slime mold, best I can surmise: ...l'il help?

17 years ago

oh...the sorrow of looking at what was not so long ago such beautiful black mulch & flora; ...now what looks like tan to charcoal brown animal vomit, 1-2 foot in circumference, has spread out to several points in the mulch. It was just one pile at first, Âafter some research I shoveled it out, Âknowing this was only the tip of the iceberg and that the bulk of the spreading organism was deeper in the mulch (as little ?hairs? of fungusÂyada-yada.) After that, in hopes of smothering it out before it could spread, I hesitantly sprayed the area with fungicideÂ, which I know very little about & which looks to have killed or harmed the hydrangea bush most directly related to the area I sprayed. AND the fetid/nasty ?slime mold? has spreadÂas if with a sneer and a low guttural chuckle. I read that this is not a danger to the garden and usually happens when the weather is unusually moist, BUT itÂs ugly & seems to be distributing itself with impunity.

Please, does anyone have a remedy that will eliminate or significantly reduce the slime mold without damaging the rest of the flora? :o/

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Comments (11)

jean001
17 years ago
Sheesh, get a grip. It's a bit of nature's activity. Doesn't bother plants, but wigs out people. It's a temporary thing.

No need to remove it because it will leave of its own accord. And fungicide won't help.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
17 years ago
1. Take a shovel, scoop it up, dispose.

2. Avert your eyes.

3. Read your post to it with fervor, especially those descriptive parts!
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
17 years ago
first.. NEVER USE A CHEMICAL UNTIL YOU ID THE PROBLEM.. AND VERIFY THAT THE CHEMICAL IS RATED FOR THE PROBLEM...

its a waste of money .. and dangerous ...

second... why destroy part of mother natures garden show.... that was a free plant... you should have reveled in it .. for its own beauty ... is a plant only good for your garden.. if you pay for it????

it is either there because of your watering techniques or the mulch ... if in fact it is a slime mold .... research the slime mold.. and find out why its there.. if it is too much water ... or improper drainage ... then all you need do is to change how you water.. to make it not reappear ... in other words.. there never was a need for the chemicals ...

please ... learn to enjoy a 'free' plant in your garden ...

mushrooms are my favorite .... growwing on some long dead tree root.. pop up here or there... i used to be like you .... running out and getting rid of them because they interfered with my garden .. then i took a zen attitude about it all .. and come to find out.. they are cool ... and that is what i would think about the slime mold... did you actually get down on your belly and study it ... its probably really cool ...

good luck
ken
tinamcg
17 years ago
Slime mold is a fact of life if you use bark mulch, and if you think it looks creepy now, just wait until you go out and discover a patch of it has MOVED. Seriously, it can travel.

When I've used nothing but leaf mulch, I had no slime mold, but leaf mulch has its problems, too. It's only available in the fall and if it decomposes by midsummer of the following season, you're left mulch-less.

We have two large dogs. Believe me, I'd rather have this "dog vomit" mold than real dog vomit.

By the way, Ken's admonition to never use a pesticide until you have identified the source of the problem is 1000% correct. Now go apologize to your hydrangea!

Tina McG
brighteyes
17 years ago
My friend has some in one of her flower beds. The kids love it. There really is not much you can do but scoop it and remove it if it is bothering you that bad.

Now my SIL has stinkhorn fungus. That is something to see but it stinks to high heaven. Ugh and the flies it attracts. But it is a interesting converstation piece. lol

Carey

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1181979}}
jaybear_4k
Original Author
17 years ago
Okay, Âthanx for your replies.
I stand corrected; live 'n' learn.
Go slime moss!! I mourn the hydrangea
Â& kick myself in thÂ ace.

This has been an informative forum;
Âfrom lawn tractors to dog vomit fungus.
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
17 years ago
Well, brighteyes.....you've posted an image of a true fungus named because of its resemblance to a specific body part of a dog. Hey! I don't make these things up!!! Mutinus caninus is the Latin name of that stinkhorn fungus.

Common name possibilities are endless.
tinamcg
17 years ago
I found a patch of stinkhorn fungus on a chipped path last week. Thank goodness I had seen it before in this forum or I might have thought those tentacles were vampire fingers reaching up for me from the grave. That is one truly creeeeeepy fungus.

Tina McG
boxbeast
17 years ago
From the wikipedia article on slime molds:
"In 2006, researchers at the University of Southampton and the University of Kobe reported that they had built a six-legged robot whose movement was remotely controlled by a Physarum slime mould. The mould directed the robot into a dark corner most similar to its natural habitat."

Today, robot bug pilots; tomorrow, masters of the Earth. Better be nice to it if you want to survive in the coming plasmodial age.
tinamcg
17 years ago
Oh my, I thought you were kidding. Guess you're not!

Now you have me thinking of ways to use a slime mould to get my husband off the sofa...

Tina McG

Here is a link that might be useful: Robot moved by a slime mould's fears
jnfrey
17 years ago
I recently have moved into my first home with a wonderful landscape. however, I spend alot of time idetnifying what things are and how to care for them. So you could imagine my surprise when I saw what we thought looked like an octopus leg sprouting from an unused mulched area. All the flies were sucking this thing dry and it wasn't there a day or two before. Well, I found it, it's the stinkhorn. How do I get rid of it? I raked off the mulch and pulled up the black weed cloth( hey, im new to this game) and founf at least thirty "eggs" of this stuff with white stringy things growing throughout the soil. I plan to plant bulbs and shasta daisies here...will these be a problem???Thanks!!

slime mold, best I can surmise: ...l'il help?

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jean001

rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7

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slime mold, best I can surmise: ...l'il help?

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