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| Honey fungus |
The first signs of honey fungus may be dying or stressed plants, and is caused by a fungus attacking the roots of woody plants.
Other symptoms may appear as; discoloured foliage, premature leaf fall, dieback, splitting bark, and weeping resin.
The obvious sign, is when fungal toadstool like growths appear in late summer or autumn.
If you have reason to suspect this disease and the fungal growths are not obvious, try peeling the bark of an area of trunk/root just below soil level.
If it is present, it will appear as a creamy-white fungus with a mushroom like smell.
There is no effective chemical control, therefore remove as much as possible of the infected root system to avoid it spreading any further.
The fungus is spread by means of 'bootlace’ like threads that can vary in size; and are usually found in the top 150-200mm (6”-8”) of the soil.
They have a black or reddish outer layer and white or pink in the inner layer, and can spread up to 1 m (39”) a year.
As mentioned above there is no effective cure other than removing the diseased wood / roots, and burning it.
In the event any affected tree stumps cannot be physically moved, try digging a trench at least 300 mm (12”) deep around the stump and place a vertical barrier of thick polythene in it, this may reduce the spread of the fungus.
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