Mouldy soil on house plants
Hi! I've notice white mould on my indoor house plants. I've tried a few essential oils (tea tree and rosemary) in water to kill it off, but that didn't work. Should I use more oil? Is there anything else I can try?
Any help is appreciated! A few of my plants are getting weird yellow/brown blotches on the leaves and I think it's cause of the soil.
Comments
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@devi I'm definitely not a houseplant expert, so take this with a grain of salt. I have found that when mould get into soil it is very difficult to eradicate. I prefer to change the soil. But have you tried homeopathy? There is a good book on "Homeopathy for Plants" available at: https://homeopathic.com/product/homeopathy-for-plants-2/ or at Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Homeopathy-Plants-revised-Christiane-Maute/dp/3955822133
Good luck!
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My suspicion is that it is powdery mildew. I might try spraying with strong chamomile tea. It prevents seedling damp off due to fungus. It might help in this instance. It is only a suggestion. I have never needed to try it for powdery mildew.
My other thought was spider mites. This can just look like a white fuzz too, only with little red dots. This web like whiteness generally appears on the underside of the leaves. When I first encountered it, it definitely looked different from the below picture & the mites were bright red. They spread fast & easily.
As far as the brown blotches...that could be a number of things.
1. Soil that stays too wet (watering too often or poor drainage).
2. Repotting needed due to too small of a pot or lack of nutrients
3. Damage from either of the things that I mentioned above
Do you have a picture that you can post? It would make diagnosing much easier.
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There are several kinds of mold, and several ways to combat mold. Active molds may "smear," dormant molds may be "powdery." Inadequate sunlight, nutrition, or over watering, or pre-existing condition of plant may cause or contribute to mold proliferation.
Among some of the more plant- and user-friendly are:
Cinnamon or white vinegar (sprinkle on soil, spray on leaves-leave-on-rinse-off) can kill annoying molds in soil. If the problem is more serious, and discarding soil not an option, remove plant and gently clean it (don't kill its biome), and wrap to prevent roots from drying.
Place soil 4 or so inches deep in oven-safe container, and bake at 200 degrees F for 1/2 hour or until internal temperature reaches 180F). Don't use higher temperatures or toxins may be produced/emitted.
Or let soil dry in sun, if this is logistically feasible.
Meanwhile, completely clean, or replace plant container, to prevent retransmission and regrowth of mold
Reassemble plant, and monitor to assure mold problems have been corrected.
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@devi If you repot, do keep the roots damp as Michelle said.
Do be aware that causing a plant to be bareroot will cause it stress & can potentially kill it. Weigh your options & try least invasive ways first.
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Cinnamon is a natural fungicide that I have used for orchids and landscape plants. I will have to remember it the next time that I see white on the surface of my houseplant soil.
I just had another great idea -- I might try cinnamon as a snail repellent.
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@shllnzl Do you use the cinnamon that's sold pretty inexpensively in any store or the more expensive type that some people say is actually real cinnamon?
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Any chance they have been getting too much water and not enough air circulation? I have to watch as I tend to do that and then get white mold or whatever on the surface. When I start noticing it I take something to gently break up the surface of the soil (a fork works good for this) and then try to let it dry out a bit. A fan can be helpful as well. One thing I have discovered is that plants are very resistant to routines so I try to really check closely every day 🙄
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@kbmbillups1 I found out that the Ceylon cinnamon is the stuff I should be eating, so I have been using the other varieties up in the garden.
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@shllnzl Thanks! I'm going to try it!
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@devi I first put together a post about soil, then reread just the post & thought that I was mistaken & you were talking about the leaves. 🤪 So sorry.
I would still try chamomile tea for watering, but I would also experiment with cinnamon now that I have learned of it.
Do you get any yellow mold? I got some growing a few times. I suspect it was bad potting soil. If I left it too long, it would grow down into the soil. At this point, I would throw out the plant. Sometimes this mold would even sprout mysterious mushrooms.
If I caught it earlier, I would get a baggie and using that, scoop up all that I could, being careful not to spread any spores.
I don't remember what I did from there. I probably just watered with the tea & watched for any mold returning.
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Thank you so much for these links. I will try the chamomile tea!
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It could be slow air circulation @seeker.nancy - I have them all on a shelf by the patio doors for the winter. Hopefully sunnier days will be here soon and I can spread them out again. In the meantime, I'll check on them daily and fork the surface. Thanks!
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Thank you @MicheleBaron ! I'm going to try this closer to summer (we're still getting cold nights here) and likely have to get new potting soil 😁. I'm going to try everyone else's suggestions in the meantime. Thanks very much!
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