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Tuesday - November 25, 2014
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Diseases and Disorders
Title: Migrating Turkey tail fungus in garden in Austin, TX
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
I have turkey tail fungus that has migrated from a rotting elm tree stump to a part of my garden that has a healthy wax myrtle tree and other native shrubs, but no rotting tree stumps. Its presence has turned the leaves of some of the plants rust-colored. How do I get rid of these unwelcome mushrooms? Thanks,ANSWER:
The turkey tail fungus, Trametes versicolor, is a polypore mushroom that lives on dead and decaying trees. In your case it is a an elm stump. Here is another link that describes this common mushroom. click here .
You didn’t mention how far it has migrated, but one possibility is that it is following a rotting root of the elm stump.
The rust-colored leaves may well be caused by a fungus, but I don’t think that Trametes versicolor is the culprit because it grows on rotting wood. It is hard to diagnose a plant disease from a written description, so I recommend that you have a knowledgeable person take a look at your plants. You can find such a person by contacting the Travis County Office of Texas AgriLife Extension.
I’ve included a link about controlling tree fungus , and one about fungicides.
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