which died. I put a
Kiftsgate rose up it (silly moi!) and the stump was attacked by honey
fungus. This was in a walled garden and within a year or two a lilac and a
couple of pear trees had died. But for the OP the first question is, does
the fungus actually smell of honey? You used to be able to get Armillatox
to treat the ground with but I don't know if it's still available or is one
of those EU 'banned substance' thingies.

I bought 5 litres of the stuff on-line recently.

--
®óñ© © ²°¹°-°²

In article ,
Sacha writes:
|
| Didn't the OP say one of the stumps was against the fence - or something?
| That might make it more difficult to remove all the woody material, so
| Armillatox or similar might be the answer in terms of saturating the ground
| round about.

I don't remember, but there isn't much point in doing that unless it
is going to kill the fungus. And it almost certainly isn't.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Thank you for the replies, altho I'm not sure I'm any the wiser.
The tree was in a smallish front garden, right beside next door's boundary. The stump was ground out but it was a big tree (over 20ft) so goodness knows how far any remaining roots go.
I have perennials and grasses in the bed now.
Should I clear the bed?
What is susceptible?
If it's harmless why do you hear so many horror stories?

On 28/9/08 22:14, in article , "Janet
Conroy" wrote:


Thank you for the replies, altho I'm not sure I'm any the wiser.
The tree was in a smallish front garden, right beside next door's
boundary. The stump was ground out but it was a big tree (over 20ft)
so goodness knows how far any remaining roots go.
I have perennials and grasses in the bed now.
Should I clear the bed?
What is susceptible?
If it's harmless why do you hear so many horror stories?



Perennials and grasses aren't likely to be bothered. It's shrubby, woody
things that it attacks and then only if they're weak or damaged. Some
things, like lilacs are more susceptible than others, apparently. As it
runs underground and you can't see it, removing plants from beds won't make
any difference because you don't know where it is unless you peel back a
layer all over your garden. The first thing is to be sure it IS honey
fungus. Does the fruiting body smell of honey?
I really wouldn't panic about it but if you read the following it might help
you worry a bit less:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile...ney_fungus.asp

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
(new website online)