Honey Fungus - stump grinding

[Rock Monkey]

Hi all

 

whats peoples thoughts on grinding stumps infected with honey fungus. Should the grindings be removed from site? 
 

thanks

 

[Dan Maynard]

It's going to be all over the place anyway, I wouldn't particularly worry.

[JaySmith]

If there is honey fungus onsite we’d always remove all the grinding and as much of the spoil as possible to try and limit the spread. However with honey the rhizomorphs will extend well outside of the stump area and rooting area so you are fighting an uphill battle. 
 

Not sure if you are replanting but if you are looking to replant I’d leave it a season or so to let the ground settle, young trees are under increased stress when planted as they’ve lost the safety of the nice little nursery with water and nutrients on tap. Sometimes the honey in the soil can be the final nail.  
 

As honey colonises stressed trees, it is worth trying to ensure the trees/shrubs onsite are as heathy as possible. 

[john87]

If honey fungus spreads by means of them black stringy bits, what is the function of the toadstool looking bit?? Do the spores from them blow in the wind and spread it, or does it only spread by means of the underground black stringy bits??

 

Say you chopped up the stringy bits, does that kill it [seeing as it is no longer attached to the main body of the thing] or will each stringy bit grow to form a new fungus of its own??

 

john..

[Dan Maynard]

12 hours ago, JaySmith said:

If there is honey fungus onsite we’d always remove all the grinding and as much of the spoil as possible to try and limit the spread. However with honey the rhizomorphs will extend well outside of the stump area and rooting area so you are fighting an uphill battle. 

I guess ultimately you need to discuss it with the customer and agree an approach. They may be happier if you remove all grindings, and certainly no harm in it, I'm just not convinced it'll make that much difference going forward. The fungus will be spread well outside the grind area anyway.

[JaySmith]

13 hours ago, Dan Maynard said:

I guess ultimately you need to discuss it with the customer and agree an approach. They may be happier if you remove all grindings, and certainly no harm in it, I'm just not convinced it'll make that much difference going forward. The fungus will be spread well outside the grind area anyway.

Of course there is likely to be HF outside of the grinding pit but by removing excess matter it may help reduce the spread to some degree, albeit not entirely. The only way to effectively attempt to remove HF would be to excavate and remove the soil and debris within a huge area because as we know the web extends underground to a huge degree, not always practical in a garden setting without causing carnage. A far better approach is to the try and keep the retained stock healthy, I’m thinking mulching, watering, removing dead/struggling plants in an attempt to contain the spread. Did a job many years ago whereby we removed the tree and stump with HF, took out a couple of other smaller shrubs that appeared to be struggling with limited growth and poor vitality. The customer then had a firm come in and excavate, install a root barrier and back fill. We were working for the ground working firm so I never went back but it would be interesting to see if it did work. 

[JaySmith]

18 hours ago, john87 said:

If honey fungus spreads by means of them black stringy bits, what is the function of the toadstool looking bit?? Do the spores from them blow in the wind and spread it, or does it only spread by means of the underground black stringy bits??

 

Say you chopped up the stringy bits, does that kill it [seeing as it is no longer attached to the main body of the thing] or will each stringy bit grow to form a new fungus of its own??

 

john..

The FFB that honey fungus produces contain spores which the fungi uses for reproduction and to further the advancement, these are dispersed and can spread via the wind like you say. If you sever the rhizomorphs and remove the foot source this will limit the spread to a certain extent but as the roots of an affected tree/stump are contained well underground it is hard to eradicate the food source entirely. Far better to try and keep the trees in the area healthy via mulching and watering and be proactive. Some advocate the use of Biochar but I’ve need personally used it.