white stuff at the base of newly planted trees - Ask Extension
My recently planted Green Giant Western Abrovitae trees have white stuff coming up through the mulch at the base of the trees. They were planted abo...
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white stuff at the base of newly planted trees #254474
Asked June 16, 2015, 8:15 AM EDT
My recently planted Green Giant Western Abrovitae trees have white stuff coming up through the mulch at the base of the trees. They were planted about 3 weeks ago. The other older trees in the same row do not have the white stuff. It looks like cooking flour but some of the white stuff looks like little round balls. Today I noticed that even my potted plants appear to have this white stuff appearing. Photos are below.
Thank you!
Thank you!
Richmond County Virginia
Expert Response
The white growth on the mulch under your tree and in the potted plant appears to be a fungus. They grow on the organic matter and help to decay it over time. The warm and humid conditions we are currently having are ideal for growth of fungi. It is not harmful to the plants and can usually be washed away with a spray from a garden hose or simply scratched back into the mulch.
Thanks for your reply. Is it nirmal when I spray it off with water that comes right back?
As long as the conditions are favorable, it will probably come back fairly quickly. You could also remove the top layer of mulch and put down some fresh mulch to see if that helps prevent the return so quickly. The spores (sort of like seeds for fungi) are all around us so it's almost impossible to get rid of it entirely.
