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jizaref

Yellow mold on top of my mulch?

jizaref
18 years ago

I am a new homeowner and therefore new to gardening. This is my first spring in our house. We have mulch covering a number of flower bed on our backyard. One day, after a heavy rain, I noticed a moist yellow pile laying on top of some of the mulch. My first though was that some mammal (a racoon or skunk) had gotten sick adn thrown up. After a day the moist yellow curd became a slightly puff orange/peach colored mass, then became grey and wilted. After later rains, a few more yellow "piles" have appeared, gone through these changes, and wilted.

I suspected this is some kind of fungus or mold. Could this have been placed as part of the hemlock mulch I used? Should something be done about it? If so, what would you suggest? Will this hurt my flower and shrubs in the area?

Thanks,

Jeff

Comments (17)

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    18 years ago

    Currently being discussed.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Try here

  • susanzone5 (NY)
    18 years ago

    Sounds like a slime mold...one of nature's decomposers.

  • tkcrn_hotmail_com
    17 years ago

    I recently have found the same bright yellow mold on my mulch in my flower beds. i have never seen any thing like it before. i took pictures of it and have showed it to many people and they haven't either. i have had 4 piles of it and it keeps coming back in different places. if you find out what it is, please let me know. thank you.

  • jzaref_post_harvard_edu
    17 years ago

    I since found out it is yellow slime mold, called (appropriately) by some the dog vomit fungus.

    Gross, but totally harmless.

    Scientific name: fuligo septica.

    Here are a few good web pages:

    http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/june99.html

    http://waynesword.palomar.edu/slime1.htm

    When I first saw it, I thought my landscapers had put down contaminated mulch. Not true, it just happens, especially in wet damp weather.

    Good luck!

    Jeff

  • dgmarie
    17 years ago

    I've got it, too. New hardwood mulch. Some orange, some yellow and some black. It goes away eventually.

  • Ktb815_sbcglobal_net
    17 years ago

    I have just had this type of mold. I've been using all types of mulch at my home in Indianapolis, IN. and have never had this. But my home I'm working on up north about 50 miles around Nobelsville had just grown this type of mold and it was a fresh supply that we had just got at the end of July. When I went to clean it up, It gave a fine brown dust that wouldn't absorb water nor would water knock down the dust. A'm I still talking about the same kind of mold?

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    17 years ago

    Probably. You've seen the images, you can decide best. The fine brown dust particles are spores. ;-) Remember...not to worry.

  • spoongebob16_yahoo_com
    16 years ago

    I work at a daycare where this same type of mold is appearing on an almost daily basis. So I read on one of the follow-ups that it is not harmful, but my question is if this would affect people with mold allergies?

  • cartison2_aol_com
    13 years ago

    I have a bright yellowish, orange mold on top of my mulch pile. It has black holes in it and some kind of black liquid weeping out of the black holes!! It is scary. Could anybody help me and tell me what it is and if it is dangerous. Thanks!

  • samtheman_yhoo_com
    12 years ago

    Wear gloves and a mask and scoop out with a shovel. Mix one quarter cup bleach and about one and three quarter cups water mixture and pore it on where the mold was and where the spores still may be. In other words ....remove and kill :B

  • cjchasse_charter_net
    12 years ago

    I have the fungus growing on my plants. Is this dangerous for eating and should the plant be destroyed.

  • erikabear
    12 years ago

    I just want to reiterate that this slime mold is harmless. Gross, but harmless. Just think if it as the Blob and smile.

    I've included a link that has information about their biology. Did you know that the whole thing you see is a single cell?

    Fungi are really important to your garden. Yes, a few make your plants sick, but many, many more help build soil, provide nutrients to your plants, and one type (mycorrhizae) have a symbiotic relationship with 95% of plants that makes them grow better.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Slime Mold facts

  • dirt_cred
    11 years ago

    Why do people keep posting questions without reading the thread (which answers their questions) first? (I read the whole thread and it doesn't answer this question.)

    AND I came here because I found a yellow dog vomit slime mold on the compost pile today & wanted to verify. Very cool stuff.

  • Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
    11 years ago

    Truly a question for the ages...!

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    11 years ago

    I'd personally like to thank dirt for dredging up this ancient thread, lol.

  • Pam Lauster
    7 years ago

    Mine was growing bigger and bigger as the day went on. Sort of a glow in the dark green. I thought at first the animals was shredding a green and yellow bush I had out there. Spray it with bleach. I know that isn't advisable but it turns it a different color and I will scoop and destroy tomm.

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