Beginner Houseplants: Moldy Soil, African Violets

Forum: Beginner Houseplants Replies: 8, Views: 55 Print -

Author Content kutekawanna Minneapolis, MN May 12, 2009 12:02 PM Post #6538868 Please help! I have 2 lovely African Violets which I've just repotted into self watering African Violet ceramic pots. Since then, atop of the soil I see white mold. It doesn't seem to be affecting the plants, just the soil. Does anyone have advice for what this is and how I can get rid of it? Is it affecting my plant negatively? Should I not use the self watering pots? ecrane3 Dublin, CA (Zone 9a) May 12, 2009 01:36 PM Post #6539302 Are you sure it's mold and not hard water/salt deposits? kutekawanna Minneapolis, MN May 12, 2009 02:20 PM Post #6539509 Yes. Positive. It is mold. I've used the African Violet mix I believe by Miracle Grow...I'm thinking I should of maybe added some perlite??? RachelLF Rural Retreat, VA May 12, 2009 04:11 PM Post #6539959 The mold that you are seeing will not hurt your plant. You can just scrape it off. kutekawanna Minneapolis, MN May 12, 2009 04:29 PM Post #6540004 Really? What is the cause of this and how can I prevent if from occurring? dvdbwn Cleveland, OH May 12, 2009 04:59 PM Post #6540147 everything i've found about it says it occurs naturally in the potting soil. apparently, when you get into plants that require a lot of moisture it also makes ideal conditions for fungi. it bothered me at first so i tried to kill it. you can do fungicides, but it's a waste of money and it smells bad. it's easier to scrape it off and plop on some more soil since it's living off the soil matter and not the plant. kutekawanna Minneapolis, MN May 13, 2009 05:26 PM Post #6544604 Thank you all very much for your help! Ill take your advice! kutekawanna Minneapolis, MN May 24, 2009 03:19 PM Post #6591669 Hey all! Just wanted to update you on my AV's in self watering pots. They are doing marvelous! What I did was repot them again in the same pot but instead of just the AV Miracle Gro potting mix I repotting using AV Miracle Gro & Perlite (half&half). Since I 1st potted my AV's in the self watering pots, my AV's are flourishing! The foliage is healthy & thick and they are all flowering. The potting mix is always kept evenly moist. And NO MOLD anymore, thanks to the Perlite!!!!! I think the Perlite helped create aeration in such a tight packed wet enviroment. They are way more vigorous then when I had them in the small plastic pots I purchased them in. I'm pretty sure I will always use AV pots for my AV's. They seem to love it in my North facing window! No more drooping leaves, no more time consuming bottom watering! Oh and if anyone cares, I got my small 4 inch self watering pots @ Walmart for $6 each. Happy gardening! kutekawanna Minneapolis, MN May 24, 2009 03:21 PM Post #6591673 Oh yea! And I also try to have a window atleast open if not a small fan running to help assist with ventilation as the room they are kept in is barely used.

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