Thanks for that tip, I will pass that along to the Lawn Guy. He is anxious for the pachysandra to grow in because he will then be able to lay the stone paths, which is a lucrative job for him. :-) We had mondo grass growing between the stones on the path to the tennis court, but it was so hot on that side the grasses died towards the court, so we filled those lower spaces with pea gravel. I am looking forward to having shady paths where the mondo with be thick and luxurious between the stones. Thank you again for all your help! I forgot to add the existing path photo, this was taken a few months after it was installed. After one summer the mondo from the middle of the length through to the lowest point was completely dead--- even with twice weekly watering, and was replaced with pea gravel. Even the mondo between the stones at the gate end has not thrived as we had hoped it would. This post was edited by kswl on Sat, Nov 30, 13 at 8:24

Monkeyman, With all the questions you are asking it reveals you are really keeping an eye on things and learning rapidly. I suspect that before too long this approach of yours will have you teaching us things rather than our answering your questions. Your enthusiasm and curious nature is very good to see.

If you have a fungal problem that threatens your garden then use a sulphur spray. It is approved for use in organic gardening. As for attracting fungus via organic material the answer is that pretty much any organic product that is 'woody' will attract fungus. You *want* this to happen. Often a fungal infection is brought in by spores in the wind and often it is a fungus in the soil. Either way, attracting other fungi to the area does wonders to prevent *pathogenic* fungi from getting a hold. Years ago I was cultivating mushrooms indoors in plastic containers. I will share my experience with you in order to help you understand just how competitive fungi are and why you want fungi around plants prone to fungal infection. Outside it is fairly easy to grow mushrooms, indoors it is far more challenging. The reason is that we don't have the same diversity of species inside as we do outside. Indoors we innoculate a growing medium with our desired fungi and everything has to be 100% sterile for this to work. The medium is fungi food and any mold (mold is a fungi) in the home will find it's way into the grow chamber. If this happens the mold will colonize the substrate before the desired fungi are able to get going. The unwanted fungi outcompetes the desired fungi and the batch has to be tossed out. On the other hand if the desired fungi is kept in a clean, sterile environment (I sealed the air ducts and sprayed lysol several times per day) until it's mycellium is established, then there is no stopping it. Once the fungi got going I opened the windows and unsealed the air ducts. A blue/gray fungi entered and started growing. The desired fungi ate it and completely eliminated it. Fungi do not play around, they mean business. Get a pathogenic fungi on your plants and they can do serious damage, even with fungicides in use. Get non pathogenic fungi on and around your plants and the pathogenic ones simply cannot establish. They become food for the other fungi. Using organics does not in any way increase the likelyhood of fungal problems, it decreases them. A pathogenic fungi uses live plants as food, a non pathogenic fungi eats something else. In the case of an organic program the fungi we attract are eating decomposing organic matter, not our plants. And those good fungi take no prisoners. They will simply eat the pathogenic fungi for having the audacity to invade their personal space. It is a numbers game. Whoever has the highest population wins (for the most part).

I'm trying to kill some now that have taken over, grown into the wood of the garden bed, and through the crevices of concrete blocks into the neighbor's yard. I'm afraid that even if I'm successful on my side, they will just come right back ugh! I am going to try digging up all the rhizomes (since I took everything out of the bed to fully start over) then I'll do 2 layers of cardboard and inches of mulch to smother, and then I may put a mixture of soap, salt, and vinegar on their leaves for any that sprout up. Have quite a few in between the roots of a maple and cherry tree as well. I will update on my progress for those who find themselves on this page. I never found this plant attractive either btw, seemed like a sad bulb leaf/weed to me. If I had known how difficult they were to eradicate I would have began the battle when I first moved into this house. Yikes! Demon plants, if you ask me. I hate them more than my other neighbor's cats shitting in my yard.