Honey fungus... help!

[RunsWithScissors]

Had a knock on the door yesterday, was a man that said he was doing a quote for someone down the road and noticed that some of my plants (tree and hedging) have honey fungus.

He said he could quote for the work to eradicate it and save the exisiting plants (that we couldn't do it ourselves, as hed need to use glyphosphate).

Googling, it looks like he could be correct about having the honey fungus, and will investigate more closely, but alos seen that there isn't a way to treat it chemically, that I'll need to remove/dig out affected plants (so wary of his advice).

So, I'm looking for any tips if anyone else has had to deal with it, and what planting I could go with in future. Currently have a lovely big hedge that is on the lists of being highly susceptible to it.

I'm hoping for hedging/screening plants (busy road, but a good size garden to plant in out front)

Help!

He’s a con artist. Do not engage. It’s a variation on “I’m doing some work on a house roof down the road and notice you have a slipped tile”

Glyphosate is a weedkiller that you can buy at your local garden centre. It won’t kill honey fungus. If he’s planning to kill the plants “that have honey fungus”, why not just wait and see whether the fungus (if it is indeed present) kills them.

Scam. It's a variation on the "We've got some tarmac left over from doing your neighbour's drive - we can do yours as well" con.

Honey fungus is one of the commonest fungi (I read somewhere it’s in the top 10 of the fungi encountered by British mycology society forays) and a honey fungus as also the largest living organism, a single fungus covering several acres in Oregon. There’s a suggestion that the trees that succumb are already under stress, unstressed, healthy trees can withstand it.

The RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) website has lists of susceptible and tolerant plants.

Personally, I’d wait until i saw evidence that it was actually harming plants

Can you see any signs of honey fungus OP? Did he point them out to you?

We thought we potentially had honey fungus on our large hedge last summer, so much of it was dying off . We treated the roots with a watered down solutions of Jeyes fluid original , to try and sterilise the soil surrounding the roots . Prior to this we removed all plants at root level ,as we had a lot of ivy and other plants we knew would grow back , but to relieve stress on the hedge . Ended up treating 3 times with jeyes and then watering heavily every other night .
This summer the vast majority of the hedge has returned to health , we have a couple of the worst effected parts that look like they may need digging out , but I’m so glad we didn’t go in all guns blazing last year and dig any out then .

Oh, definitely aware he's not doing me any favours, and won't be using him.

But, we've lost one shrub completely, and have had sections of our privet hedge due off completely.

Our eucalyptus tree is now really struggling.

In the autumn I had seen mushrooms, that looking at photos now, look strikingly similar to honey fungus.

Thanks everyone