The white fungus is not a product of the red mulch (although the red mulch as far greater problems.) The fungus is the result of too much water.

I would reduce the irrigation and start removing the red mulch.

Ricky,

What is wrong with red mulch?

Red Mulch is made from construction debris, mostly pressure-treated wood. As it breaks down, it leaches Arsenic into the soil from the chemicals used to treat the wood. It takes much longer to breakdown than natural mulch and it encourages both termites and carpenter ants. Plus, this ain't Georgia with the red clay, so why try and make your bed look like that?

No, I'm not trying to make my yard look like Georgia clay. The yard was already done in it when I moved here. Just didn't have the funds to change what was in place.

Also, I have no irrigation system. I just water my plants with the hose if they begin to droop. My plant selection has been based on conservation.

So, with no positive replies coming my way, I'll start making plans to replace the mulch. Oh, well.....

Hey, Janet,

Remember that not all fungus is bad. Most fungi are actually good. Mulch is frequently decomposed or broken down by fungi. I have wood chip mulch, irrigate once weekly, and see the beneficial, filamentous stuff all the time when I dig around. I never treat for anything and my plants are healthy. Are your plants showing signs of disease? If not, just attribute the fine filamentous stuff to good fungi breaking down the mulch. Next time you need mulch you can just add stuff on top. If you have veggies or other edibles there and there are undesirable residues, that may be a different story. Otherwise, just add stuff on top as it becomes affordable and doable. Alright, those are my thoughts. You'll probably get all differing thoughts on this one!

I agree with Anna.

Most pressure treated wood since the last 5 years or so, is no longer treated with copper and arsenic. If it's not around edibles, I'd either hoe it into the soil or just put new on top. I really don't know why you want the additional work of removing it first.

If you're on a tight budget look for a free mulch source. A good tree trimmer can supply you with "clean" mulch.

Whats the deal with fungus anyway? Like the above posts said, it's pretty normal. Well ok, the red wiffle ball that stinks and the dog vomit are strange, but when the rainy season starts, I've got various 'shrooms all over.

So deep breath Jan. Plant and have fun.

The deal with this fungus is that it welds the mulch together, making it almost like concrete. But I have chopped it up to give it some air. Like the two posts said, I do think it will be okay, as my plants are quite healthy. I've posted some pix on the link below. For now I'm leaving well enough alone.

Here is a link that might be useful: April plants

Those are healthy plants! Nice job!

Your flowers look fine, so I'd leave it alone. My eucalyptus mulch develops the same white filament-looking fungus in some places, mostly where it's shaded, and then it ultimately breaks down and once a year I replace it. Mulch doesn't last forever in this climate. (Tip: When it breaks down to the point where it's not controlling the weeds, I just put down newspapers on top of it and remulch. No need to remove and replace. The newspapers also break down very quickly down here, and they extend the weedbarrier-life of the mulch. I've dug into beds that I'd remulched a couple times, and the newspapers and old mulch are already dirt now. straight-up recycling in my back yard.) I don't water much at all, as little as possible, so I figure this fungus is just part of the natural cycle.
I wouldn't even bother breaking your mulch up. I don't. The fungus isn't going to prevent water or air getting through.
As it breaks down, it's good for the soil, as long as it doesn't have the chemicals mentioned. I don't know enough about red mulch to know about that, but as others mentioned, as long as you're not planting veggies in it, I'd still leave it. If it does contain those chemicals, it's probably in pretty small amounts, much of which has already leached into your soil and is working it's way down. Just don't keep using it if you're worried about that, replacing it instead, as needed, with something else.
If you're concerned about the environment, then throwing something in the trash is often worse.

(now someone tell me my eucalyptus mulch is bad. gosh i hope not. i keep buying it thinking it's sustainable and isn't draining wetlands like cypress. is there a debate brewing here on the best mulch for our environment? i can't get mulch from tree-trimmers here. it's illegal for them to let me have it because it may contain seeds of several invasive exotics that are destroying the everglades and messing up local parks too. county ordinance.)

Your plants look very nice Jan! And no you are not stupid!!! I wouldn't bother trying to remove the mulch. Thanks for sharing your pictures!

~Betsy

THANKS, GUYS! I FEEL MUCH BETTER NOW.
And I will adopt that newspaper suggestion, sounds good!
Jan

Minibim:

Pressure-treated wood can last 10-20 years, depending on where it is used. So a lot of wood containing copper and arsenic could be showing up for quite a while still.

natives_and_veggies asked:

"is there a debate brewing here on the best mulch for our environment?"

I compost all of my grass from mowing, weeds, organic food remains, leaves and any other soft organic matter. After about a year it is ready to use around plants as a mulch.

When I prune plants, I use my pruners to cut the branches into about two-inch pieces and let them fall on the ground around the plant they came from. This is close to what nature does around the world.

I don't have to worry about toxins harmful to the environment and my health from my mulch. All of it is natural.

All that my mulch costs is my time. And there are no negative impacts to the environment from the machinery to shred and transport mulch and no plastic bags to dispose of.

Hey Janet, How are your flowers now? I am having the same problem with my red mulch & my flowers where beautiful in the spring but look awful now..Most I have had to pull up & dispose of...I have worked myself to death this summer trying to figure out what was wrong with all my plants..I have been seeing a dermatoligist for what I thought was eczema on my hands, especially on my right hand & I just found out that it was a fungus that I got from the mulch.The fungus has even spread to my potted plants...I put 2 truck loads of mulch in my front & back yard & now I don't know what to do...Please...anyone got any suggestions