Can you please post a picture. It wasnt clear is it on the tree, in the mulch, or in the soil?

Sounds like a mould or fungal hyphae. If so, it's part of ordinary breakdown of mulch and organic matter in soil. You may have a different one to the usual that has somehow got in (airborne spore). If a few plants have died then it could have done it. Possibly it's only active near the surface of the soil and hasn't affected the palm roots deeper down.

But that's just guessing from what you've said. Photos might help. There's a whole "another world" on the micro level in the soil. It like warfare in there with all sides being in a state of balance. But every now and then you can get something upsetting the balance, perhaps a new "invader" that the others can't bring under control. Then it can start affecting the plants sometimes with disasterous effects.

Thanks everyone. I will post a pic tomorrow! I appreciate your help!

Pic #1

Pic #2

Pic #3

Hi All,

I just posted three pictures above of the Chinese Fan Palm and the issue I'm having. It is a bit difficult to tell from the pictures, but the white mold/fungus/sap (whatever it is), is in the mulch mainly, about 1-2 inches deep. In Pic #2, look closely at the big chunk of mulch stuck together from the hard white stuff, it's like a big solid piece and I was able to pry it out of the ground.

Thanks, let me know what you guys think and what I can do about this. Should I just get a hoe or rake and break it all up or something? Too much water, too little water? I have no clue at this point what this stuff is and what I should do.

Also, in Pic #1, you can see the dwarf grass in the lower right corner that is pretty much dead, and the mulch around it is rock hard from this white stuff as well.

I think that I have had this problem before and while it looks like something that would cause a problem, I have never seen it hurt any of my plants. Sometimes it lasts for a year or 2, but it eventually goes away. My croton had it about 3 years ago, but it's still alive and well to this day and plants are much more vulnerable to those type of things in pots than they are in the ground.
Good luck!
-Alex

I'd go with it being mould/fungus. I've often seen wood chip bonded together like that. It shouldn't be a real problem. Conditions have just favoured one micro organism over the others, but it should balance out after a while.

Thank you. The more I think of it, I don't think it has anything to do with the palm. I'm gonna remove the moldy mulch today.

Could it be a form of Aphids?