Does anyone know what a white fungus all along the trunk of a red maple tree would be and what to do about it. It has been very wet, humid and hot here in MA and most of the trees here have some sort of green fungus on the trunks and some branches but this...........................this is the ugliest thing you ever saw. Some of it looks like white circles and the rest is just all over (anyway on the side I can see. It seemed to appear almost overnight. I am very allergic ot mold/spores and the lawn guys are here to prune and mulch and they do not know what it is and I am afraid to go out anywhere near it and it is quite near the house.
Would this fungus be harmful to human health? I also had a white fungus growing in the mulch and even in a few bare dirt spots where the grass is missing. The lawn guys took that away but are not touching the tree. I guess this is not their area.
Thank you for any advice and help......who to call, what to do???? or if it is not harmful to humans should I just leave it even though it really is ugly. I have a red maple in the front of the house that does not have that white fungus.
Hey suggi! Have to see photographs this time. You could have something that looks a lot like a harmless fungus but isn't. Red Maples can get plagued by Pulvinaria innumerabilis. This is a scale insect that can do damage over a few years. Don't worry, if you're just noticing it now it hasn't been there for years and even if it has been there for a while it's easy enough to take care of however you need a positive ID first. Good news for you is that if this is what you have... it can be taken care of non-chemically. If the tree isn't real big, you can go for horticultural oils starting right about now to get crawlers (vulnerable phase of the scale insect) or if the tree is real big and you wouldn't be able to spray it properly you could use Hyperaspis signata.
Gotta have good clear photos this time though as you may not need to do anything at all if this is one of those harmless deals.
You're probably going to want to reach out and shoot me but your tree might not have been nailed by either a white scale insect or a white fungus if it wasn't stressed. You're going to have to find out what's up with your tree and why it isn't happy right now. Could be as simple as mulching around the base of the tree or if you are in a droughty area maybe just making sure it gets a good deep watering during the dog days of summer. If the cultural requirements of plants are met, many pests move on to somebody else's plant leaving your unscathed.
Gotta have good clear photos this time though as you may not need to do anything at all if this is one of those harmless deals.
You're probably going to want to reach out and shoot me but your tree might not have been nailed by either a white scale insect or a white fungus if it wasn't stressed. You're going to have to find out what's up with your tree and why it isn't happy right now. Could be as simple as mulching around the base of the tree or if you are in a droughty area maybe just making sure it gets a good deep watering during the dog days of summer. If the cultural requirements of plants are met, many pests move on to somebody else's plant leaving your unscathed.