Garden Studios

AUTUMN is the only time of the year when you find yourself more likely to see the fruit of honey fungus: slim, caramel-coloured toadstools that emerge from the bottom of doomed trees, shrubs and hedges.

To the untrained eye, and that’s most people, there are other toadstools with an identical look about them, so that allows you to double check your fungi put some in a plastic carrier bag for an hour or so somewhere warm – tying up the handles to maintain it secure.

That’s not so the toadstools can’t escape, it’s in order that while you open the bag later and take a sniff you’ll smell their syrupy honey scent.

Honey fungus is the foremost deadly of all fungi inside the British garden to plants, and simply because you can’t see the toadstools doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

That’s since it spreads underground all year round in place of by spores blown within the wind from its toadstools.

Root-like rhizomorphs – often referred to as bootlaces – grow in the course of the soil from the basis of an infected plant searching for more roots to contaminate, and after you have it on your garden – or maybe your street – it’s almost impossible to eliminate it.

However, you could possibly keep it in check: woody plants which were got at by honey fungus often die unexpectedly after putting on an extremely impressive show of berries or autumn colours.

Sometimes, though, they die quite slowly: producing smaller leaves, not fruiting in any respect until they’re just dead sticks.

You ought to dig out affected shrubs and trees, then burn them – or get knowledgeable to try this for you – because when you try and compost the diseased plant you’ll just spread the difficulty further.

If you will have a hedge that’s affected you ought to dig out the neighbouring plants too – notwithstanding they give the impression of being healthy – and eliminate the pinnacle soil.

Once you’ve got right down to the subsoil, as much as a few feet below the outside, you could line the ditch you’ve created with heavy duty plastic or pond lining then cover it with new top soil – plus various compost – to create a barrier to the rhizomorphs.

The most difficult thing, though, is deciding what to plant instead. Just putting in place a brand new specimen of a similar plant is calling for trouble and, unless it’s a hedge, you’re probably best growing flowers in preference to woody plants – or setting up some hard-landscaping or a bench.

Unfortunately many hedge plants are liable to honey fungus, notably privet but in addition most hedging conifers.

Also at the danger list are rhododendrons, birch trees, roses and fruit trees equivalent to cherry, plum and crab apple.

The excellent news is that there are more resistant replacements available. For hedges try yew, that is slow growing but evergreen and creates a great backdrop to other plants.

Holly trees and hornbeam also are good, and in preference to rhododendrons try hebes, choisyas or tamarisk.

For a listing of plants to grow and to bypass, check out Garden Organic’s website which has useful factsheets in this and other subjects: www.gardenorganic.org.uk