Hi Maria That's a beautiful Laetiporus sulphureus! Absolutely gorgeous. Also beware of eating it if it is growing on eucalyptus - seems to be linked to more stomach upsets. Walsja - I'm going to go out on a limb with your mushroom, but it sure looks like one I just identified for my mother. Her's was Lyophyllum decastes, the fried chicken mushroom (despite its tasting nothing like chicken). I'd never seen one so orange before, so maybe it's a variation local to Pennsylvania/the East Coast. Her's were growing from the roots of a dead tree. Do you have one nearby? For yours, I'd need a better picture of the gills and a spore print to be more sure. Take a print by laying the mushroom gill side down on both white and black paper, covering with a bowl and allowing to sit for 4-8 hours. For Lyophyllum decastes the spore should be white. Also, the interior flesh of the mushroom should be white. "All the rain promises and more" by David Aurora is a great book for identifying mushrooms, but it's aimed at California Mushrooms. Most of the pictures of Lyophyllum descastes looked nothing like hers, but here are a few that were closer: http://www.fungaljungal.org/guide/pages/Lyophyllum_decastes_jpg.htm and http://www.sporeworks.com/gal7/lyophyllum.jpg My mom's was very orange, like yours. Bellatrix

Those who live and garden in California, as I do, they should be aware that at least some species Fuchsias seem to be highly susceptible to Oak Root Fungus (Armillaria). Two years ago, this fungus finally destroyed some 30-year old trees (japanese Maple and crabapple) in my garden; this year, four fifteen-year old specimens of F. arborescens are succumbing to the same problem. All the tell-tale symptoms are there -- honey-coloured mushrooms after heavy rains, "fans" of white mycelial growth under the bark, and "shoe lace" black growths along the roots and up along the crowns. As far as I can learn, there are no rememdies (i.e., fumigation, etc.) for this problem, and the fungus can live in the soil and in dead roots and stumps for many years. Good cultural practices, like careful irrigation, and ensuring that the areas around the bases of the plants are kept clear of debris, etc. are about all we can do, it seems. I post this because I suspect that most California fuchsia growers have been, as I have been, overly focussed on control of the fuchsia gall mite, and may not have been sensitive to this issue. I am in the process of taking cuttings of all my in-ground fuchsias, with the intention of growing them on in containers. So far, none of the other species I grow (boliviana, procumbens, magellenica, and many hybrids) have shown signs of the problem, but I am taking no chances.

Good morning Katrina! Cotton root rot is a fungal infection of the soil for which there is no well-known chemical treatment. It is very persistent in the soil and pretty much wiped out the cotton crop once grown in many southern states. Millions of dollars have been spent studying it, but no real solution has been found. One researcher at Texas A&M has had some success in recent years with a combination of encapsulated (slow-release) nitrogen fertilizer in combination with certain commercial fungicides and the addition of various minerals he has found to be deficient in soil infected with cotton root rot. One reason cotton root rot is such a problem is that it is able to lie dormant in the soil for a long time, perhaps many decades. The best solutions are to try to acidify your soil, since it thrives in soils with a pH of 7.0 to 8.5. I have had some success in controlling it, but not eliminating it, by working large amounts of compost, peatmoss, greensand and other amendments into the soil. Using 1 lb. of ammonium sulfate per 100 square feet of soil twice annually helps, but there is no guarantee. Improving drainage also helps, but does not eliminate the fungas. I don't know if hot compost would help. I tried it one year with fresh cow manure, and all I got was every weed known to mankind. :) One of the main treatments for cotton root rot in areas where field crops are grown is to grow various monocots, like sorghum and corn, and till them into the soil once they are mature. This seems to help slow down, but not completely eliminate, the fungal disease. It is not a practical solution for the average landscape, though. Growing up in Texas where the main crop was once cotton, and my daddy's family were once cotton farmers, I knew all about cotton root rot long before I experienced it firsthand myself. When I lived in Fort Worth, I listened to Neil Sperry's radio gardening show from the time he began it in the late 1970s to the time I moved here. Countless times I heard him diagnose certain types of sudden plant death as cotton root rot, and most of the time the gardeners involved simply didn't want to accept his diagnosis--I assume because none of us wants to have a disease in our gardens for which there is no simple cure! When I began planting here and had cotton root rot problems, I was just sick about it. Over the years I have worked hard to improve the soil in the area where I have had the problems, but the cotton root rot still rears its ugly head every now and then. With regards to composted cotton burs, I have never heard of any problems with them being a carrier of cotton root rot. As far as I understand it, the cotton root rot attacks and destroys the roots of affected plants but does not travel up into the plant system. Infected plants die because they can no longer receive nutrition via their now-decimated roots. I think it unlikely that you could ever find any trace of cotton root rot in composted cotton burrs. Cotton is still successfully grown in the High Plains of Texas, and one of the by-products of that plant would be the composted cotton burs. I believe no one in Texas would process and sell those burs if there was any chance whatsoever that cotton root rot could be in them. One of the leading researchers in the area of Cotton Root Rot is Texas A&M University. In reading their data, I have never seen any concern expressed about cotton root rot being transferred via the burs. Cotton root rot seems to be more of a problem in parts of Texas than in Oklahoma, but that doesn't help you if you are in the part of Oklahoma where is has reared its ugly head. Hope this info helps. Dawn

Fungi are a fact of life. There are over 100,000 microbial species in your soil of which a very large fraction are fungi. As gardengal said, you will never be free of them and you don't want to be. Whether they are creating mushrooms is something else. You can minimize the mushrooms by proper watering. Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall.