Learning how to prevent the yellow fungus on mulch from damaging your plants will help you avoid unnecessary expense and eliminate an unsightly problem in your garden. In many cases, homeowners struggle with this problem because they are unaware of the proper methods for dealing with the fungus. One way that you can deal with this common problem is to use a protective spray on the plant disease. Here’s how.
Yellow or brown patches can form on your plants, if you have a plant disease. This is often visible when you look at the leaves of the plant. The affected areas will appear slightly swollen and the plant will either die or begin to change color. While many believe that this is a symptom of a plant disease, it is actually caused by a particular type of fungus that flourishes in moist conditions. To know how to prevent the yellow fungus on mulch from infecting your plants, you first need to understand what it is and how you can get rid of it.
There are several ways to get rid of the fungus that causes the yellow fungus on mulch. One way is to pull the diseased mulch out of the ground. Do not pull a live plant, as you may risk killing it and then find out that you cannot remove the disease from the roots. Mulch should be removed in large chunks. You can determine how to prevent the yellow fungus on mulch by testing it before you pull it out of the ground. Many gardeners will just look at the appearance of the tree and take the infected mulch home, but without testing you could be putting the plant at risk.
The next step is to wash the mulch you intend to use for the plant. This process should be done with a commercial product like Garden rep or Evergreen. It is a good idea to use a pressure washer to get rid of the fungus. After using a pressure washer you will want to rinse the mulch well to ensure there are no traces of the fungus on it. If you do not have a pressure washer you may want to spray the tree with a commercial fungicide.
Once the fungus has been removed from the mulch you should let it dry. This may require you to sit outside covered with a few towels to protect you from the elements. Once the drying is complete, you can now begin to remove the yellow fungus from the roots. If you are using a weed eater you should loosen all of the soil around it. You can also use a weed whacker to do this.
You should now remove the diseased plant and any infected seeds or leaves from it. You should also throw away any other plants in the area that may have come into contact with the yellow fungus. Once you have removed all of these from your garden you should now put a thick cover over the plant. If you live in an area where rain can run off a plant, you should consider using a plastic cover instead.
When you have planted your new plant you should water it daily. If you have a hard clump of mulch you should alternate watering. This will prevent the yellow fungus from growing back soon after you remove the plant. Another way to prevent the yellow fungus on mulch from growing back is to fertilize it when it is just beginning to grow.
If you follow these simple steps you will find yourself with an effective way of how to prevent the yellow fungus on mulch from returning. If you live in an area where rain does run off your mulch there is a good chance that you will need to apply a fungicide to the mulch occasionally. There are many different kinds of liquid and spray products that are sold for this purpose. A word of warning, never spray any type of spray directly onto the tree or shrub. This can quickly spread the fungus to other plants.