Mold has appeared in a flower pot. How to get rid of mold in flower pots

An unpleasant coating on the soil in flower pots At first it shocks novice flower growers, but the enemy is not as terrible as it seems at first glance. Everyone can take proper care of plants and be able to get rid of grayish or white film on the soil. It is necessary to fight mold, as it is very harmful to flowers, especially young seedlings; plants can die without proper care.

Causes of mold

The main cause of mold is fungal infection, but a fertile environment for it is created by the gardener’s improper care of the plants, which creates all the conditions for the development of pathogenic microorganisms. The main factors in the formation of flower disease:

Enough low temperature in the room.
High humidity, it is in a humid environment that fungal organisms instantly multiply.
Insufficient water circulation in the pot.
Frequent uncontrolled watering, you need to know the amount of liquid for each type.
The quality of the soil increased acidity or severity help the development of the fungus.

Types of mold in flower pots

Types of molds great amount. Representing colonies developing from spores, they are constantly present in the air. As soon as the necessary humidity and temperature are created, fungi begin to develop at breakneck speed. To understand the situation, let's look at the most common types of mold.

Black mold
In fact, it can take on different shades. It loves moisture very much and can develop not only on materials, but also on products. Certain types of mushrooms of this family are even used in the pharmaceutical industry. The most unpleasant for humans, it can cause allergies and breathing problems. Very common indoors.

White mold
This family is most often found on soil, trees, plants, and sometimes on bread. Flower pots are one of the best environments for these fungi. It is necessary to distinguish salt deposits from mold; the first has a crystalline form, while the second is easily kneaded in the hands.

Blue fungi
These microorganisms are especially harmful to tree fiber. Corroding wood from the inside, they completely decompose tree species. They have a specific pale blue color.

Actinomycetes
They resemble algae and greatly soften the wood. It is important to distinguish them from other species in order to combat the most effective way, because each family has its own poison.

Efflorescence
The most common type of mold, which is a salt or alkaline coating that has a white, sometimes colored tint. It is dangerous because it crystallizes not only on the surface, but also inside the environment.

Why is mold dangerous for flowers?

Mold formations lead to disruption of the normal functions of the plant. By disturbing the soil environment, fungi deprive flowers of the necessary substances on which they feed. Rotting of the roots and stems of young shoots leads to the fact that one day you will find dead plants in a flower pot. The visual effect is a small thing compared to the damage caused by fungal growths to indoor flowers.

How to get rid of mold

In the fight against mold, the main thing is the timeliness and effectiveness of the procedures performed. The most important thing to do:

At the first sign of mold growth on the soil, remove it immediately upper layer, the penetration of fungi very quickly develops deeper and deeper inside.
Replace the removed layers of soil with new soil with beneficial additives, activated and charcoal, sphagnum moss. These additives not only act as moisture filtrates, but also have a bactericidal effect.
The renewed soil must be watered with a special solution. To do this, add two grams of foundationazole per liter of water. If mold has already infected the plant itself, you can spray the stems and leaves with this product.
Loosen the top layer of soil regularly to improve moisture circulation and prevent stagnation.
Dissolve half a teaspoon citric acid in a glass of water and water the flowers with this solution twice a month to neutralize fungi in the ground.

Prevention of mold formation

It is easier to prevent mold than to fight it. To do this you need:

make drainage in the soil using ground gravel;
water the flowers rarely, but abundantly;
use filtered water;
periodically prepare a weak solution of manganese for irrigation;
monitor the air humidity in the room;
dig the garlic cloves near the flower, remove them after watering and drying the soil.

As you can see, the precautions are quite simple and do not require much effort.

Pay due attention to your indoor pets; flowers are living beings for which humans are responsible.

Video: saving indoor plants from pests and diseases

Many flower growers, both beginners and already quite experienced ones, are faced with the problem of mold in a flower pot. Moreover, it can appear not only in the soil, but also on the plant itself.

For what reasons does fungus occur and how to fight it? Read more about this.

What types of mold grow on soil?

Mold in a flower pot can be different, but mainly the following two types are found on the surface of the earth:

IMPORTANT! Some people believe that flowers can be planted in any soil, even those intended for vegetables. This judgment is erroneous, because the soil for vegetables is supplied with a large amount of fertilizer in advance.

Houseplants don't need so many additives!

It is also important to monitor not only what substances you feed the flower, but also when and how you do it. For example, during the growth period it is necessary to accurately calculate the dosage, and during dormancy it is better to postpone fertilizers altogether. far corner and do not disturb the plant unnecessarily.

Another reason why mold appears in a flower pot on the surface of the ground is too much soil. U miniature plant there are not many needs, so too much land will only harm him. Small flower roots will not be able to completely absorb moisture, and excess liquid, coming to the surface, will lead to the deposition of salts.

That is why it is so important for each plant to select a pot that is the right size for it, in which it will sit perfectly.

Oh, you also need to monitor the water hardness!

To rid the soil of infection and moldy smell, completely disinfect it using the instructions:

Purchased funds

You can also eliminate mold using “chemical” products that are sold in flower shops. Before you go shopping, you should find out:

type of soil;
plant characteristics;
degree of spread of the fungus;
what fertilizers were used to cultivate the land.

Be careful!
Using the wrong product may cause reverse effect. In some cases you cannot use it at all chemical reagents to eliminate mold.
Preference should be given to organic preparations that affect the soil in such a way that it becomes best place for fungal growth.

What to do if a white coating appears on the leaves of a plant?

Powdery mildew (ashtray, white) - a rapidly spreading fungal disease.

The first "symptom" is white coating on the leaves, which at first glance may seem like ordinary dust. When the leaves are covered with it, the plant loses nutrients and the process of photosynthesis stops.

At first, a white coating appears only on lower leaves violets and other plants, but over time the disease progresses, spreading to other parts of the plant. The leaves turn yellow, wither, and new leaves look unhealthy and grow curled.

If you do not treat the plant in time, it will soon die.

For what reasons does the disease occur?

Fungal spores are always found in the soil, but when proper care they don't look after the plants are activated" The fungus begins to show its evil essence if:

The weather is damp and cool outside

For example, it rains every day. In this case, a white coating on the leaves of ficus and other plants more often appears when they are grown on the street or balcony.

Irrigation schedule is not followed

For example, a white coating on the leaves of begonias and other flowers appears if the plant is watered too often when the top layer of soil has not yet dried.

Or, on the contrary, they dry out the soil and then water it abundantly.

Spores can enter the plant in other ways:

by air (for example, if the wind blew and air currents brought spores from other plants and trees);
with water (for example, if water for irrigation settled in a bucket for open place, and spores landed on it);
through your hands (for example, if before working with a healthy plant you touched another, infected one).

How to cure a plant from powdery mildew?

Water the flowers only after the top layer of soil is completely dry.
Do not spray the plant while you are getting rid of powdery mildew.
Place flower pots in a lighter, sunny place, and let them stay there until they are completely cured of the disease.
Thin out dense plantings, tear off old leaves (especially those that are close to the ground).
Use less during remission nitrogen fertilizers and more phosphorus-potassium.

Attention!
Avoid any fertilizer while the flower is sick!

Mistakes made in plant care must be corrected, otherwise white plaque on indoor plants will appear again and again.

Now let's move on to the treatment itself.

To get rid of the disease, do the following:

Pick off yellow, affected leaves.
If a white coating appears on the leaves of roses and other bush-type plants, it is advisable to cut off all infected branches - this will increase the chance of cure.
Replace the top layer of soil in a pot, container or under flowers in a flower bed - it contains “mushroom” colonies or mycelium (mycelium).
Spray and water the plant with a medicinal preparation. During the procedures, make sure that the leaves and shoots are properly moistened.
You can use another method: pour medicine in a bowl of water and place the bush there.
The soil and pots/containers also need to be treated with the medicine.

Traditional methods

Remedies from this category will work effectively if a white coating has recently appeared on a cactus or other plants (early stages of the disease) or as a preventive measure.

25 g soda ash and 5 g liquid soap dissolve in 5 l hot water. Let the prepared liquid cool. Spray the top layer of soil and the plant with the cooled solution 2-3 times. The interval between spraying is a week.
1 tbsp. l. baking soda and half a tsp. liquid soap dissolve in 4 liters of water. Spray the plant and soil 2-3 times. The interval is 6-7 days.
2.5 g potassium permanganate dissolve in 10 liters of water. Use 2-3 times. The interval is 5 days.
100 g fresh horsetail pour 1 liter of water. Wait a day. Place on fire and boil for 1-2 hours. Strain, cool, dilute with water (1:5) and treat the bushes. Store the solution for no more than a week in a dark, cool place. Carry out spraying as preventive measures can be done regularly in spring and summer. During illness (on early stages) plants are treated 3-4 times. Frequency – once every 5 days.
5 g copper sulfate dilute in 250 ml of hot water. Dissolve 50 g of soap separately in 5 l warm water. Pour the solution with vitriol into the soapy liquid in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Spray the plant 2-3 times with the prepared product. The interval is 6-7 days.
1-2 tbsp. l. dry mustard pour into 10 liters of hot water. Water or spray the plants with the cooled solution.
1 kg ash stir in 10 liters of heated water. Let the solution brew (3-7 days), stir it regularly. Drain the water into a clean container, add a small amount liquid soap and pour into a spray bottle. Treat plants 3 times every day or every other day. The remaining liquid in a separate container, which has been drained from the finished product, can be further diluted with water and subsequently used for irrigation.
Rotten manure(better cow) fill with water (1:3). Let it brew (3 days). Dilute with water twice and spray the bushes.
25 g chopped garlic pour 1 liter of water. A day later, when the product has infused, strain and spray the plants.

Chemicals

It is recommended to eliminate white plaque (in a neglected state) on the leaves of petunia and other similar plants using special means against fungus.

Spraying is carried out 2-4 times. The interval between them is 7-10 days (depending on the chosen drug).

The most effective drugs:

Fundazol;
Amistar Extra; ( 2 ratings, average: 5,00 out of 5)

Mold in a flower pot is a visible coating formed by colonies of microscopic mold fungi. Not only does it look extremely unaesthetic, but it also has a negative impact on plants.

Why does the soil in potted indoor plants become moldy?

Fungal spores are constantly around us, these microscopic particles are easily transported by air and wait favorable conditions for reproduction.

Mold is a colony of fungi

The appearance of mold on the ground in a flower pot is most often caused by errors in care and unfavorable conditions:

Incorrect moisture regime, in which the soil in the planting container does not dry out, but remains constantly wet.
Mold most often appears from improper watering.
Poor drainage. Clogged, overgrown with roots or simply very small holes do not allow excess moisture to drain into the pan, causing stagnation of water.
Roots coming out of the pot may block the drainage hole
Cold and damp indoors.
Watering with unsettled cold tap water.
Tap water for indoor flowers is too cold
Poor quality or unsuitable this plant priming.
The soil in the pot may be of poor quality
The planting capacity is much larger than the size of the root system of the flower, which is why the roots are not able to absorb all the liquid.
The root system of a flower can be much smaller than the planting capacity

In pots, indoor flowers can develop not only the usual white mold, but also black mold, the spores of which can provoke allergic reactions and even breathing problems.

Mold most often appears due to improper care.

The risk of mold growth increases in the summer, when there is no heating in apartments and houses and the air is quite humid. It is at this time that you need to water the flowers especially carefully. Watering is carried out only after the top layer of soil has dried out. Rarely does a plant easily tolerate constant humidity.

Video: where does mold come from in a flower pot and how to remove it

Fighting mold in flower pots: basic methods

At the first sign of a fungal colony appearing in a flower pot, you must immediately take active action:

Remove the contaminated top layer of the substrate.
Sprinkle the remaining soil with a weak (slightly sour taste) solution of citric acid. Fungi do not reproduce well in an acidic environment.
Add fresh clean soil to replace the old one. For increase protective qualities small pieces of sphagnum moss or charcoal are added to the new substrate.
Water the flower with a solution of a fungicidal preparation (Fundazol, Topsin-M, Vitaros, etc.).

Fundazol is effective against various fungi

If the fungus is on the plant itself, then it is also sprayed with antifungal drugs.

If the measures taken are ineffective, the following will be done more radically:

Remove the plant from the pot, and remove the contaminated soil from the roots as thoroughly as possible.
The plant is removed from the pot and the soil is removed from the roots
The planting container is washed and treated with disinfectants, doused with boiling water or calcined in the oven (ceramics only).
The pot must be thoroughly washed and disinfected
A drainage layer is placed on the bottom of the vessel.
Be sure to add a layer of drainage to the bottom of the pot.
Fresh soil suitable for the given crop is poured and the flower is planted. Before planting, you can treat the root system with a fungicidal preparation.
The flower is placed back in the pot and covered with fresh soil.

If it is not possible to purchase the right soil, you can disinfect old soil by calcining it in the oven or steaming it in a water bath.

You can disinfect old soil in the microwave

Video: how to deal with mold in a flower pot

Prevention

To prevent the appearance of fungal colonies, do the following:

regularly loosen the substrate in the pot;

Lovers indoor floriculture They usually carefully monitor the condition of their green pets, regularly inspecting their leaves and stems for various lesions. But the moment when a whitish coating appears on the soil surface is overlooked by many. Meanwhile, it is from this moment that mold begins to develop in the flower pot.

The women's online magazine “The Beautiful Half” recommends in this case not to take a wait-and-see attitude and not hope that “maybe it will go away on its own,” and suggests understanding the essence of this phenomenon. This article covers:
- reasons for the formation of mold in a flower pot;
- ways to eliminate it;
- effective measures prevention.

Causes of mold in a flower pot

Mold can appear not only in an open flower pot. If you decide to arrange a garden in a bottle with your own hands, then keep in mind that it is not immune from such a misfortune. Mold on the surface of the soil layer in a pot appears due to the fact that a fungal infection penetrates into it.

The following factors contribute to the formation of mold:

It must be said that mold can occur in a pot with any indoor plant, be it hoya flowers, unpretentious cacti, violets or geraniums.

What to do if mold appears in a flower pot?

On the soil, mold develops in patches, but at the same time it spreads not only in breadth, but also in depth. Therefore, as soon as you find it in a flower pot, you need to remove it along with the top layer of the substrate. If the fungal infection penetrates too deeply, it will also affect the roots of the plant, and then its death is inevitable.

Typically, mold appears in the fall when temperatures drop. environment and the process of evaporation of water from the soil slows down. During this period, to maintain a normal level of humidity inside the pot, it is necessary to regularly loosen the top layer of soil. Once every two weeks, it is recommended to water the flowers with water in which lemon juice or citric acid is diluted - they help kill mold spores dormant in the ground. For 1 glass of water, take a pinch of powdered citric acid or a teaspoon of natural lemon juice.

How to prevent mold from forming on the soil?

You can once and for all prevent the development of a fungal infection in a potted plant by introducing antibacterial additives into the soil. Such an additive can be ordinary wood or Activated carbon. It is added to the substrate before planting or replanting the plant. Coal acts not only as a fighter against pathogens, but also as an absorbent, since it absorbs excess moisture well.

Watering with a weak manganese solution 1-2 times a month is also used as a preventive measure against mold. In addition, you can take 2-3 cloves of garlic, cut them into large pieces and, just before watering, bury them in a flower pot, as close as possible to the plant itself. After this, water the plant, wait until the top layer of soil dries, and remove the garlic from it. Similar manipulations can be performed every time you get ready to water a flower.

Often in pots indoor plants a white or gray film appears. We are talking about mold or salt formation. Adult crops will not suffer from this phenomenon, but young plants may die. Why does the earth get moldy? How to fix the situation? Read our review.

IDENTIFYING THE CAUSE OF MOLD

There are several factors contributing to the formation of plaque in a pot. Here are the most likely ones:

Heavy mechanical components of the soil, leading to the gradual accumulation of liquid in the soil.
Evaporation of most of the moisture from the surface of the earth due to poor drainage at the bottom of the container with the flower.
Failure to adhere to the plant watering schedule. Lack of moisture leads to dryness inner layers soil - only its surface is moistened.
Excess fertilizer.
Too much big sizes pot.
High/low humidity in the room.
Soil subsidence.
Using hard water to water a flower.

In order to solve the problem, a number of measures must be taken to improve the living conditions of the culture. You need to prepare:

good soil;
smaller pot;
filtered water (previously settled);
lemon juice or oxalic acid;
pan;
colander.

Next, proceed step by step:

1. Provide good drainage(gravel, crushed brick). Clean out the hole in the bottom of the pot. Try changing the nature of watering the flower: water less often, but more abundantly - the inner layers of the soil will also be moistened. Don't overdo it, make sure all the water is absorbed into the soil. To reduce the hardness of water for irrigation, place a peat bag in it - the salts will be absorbed and will not settle in the soil. Ideal option will be filtered water.

2. If the previous measure did not produce results, the crop must be replanted. If root system plants are “lost” in the ground, use a smaller pot. Wash it well and pour boiling water over it. If you have time and desire, you can boil the whole pot. After drying, lay gravel on the bottom to ensure good drainage. In some cases, you can limit yourself to replacing only the top layer of soil.

3. If a lot of mold has formed in the pot, it is better to change all the soil. Before pouring the soil into the prepared pot, it is necessary to heat it in the oven - all harmful microorganisms will die. Even if you are confident in the quality of the purchased soil, do not neglect the described procedure. You can also steam the soil. To do this, pour it into a colander and place it over steam (a pan of boiling water). Wait until the ground gets hot.

4. Do not water it immediately after transplanting the crop. Watering can begin in about a day. For these purposes, it is recommended to use settled water (within 1-2 days).

5. Once every 30 days, water the flower with water lemon juice(1-2 drops per 1 liter). Oxalic acid can be a juice substitute, but it is important not to overdo it.

6. Make it a habit to control the humidity level in the room. The ideal option would be to use an ionic humidifier. The device can be replaced with wet sheets on batteries.

Actual question flower growers - why the soil in a pot grows moldy - was not left without an answer. The reasons for this unpleasant phenomenon often seem banal. However, providing favorable conditions for the life of the flower is the key to the growth and flowering of the plant.