Another type of dangerous fungus perennially threatening your trees, conks operate notably differently yet are no less lethal for an individual tree. We say individual because while conks can reproduce rapidly on a single tree, the mechanism of infestation rarely ends up threatening other trees in the vicinity. Despite this, you can't afford to underestimate conks at any point of their tenure on your tree.

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Simply put, conks love vulnerability: they will latch onto any damaged part of your tree like holes, cuts, tears and so forth. This is one of the reasons why we urge property owners not to prune trees themselves: reckless pruning can cause the exact type of damage that conks love and can easily invite them over.

Fungal conks are even easier to notice than wilt – they're a very distinctive kind of growth that can resemble wild shrooms, usually having a much softer texture than any part of the tree sans leaves. Likewise, you should have no trouble knowing how far the infection has progressed as they tend to grow quick and big.

Like with wilt, your options of dealing with conks are limited, although the forecast is generally more optimistic. In cases where infection was allowed to progress too far, little can be done other than to cut the tree down. Things usually reach this point when tree owners aren't willing or able to perform regular inspections, so make sure to check your trees often for signs of this unwanted growth. In less severe cases, cutting off the affected parts of the tree should suffice – the closer the infection is to the trunk of the tree, the lower its chances of survival. Even if the conks are residing mostly on branches, you can't afford to have anyone other than certified professionals perform this delicate form of removal.