IN THIS GUIDE
Honey fungus is a serious fungal disease that has the mental ability to destroy certain shrubs , tree diagram and recurrent flora in the garden .
Unfortunately , honey fungus can be a severe problem if identified in the garden and can lead to the loss of multiple specimen , as modified controls are available .
However , if found to be present , prompt activeness can facilitate to forestall its potential spread .
What Is Honey Fungus?
Honey fungus encompasses several coinage of Armillaria fungus that target and pop the radical of many woody plants and is view to be a factor in oak tree decline , a disease involve oak trees.1Armillaria – dear fungus . ( 2022 , February 9 ) . Forest Research . remember March 17 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/fthr/pest-and-disease-resources/chronic-oak-decline-dieback/biotic-and-abiotic-factors-which-contribute-to-oak-decline/armillaria-honey-fungus/
The fungus can produce honey - coloured toadstool in late summer or early autumn , give the fungus its common name .
Armillaria melleaandA. gallicaare the most common beloved fungus species to be found present in gardens here in the United Kingdom.2Incidence of Armillaria species in U.K. gardens . ( 2017 , July ) . ResearchGate . retrieve March 17 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.researchgate.net/figure/Incidence-of-Armillaria-species-in-UK-gardens-A-A-gallica-B-A-mellea-and-C-A_fig2_318250914
A parasitic fungus , genus Armillaria can attack both broadleaf andconiferous bush and tree , along with some herbaceous perennials .
Sadly , far-flung here in the UK , it is also present in parts of Europe and North America .
Identifying Honey Fungus
Honey fungus can be hard to place as it spreads under the dirt aerofoil and does not always produce the honey - coloured toadstools that are visible above earth .
The bunch of love - color toadstool appear from the ending of summer onwards .
However , these mushrooms tend not to seem until the disease is already well ground and shrubs and trees are naughtily infected .
The toadstool tend to get in clumps on living and stagnant wood .
The mushroom-shaped cloud caps are browned on top with white gills underneath , which turn brown over time and can develop a wavy sharpness as they mature .
A clean neckband is present on the stem underneath the gills .
turn over a summit of 10 - 15 cm their stems can maturate to 1.5 cm in diam .
Other tell - tale preindication that honey fungus is present , is the video display of rhizomorphs or ‘ black bootlace ’ in the soil around the plant or under the barque , along with white growths called mycelium , which produce between the barque and the Sir Henry Joseph Wood underneath.3Honey Fungus . ( n.d . ) . NatureSpot . recollect March 17 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.naturespot.org.uk/species/honey-fungus
“ The most true mode to key honey fungus is by peel back the bark at the base of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or bush where the white mycelium will be discernible , along with a stiff olfactory modality of mushroom , ” partake Master Horticulturist Roy Nicol .
“ Rhizomorphs often ca n’t be picture , but the best chance to spot them is where they are attach to the beginning at the basis of the plant . ”
However , often the first foretoken of beloved fungus are n’t the toadstool or bootlaces , but reduced plant life vim , dieback of growth , loss of flowers , pale foliage and cracking and bleeding at the base of the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree .
These can all easily be misguided as symptoms of other diseases or problem other than honey fungus .
Causes & How It Spreads
In the wild , honey fungus is seldom an issue as other fungi growing in the area restrain its development .
However , in cultivated garden where fungus are often monish , honey fungus can take over as other species are not present to keep it in arrest .
Honey fungus mainly spreads undergroundby style of the rhizomorphs under the soil as well as from infected radical communicate the disease to other plants ’ root systems nearby.4Wingfield , M. ( 2004 ) . Armillaria . Science Direct , 816–822.https://doi.org/10.1016 / b0 - 12 - 145160 - 7/00062 - 4
The fungus can also give rise spores and the latest inquiry point some species such asA. melleamay diffuse by spore dispersion and then via the underground rhizomorphs.5Armillaria . ( n.d . ) . ScienceDirect Topics . Retrieved June 19 , 2023 , fromhttps://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-85042-1.00004-5
The rhizomorphs travel under the grease at a deepness of 15 - 45 curium and at a frightening pace of up to 1 m a class until plant up to 30 m aside are attack .
This pep pill , along with the fact that it is often unnoticeable until too late , is why honey fungus can feign big part of a garden in a comparatively short time .
Which Plants Are Most At Risk?
alas , no works are totally resistant to succumb to honey fungus , however , it does seem to place some plants a lot more pronto than others .
The Royal Horticultural Society ( RHS ) now provides an updated tilt of plants more susceptible to honey fungus.6Honey fungus plant leaning . ( n.d . ) . Royal Horticultural Society . retrieve March 17 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/pdfs/honey-fungus-host-list.pdf
Common garden plant which are highly susceptible to the disease includeLilac , Viburnum , Cotoneaster , Weigela , privet , Photinia , Forsythia , Buddleja , Ceonothus andAcers .
“ A common cause of honey fungus spread I have happen in gardens are where susceptible Tree , such as Oak , Willow , Horsechestnut , Birch , Cedar , Walnut and Leyland Cypress , are infected and then cut down , ” share Peter .
“ The fungus then spreads to garden plants looking for new author of stuff to consume . ”
How To Manage An Outbreak
Not to scare , but the large area of honey fungus come across so far is in a wood in Oregon , USA and spread over an domain of about 965 hectares.7Casselman , A. ( 2007 , October 4).Strange but True : The Largest Organism on Earth Is a Fungus . Scientific American . Retrieved March 17 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-largest-organism-is-fungus/
However , this septic area is thought to be one thousand of days previous and has had a flock of meter to spring up and disperse .
Honey fungus is not a notifiable disease – nevertheless , if an irruption is identified , it is advisable to take fleet action to minimise the possible price .
Noting which bush and trees and their placement around the garden have antecedently been , or currently are infected , can be helpful in working out which areas the fungus is present and ask focussed handling .
scheme to manage an outbreak can admit maintaining good plant wellness , limiting the cattle ranch of the disease and remove any sources of the fungus .
Since honey fungus can be so difficult to eradicate , a combination of all these scheme is often recommend .
Honey Fungus Treatment
Treatment for dear fungus is unfortunately set , as there are no chemical substance or antifungal currently O.K. to treat the disease .
The only surefire path of decimate the fungus is by completely removing and destroying the affected material , as labour - intensive and destructive as this may be .
When polish off an infected shrub or tree , its entirety must be gotten rid of include the pulpit and infected root system , as , without any infected material to flow off , the honey fungus rhizomorph will pass away .
love fungus has been bonk to continue raise on infect woodwind even after felling .
Therefore , consider either fling of all the infected stuff either at a manage landfill situation or through burn .
Stopping the spread of the dear fungus is a key part of any handling and keeping the rest of the garden disease barren .
This can be reach by instal a knotty plastic canvas barrier , such as a butyl liner , to a depth of 50 cm around the infected area and by removing the adjacent works , even if salubrious .
If part of a hedge is infect with the love fungus it’s advised to remove at least one salubrious plant on either side of the infected specimen to prevent any further spread .
The disease can also be subjugate by cultivating the orbit and leaving the affect site fallow for at least one year , which will allow the removal of any bootlaces and any existing fungus to die off from deficiency of a host to feast off .
If the estimation of leaving the treated region , which can be large , fallow and mere for a farsighted time is too much , then the site can be covered with a woven weed tissue layer and hide out by a stratum of crushed rock , intersperse with planted - up containers .
grass over the treated area can also be an selection .
However , even though this can be considered a more aesthetic option , it is not look at to be as effective as leaving the situation bare .
promote works health is also primal in the bar of honey fungus disease .
tidy plants which are pruned aright and watered and feed as necessary will be capable to potentially resist the disease well than those which are neglected .
ascertain that any shrubs and tree diagram within the vicinity of the disease are planted at their right profoundness will also help keep them from succumb to love fungus , as if planted too deeply , they are more susceptible .
Resistant Trees & Shrubs
Once the site has been cleared and left fallow for the appropriate length of time , replanting with resistant specimen is strongly advised in instance any of the fungi or disease is still allow for in the grime .
The RHS recommend replanting with species that are seldom affected by honey fungus , which includeslavender , yew , pittosporum , acacia , cotinus , hydrangea , philadelphus , salvia andpear trees.8Honey fungus . ( n.d . ) . Royal Horticultural Society . Retrieved March 17 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.rhs.org.uk/disease/honey-fungus
FAQs
Unfortunately , honey fungus does not only always spread , but it can propagate at a distance of 1 m per year and taint nearby shrub and trees with alarming speeding .
Being parasitic , beloved fungus can subsist for many years if it has stuff to go off .
However , if all of the septic trees and bush are bump off , along with all their root word , then one yr is the suggested time frame to wait before replant the area .
As a test , a fewstrawberry plantscan be constitute in the treated arena before replanting , which if the disease is still present , will die within weeks and show that the site must be bequeath for longer .
Removing dearest fungus toadstools alone from a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or bush is not recommended as the disease is most present in the plant , its source and under the ground .
It is advisable to remove all of the fungus , shrubs , Tree and roots at the same time and dispose of them judiciously .
In the past , Jeyes Fluid or Armillatox has sometimes been used for the use of strain to sterilise the soil surrounding any infected tree or shrubs with honey fungus .
However , using these product for this use of goods and services has since been banned ( see the listing ofRHS Withdrawn Chemicalsfor more insight ) . There is no chemical dominance currently approved .
