Honey fungus
Mistytwoshoes
Posts: 1
We had a large weeping willow in the garden and over the past two years the foliage had got thinner so having taken advice from a tree surgeon had the tree cut back. During early autumn last year honey fungus appeared at the base of the willow. This year we had some early foliage which quickly died.
Over this past weekend the fungus had appeared again much more this time including throu the bark. Obiously the tree is now dead. My questions are whether we should now cut down and remove the tree and understand that we cannot replant similar species in the same site. Could we just cut it to a stump and place clematis and climbing roses over it?How can we get rid of the fungus which is now coming up thro the lawn as well?
several willows in our area have died suddenly altho not necessarily from honey fungus. Any advice would be appreciated.
Posts
I too had a willow that grew from a cutting and it got too big for the garden dispite being cut back but it did after being cut down and the trunk left in the garden as seat ,devolope the honey fungus on it for awhile.I think it might of sucummed to this if we had left it as it was going pale green with black spotson the leaves but more than this it would of been better to of got rid of the remains either by burning or a trip to the tip.
Honey fungus is something you have to find a way of living with. Various forestry and tree sites and the RHS have lists of trees that are less susceptible. I'd get rid of as much as you can of the willow, A dead tree is not attractive and a constant reminder of the problem.
It doesn't kill everything, I have an ash, about 7 or 8 years old, growing out of the remains of a willow that died of HF. The tree died 6 or so years ago and apart from a clematis that may have been down to HF, there have been no losses
There have been a few threads about HF on the forum recently, look back through and find them, some interesting comments and suggestions there.
In the sticks near Peterborough
HF can survive on dead tree stumps and roots. I recently lost a privet hedge to HF and decided to dig it out completely, including chasing all the roots out. I did the same with a lovely cherry tree, which I think was the cause of the HF. I had to hire a mini digger to get the tree rootball out.
Its possible that your HF has spread to your willow from elsewhere. Do you have any dead trees/stumps in your garden, or neighbours garden? Your tree roots might go on forever, but I would avise you dig as much of the stump & rootball up as possible.