Good mushrooms?

[Anonymous User]

As long as they are not feeding on the wood of your tree or rotted roots, you're right.


Will

 

[Bill S]

Jay is this due for potting anytime soon, so you get a chance to check for problems?

As long as they are not feeding on the wood of your tree or rotted roots, you're right.
Will

as Will said, if the base of the trunk is rotting, then that may well spread into a root problem.

 

[Graydon]

Thanks folks for all the thoughts posted here.

I guess I won't worry about the mushrooms or mycorriza I'm finding in my pots. If they're benifical, it's a good thing. If they're feeding on deadwood, It doesn't bother me much either because I would think that the dead wood is being broken down into something that the tree can use as nutrients. I don't try to preserve deadwood as I think the best we can do is to slow down the decay process. The wood's going to decay no matter what, so I might as well get it over with.

I feel the same way Jay. I don't think some people understand how hot and humid it is in our area, the rot happens fairly fast here. For the most past it's over before you can really get a grip on slowing it down. I had a great jin on a small red pine but it only lasted one season even after lime sulphur treatment. Must have been the misting twice a day they led to the total disappearance of it. The last time I picked up the tree and looked at it the entire branch was gone with nothing but a little rotten stub.

Graydon I haven't noticed any activity in my maples.... Maybe you could give me a starter?

I'll see what I can do as I have plans to remove that maple from it's current pond basket, do a trunk chop and plant it in ground when the time is right. All of the bonsai soil will be removed so whatever is in there will be removed. I'll keep some for you.

 

[Jay Wilson]

Will and Bill,

This tree is not due for repotting this year, as it's only been collected and in this box for a year.

I have these mushroom growing now in most of my oaks and for the most part they are spread around the pot (see pic of another oak). In fact, the original tree posted is the only one that has them growing next to the trunk.

I guess I don't have a very good understanding of the how and why's of mushrooms. Help me to understand why mushrooms feeding on rotted parts of the trunk and roots is a bad thing. My impression is that they only feed on dead wood and don't attack live wood.

Thanks for your input... I'm really trying to learn here.

P.S. Don't ask about the wrapping on the one trunk

 

[Jay Wilson]

I'll see what I can do as I have plans to remove that maple from it's current pond basket, do a trunk chop and plant it in ground when the time is right. All of the bonsai soil will be removed so whatever is in there will be removed. I'll keep some for you.

Thanks Graydon!
I know you won't believe me but I am coming to the next club meeting. If you've done the work by then, you could bring some for me.

 

[Graydon]

Thanks Graydon!
I know you won't believe me but I am coming to the next club meeting. If you've done the work by then, you could bring some for me.

Deal Jay. If I have not done so by then I'll bring the whole tree in the container and we can dig some out after the meeting.

 

[Anonymous User]

Help me to understand why mushrooms feeding on rotted parts of the trunk and roots is a bad thing. My impression is that they only feed on dead wood and don't attack live wood.

There are mushrooms that do indeed grow on live wood such as the Ganoderma applanatum, but these are not of that type. Mushrooms can be a sign of bigger troubles, such as decaying wood, which if left untreated, can eventually led to the demise of the tree itself. Mushrooms that form a parasitic relationship are especially bad.

Do me a favor, just for educational purposes, see if you can pick one and take a close up of the cap as well as the underside of the cap. Being an amateur mycologist, I am greatly interested and by knowing the species, we can determine if it is beneficial, or if it is just a byproduct of the soil ingredients. Please also let me know if you use bark or other organic matter in your soil mix.

By identifying mushrooms that grow in our bonsai, we can determine if we want to use them to "seed" our other plants with spores or get rid of them.



Will

 

[Rick Moquin]

Now that is an educational response and I am looking forward to the conclusion.

 

[Jay Wilson]

Here you go Will. Thanks for taking the time to look into this.

One thing, these mushrooms seem to be soft and sticky as they emerge so the soil particels are almost embedded in the cap. Hope these pics help.

Edit: I almost forgot. The soil mix for these trees is probably 70% turface with 30% pine bark.

 

[Bob]

Hi Jay. How about doing a spore print. Take one of the mushrooms, put it on a white paper plate with the gill side down, and in a few hours it will drop spores onto the plate. Tell us what color they are (pink, white, brown). This will help narrow the search. Bob.

 

[Jay Wilson]

Thanks Bob,
I'll do that tomorrow.

 

[Anonymous User]

My guess on the spore print would be rust or pinkish salmon

 

[Jay Wilson]

Well, I did the cap on the plate thing and all I got was a few rust colored spots. I'll try it again tomorrow if some fresh caps come up.

 

[Anonymous User]

Try just a white sheet of computer paper. (A piece of glass works best, if you have one)

Remove the stalk, place the cap gill side down on the paper or glass and cover with a glass for a couple hours. Then remove the glass and carefully lift up the cap.

Read about making spore prints here.


Will

 

[Jay Wilson]

It seems I waited too long to try to get a spoor print. No new shrooms in the last few days and all the older ones are dried and shriveled. Maybe next year.

Thanks for all the ideas and thoughts.

 

[Jay Wilson]

I unpotted a couple of oaks today and thought I would show the mycorrhiza I found.

In the second pic, it seems to have colonized the root tips nicely.

 

[Bob]

Jay,wish that I could help narrow down the species for you but when it comes to little brown mushrooms identification is hard to do and sometimes not correct. From the info and pics that you have given I might put your mushrooms into the cortinarius family, but that would be just a semi educated guess. Wish that I could help more. Maybe Will would have a better grasp on things. Mushroom picking is as hobby of mine but there are a lot of variables involved and I am very cautious when it comes to consuming something that can seriously damage your liver. I prefer to destroy my liver with Jack Daniels!

Bob.

 

[Anonymous User]

I unpotted a couple of oaks today and thought I would show the mycorrhiza I found.

In the second pic, it seems to have colonized the root tips nicely.

Hi Jay,

Do the mycellium appear to be comprised of fungal threads that grow closely together forming flat, fan-shaped, whitish, leathery plaques? These should be easily visible without magnification.

If so, do they smell like mushrooms?


Studies have shown that two of the species of ectomycorrhizal fungi that benefit oak species are Pisolithus tinctorius and Paxillus involutus. Your mushrooms are neither of these species. My curiousity is stirred, excuse the questions, I am trying now to eliminate another from the pool.



Will

 

[Jay Wilson]

Bob,
Thanks for trying to help. Sorry I haven't been able to give more info.

Will,
No need to excuse the questions.... I'm curious also.

As I've said I have this in all my oaks. They are all native species I've collected and the original mycorrhiza showed up on its own. The oaks are very healthy and I've just assumed the activity was helpful.

I'll unpot a couple of more today and take special care to get some pictures.

Uh... What do mushrooms smell like? Kinda like chicken?

Thanks for the help.

 

[rockm]

Couldn't resist jumping in here--this is my first post.

I wouldn't be worried about the mushrooms. I've had them for years on my collected live oak (quercus Virginiana). They usually appear when the tree is growing vigorously and the root mass has been undisturbed for a few years.

I take them as a sign the tree is healthy and is functioning well. The mushrooms began appearing after I did a repot and introduced the tree to a freer draining soil mix.