Ficus Benjamina mushroom problems 2
United Kingdom 
RE FICUS BENJAMINA
Thanks very much for your advise. The plant is in my office, I used a decent compost from a garden centre. As I am sure you know they do not like being disturbed and it is the height of the growing season now, I usually top dress or repot in spring and I am reluctant to try changing a large amount of soil right now, unless the mushrooms are life thretening. Also strongly suspect that the mycelium will have spread and be present around the root ball, which I would be very reluctant to disturb. Do you think a fungicide would A) effect the Ficus B) Be of any benefit?I live in London and have a 2 metre high Ficus Benjamina that is out of direct sunlight but a bright enough position away from drafts. It is in a pot (30 cm or 1 foot) high and in diameter which I top dress and feed every week or two in the summer and water when the top 4 cm (2 inches) are dry. It does not grow much and drops 4 or 5 leaves a day which worries me. But the main concern is that it is growing mushrooms in the soil, which are about 4 cm high with a small brown cap and whiteish thin hollow stipe, and has black spores (I think it is too small to get a clear spore print). Should I worry about the mushrooms and if so is there anything I can do, such as water less (which makes it drop even more leaves) or apply a fungicide. I am really attached to the plant and would really appreciate anyones help.
18 Aug, 2009
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Answers
For care of your ficus go to :
http://www.bonsaitreeforums.com as they have a whole team of ficus enthusiasts who will tell you everything you could want to know.
Also worth checking out:
http://www.bonsai4me/basics/basicscatlitter,htm
Hmmm! Verrry interesting Mr. Bond.
18 Aug, 2009
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I take if your Ficus is kept in the house, as this one is a houseplant.
The problem with the mushrooms is likely to be the compost you've got the plant growing in - the spores will have been present in it and they grow when you add water. I don't know how long the plant's been in the same pot with this compost, but I'd buy fresh compost and remove as much of the old as possible and repot it into that. And buy some decent compost too, in case you get the same problem again.
18 Aug, 2009