Not daffodils…but possibly a relevant question?

Have any of you, either from education or experience (or, hopefully, both), knowledge of mycorrhizal fungi?

Last spring I bought a ‘Little Gem” magnolia eight feet tall, and the nurseryman gave me a sack of pellets and said, “Put these in the planting hole, and your new tree will do better.” I did, and I suppose he is right, because it is still alive and tentatively putting out a few new leaves, in this drought-plagued, high heat weather we’ve had.

Last weekend I went to a general workshop, focused on some plants for our area, by local horticulture professionals. Throughout it all, they were talking about mycorrhizal fungi, both in the pelleted form, and in dry form separately or mixed into other fertilizers.

I listened, and decided they might well be right, and I would certainly try it—with trees, shrubs, and woody perennials (in November, until which I’m not planting anything major.) But I am left with a question—does it do any good with things such as seed and bulbs which do not have roots when planted, and also for a fairly long portion of the year, with bulbs?

Also, my memory nags me that somebody at this workshop was talking about mushrooms and mushroom compost, and after hearing Bill Lee’s horror stories, I run like crazy from that, anywhere near daffodil beds. Could mychorrhizal fungi be akin to mushroom compost, and therefore likely to create devastating problems in basal rot areas, such as ours?

Loyce McKenzie
Zone 8, used to be on the southern-most line of Zone 7.

3 comments for “Not daffodils…but possibly a relevant question?

  1. I think my compost problem, Loyce, was caused by the compost’s being too fresh. Too much manure still hot to kill plants. It was applied by a commercial concern. If I ever buy compost in bulk again I think I will let it sit for at least a year before I put it anywhere near a plant!

    Bill Lee

  2. Bill,

    If I may add, sometimes it is made with excess salt.  I’ve heard the excess salt comes from raw horse and cow manure.  It depends on the local supplier as to how it is mixed and products used AND how it is matured before it is sold.

    Clay

  3. My corrhizal fungi do not hurt their host plants:  rather, they extend the root systems of the hosts.  If I remember from my forestry training (a lifetime ago), many pine species (for example, loblolly pines, shortleaf  pines, virginia pines, pitch pines and jack pines) survive in nutrient poor sandy soils only because of the increased water and nutrition they get from the mycorrhizae. Just  as there are helpful and harmful bacteria, there are helpful and harmful fungi.

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