Question
Dear James,

good afternoon, i have no idea what i am looking at and need an experts opinion, my husband and i planted our first rose gardens last year and incorporated other small flowers for a bordering accent, we used cedar mulch from a local landscaping company.the plants seemed to thrive despite the drought last year, but then i started noticing that some were dying off despite all efforts to care for them. when tilling and turning the mulch and soil in preperations to replenish and nurture, i noticed that the mulch and soil would clump together, there is a thread like "web" of white that runs throughout the effected areas, and when applying pressure to individual clumps, the "mulch" is powdery almost like that of seed starter soil.there is a distinctive smell as well. this has not effected the entire garden, just in spots, i have noticed that this condition is familiar to all areas that we planted last year. i have begun to dig out the effected areas to replace with fertile topsoil and new mulch. can you advise if there is anything further i should be doing. this appears to be a fungus? or is it something else. please advise what further course of action is needed to prevent a repeat in the future.
Thanks for your time,
krystal

Answer
Hi Krystal, It is a fungus.  It grows in the decomposing mulch, but it is not hurting your plants.  Something else is going on with your roses.  If it just affected the roses, I'd suspect leaf diseases and insects.  If it affected everything, then I'd look to drainage issues, root rot (a different fungus), vole damage, etc.  Use caution not to over-improve your soil that may cause it to hold moisture for prolonged periods.  Plant high for good drainage.  Jim