# mold inside the pot



## philoserenus (Apr 29, 2008)

hmm, my phrag giganteum is in bug and going to have itz first bloom soon. currently i count 3 buds. one is starting to develop the colours and the soon are to follow

the problem is it is developing some mold in the pot (i use clear ones so i can see it). i use leca but with no reservoir. last time repotted it when i bought, i couldnt clear off the old medium that has been completely entangled by itz huge mass of roots and at that moment, i didnt want to just lop it all of since it was developing itz buds. so i placed everything with the leca into a new pot for now.

from the first bud until the last one falls off, it will be about 6-9 weeks time. i do not want to do anything funky with it until then and risk my blooms. is there anything i can do until then--keeping it on the drier side? and what can i do when it finishes bloom and time to fix up all the mold and stuff? just lop of all the entangled roots?

it currently has 2 new strong leads coming at the same time as it is growing the buds. this guys is very strong, it took me 1/2 hr just to pry this guy out of itz 4" pot...


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## Corbin (Apr 29, 2008)

The mold will not hurt anything.


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## Candace (Apr 29, 2008)

Do you mean algae instead of mold?


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## SlipperFan (Apr 29, 2008)

Is it green or white?


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## rdlsreno (Apr 29, 2008)

Physan!


Ramon


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## Candace (Apr 29, 2008)

Quite a few forumites(on OSF) have posted about physan causing toxicity to plants over time. FWIW, I trust these growers and stopped my useage of it years ago. I live with the algae and if it gets so bad it clogs the resevoir holes or cuts off airflow to the roots, I repot the plant. Now I only use physan to spray my walls in the g.h. or floors.


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## philoserenus (Apr 29, 2008)

heyhey im very positive its mold and not algae b/c i get enough of greens, haha!!! but i dun mind it. and if the mold doesnt hurt anything either, i'm just gonna leave it alone too. my mentality is: _dun mess with things that are not in need of being messed with, otherwise the only mess i make is for myself_, haha!! as long it doesnt affect the survivability of my babies, i wont do a thing to them =)

thanks guys for the heads up

dot--itz white


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## SlipperFan (Apr 30, 2008)

philoserenus said:


> dot--itz white


Thanks. I agree with you, if it's white, it's probably mold. I personally would treat it with an Ortho fungicide called Daconil. It hasn't harmed any plants I've used it on, and I spray it directly on the roots.


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## Roth (Apr 30, 2008)

Daconil can stunt the roots for a while, at least that has been documented. I used it as a drench with no harm, but who knows...

As for the mold, I tend to strongly disagree that it is harmless. From my experience and several other growers, some types of molds, though not phytopathogenic, can be highly phytotoxic and induce chlorosis and stunting/rosetting of the plants. There is one such type in bark, that makes a fine web, and some "balls" ( not sumo ones, maybe frog balls size... anyway, 1-4mm). That one never attacks the plants directly, but causes their demise quickly and heavily... I would suggest unpot, and dip the plant in dithane, or drench completely with dithane to try to get rid of it. One product can be very effective, fludioxonil drench ( Medallion).


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## Candace (Apr 30, 2008)

Mold needs to be dealt with. I agree it's not something that should be left as is.


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## Roth (Apr 30, 2008)

http://www.cazv.cz/2003/2002/rv3_02/hasan.pdf

Is an interesting reference. That matches my experience about rosetting, and strange growth when "molds" are present. Clearly a lot of fungus can manufacture growth-controlling chemicals like gibberellins as a byproduct of their activity, therefore mold is for sure not something to leave "as is"...


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## smartie2000 (May 1, 2008)

I had ball like fungus on a maudiae hybrid but I didn't see any harm. It went away once I watered less.
My ball like fungus can be found here: http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3439


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## Roth (May 1, 2008)

smartie2000 said:


> I had ball like fungus on a maudiae hybrid but I didn't see any harm. It went away once I watered less.
> My ball like fungus can be found here: http://www.slippertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3439



That's that one that had very adverse effects... Do you have a pic of the plant today ? The funny thing with that fungus is that in my experience the roots were still growing...


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## philoserenus (May 2, 2008)

hmmm interesting turn of events i say... hmmm... well definitely it aint ball-like at all. just a little white fuzzy. i use to get them when i put my plants into semi without clearing away all the organic media. hmm i guess i'll tend to it in a few week's time when the flowers fade.

looking around, it only develops near the aeration holes i punched in the pot and no where else, weird.

thanks though, i will tend to it soon ^^


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## Pete (May 23, 2008)

i would not even use a fungicide. maybe try some sort of sterilizer type spray on the locations around the holes. maybe a diluted alcohol, nacosan or something..i would certainly not drench with dithane. dithane is a fungi-static type fungicide and is best used to quickly dry out "wet" lesions on foliage or even canes/bulbs sometimes. i dont think it would be good to drench pubescent roots heavily with dithane. they would really dry out.. if you want to hit the whole root zone with a good fungicide i might recommend alliette or heritage maybe..


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