I recently switched several plants from bark to a mix of lecca and rock wool. Several are starting to grow mold on both the lecca and rock wool. I am suspecting the source might be some cheap rockwool from Amazon. But strange that it is growing on an inorganic medium? I have physan 20 but the directions says to spray the plant, nothing about drenching the medium. But can I and at what strength? I also have biosafe H2O2. Can I use that as a drench? Any other suggestions for getting rid of mold? Thanks for any thoughts.
Mold on medium
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Simpliest with what you have would be to repot - soak fresh medium in physan before potting. For a drench banrot or thiomyl might work and be reasonably priced. If I don't treat right away I usually have some persistence in the medium. It seems like some molds are easily eradicated and others not at all. I had a mold a I was chasing in potting media this year and I ended up getting several compounds and tank mixed them. That worked well but was expensive. If rot gets into the roots then it's more of problem. Heritage is available in smaller containers on amazon and that could also be effective.
Have you applied anything anything other than inorganic fertilizer?
If it's only growing on the surface I'd spray it with alcohol.
If it's only growing on the surface I'd spray it with alcohol.
It’s hard to say from a photo, but it is unlikely to be mold.
Did you wash or otherwise pretreat the LECA? During manufacturing, “binders” are added to the raw clay to get it to roll up into little balls and to retain their “green strength” during subsequent handling and firing.
Depending upon the binders used and the firing conditions, there may be inorganic salt residues retained in the pellets. If they are water soluble, they will make their way to the surface as the pellets dry, forming a fine, needle-like “fuzz” that can resemble mold.
Flood the living hell out of it whenever you water, and the residue will be washed out of the pot over the next several weeks.
Did you wash or otherwise pretreat the LECA? During manufacturing, “binders” are added to the raw clay to get it to roll up into little balls and to retain their “green strength” during subsequent handling and firing.
Depending upon the binders used and the firing conditions, there may be inorganic salt residues retained in the pellets. If they are water soluble, they will make their way to the surface as the pellets dry, forming a fine, needle-like “fuzz” that can resemble mold.
Flood the living hell out of it whenever you water, and the residue will be washed out of the pot over the next several weeks.
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