Post a reply

Image
Nov 5, 2019 9:50 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Kate
Maryland
Bee Lover Cat Lover Houseplants Region: Maryland
Hello! I am about to repot my peace lily because it has outgrown it's pot. I am looking forward to this because the terracotta pot it is in now is really gross. It has a huge fuzzy strip of white mold (and other types of mold too) and it's a pain to get rid of constantly. So I was hoping with this new pot I could figure out a way to prevent mold from growing before I put my lily in it? I heard that it's normal for these pots to grow mold, but I have other terracotta pots and they have never looked this bad, and I actually think their moldy look is pretty cool. If anyone has any tips for limiting mold that would be great!
Image
Nov 5, 2019 10:18 PM CST
Name: Daisy I
Reno, Nv (Zone 6b)
Not all who wander are lost
Garden Sages Plant Identifier
Hi Kate,

It's the clay body (what the pot is made of) that's growing the mold. Some terra cotta is more susceptable than others. The trick is finding the pots made from the right clay. One hint is they are more expensive.

Look for terra cotta with a tighter clay body - the pots are harder to break and the pores are smaller.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming...."WOW What a Ride!!" -Mark Frost

President: Orchid Society of Northern Nevada
Webmaster: osnnv.org
Image
Nov 6, 2019 2:11 AM CST
Name: Lynda Horn
Arkansas (Zone 7b)
Eat more tomatoes!
Bee Lover Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Tomato Heads Salvias Lover of wildlife (Raccoon badge) Peppers
Organic Gardener Native Plants and Wildflowers Morning Glories Master Gardener: Arkansas Lilies Hummingbirder
I have found the ones made in Italy are more mold resistant. These aren't the ones sold in the big box stores, you usually have to go to nurseries to get them. Italian clay pots will have an origin stamp on them, usually on the bottom.
Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.
Mother Teresa
Image
Nov 6, 2019 8:16 AM CST
Name: Deb
Planet Earth (Zone 8b)
Region: Pacific Northwest Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Garden Ideas: Master Level
When I was an office worker, we had a bi-monthly plant lady. She told me not to use clay pots made in Mexico, but I forget exactly what the problem was - something to do with the clay. Her advice was to double-pot (liner pot inside the clay pot). That may work for you. If the inside pot is unsightly, you could line it with moss.
I want to live in a world where the chicken can cross the road without its motives being questioned.
Image
Nov 6, 2019 12:31 PM CST
Name: Will Creed
NYC
Prof. plant consultant & educator
Is it mold or is it the more common accumulation of white powdery mineral salts on the outside of the pot? If you are not sure, post a photo so we can see it.

How do you know that the Peace Lily has outgrown its pot?
Will Creed
Horticultural Help, NYC
www.HorticulturalHelp.com
Contact me directly at [email protected]
I now have a book available on indoor plant care
Image
Nov 6, 2019 1:49 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Kate
Maryland
Bee Lover Cat Lover Houseplants Region: Maryland
I am not sure what it is exactly. I'll insert 3 pictures. Unfortunately, right before I made this post I cleaned off my pot so I don't have the greatest picture. I have one I took just a few days ago with the white strip still on it. The second picture is what it looks like after I cleaned it, what's left over wouldn't come off. And the third picture is of my pothos. That pot isn't as bad as my Peace Lily's pot, and I've never cleaned it off before. I don't mind it's look and it isn't getting fuzzy.

I am only assuming my peace lily has outgrown it's pot. When I was cleaning the moldy stuff off the pot, I looked at the bottom and saw the roots were starting to grow out of the drainage hole. I remember reading somewhere that means it's probably time to repot? Correct me if I'm wrong!

Thumb of 2019-11-06/katea/744112


Thumb of 2019-11-06/katea/70efe8


Thumb of 2019-11-06/katea/cbdaee
Image
Nov 6, 2019 1:56 PM CST
Name: Baja
Baja California (Zone 11b)
Cactus and Succulents Seed Starter Xeriscape Container Gardener Hummingbirder Native Plants and Wildflowers
Garden Photography Region: Mexico Plant Identifier Forum moderator Plant Database Moderator Garden Ideas: Level 2
Do you have hard water? Do you flush when you water your plants?
Last edited by Baja_Costero Nov 6, 2019 1:56 PM Icon for preview
Image
Nov 6, 2019 2:05 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Kate
Maryland
Bee Lover Cat Lover Houseplants Region: Maryland
One other thing I may as well mention here! My peace lily is in a terra-cotta pot now because it was not doing well in a ceramic one. When I first got my peace lily back in May, I put it in a nice ceramic pot. But weeks would go by after watering and the soil would still be soaking wet. However, the leaves were wilting so I assumed it needed water, but the soil was still very wet?? So I would wait for it to dry, but it would take so long. By the time the soil was mostly dry, it was all droopy and wilting. So I watered it again, and it perked back up, but the cycle would start all over again. I couldn't water it when it was still wet because I didn't want to over water, but if I waited for it to dry it was wilting. The biggest problem with this is I started to have fungus gnats. Lots of them. So this was a disaster, and so many of my lily's leaves fell off. Some leaves were dried, and some were soggy. So I never knew if I was over watering or under. I battled with this all summer lol. At first I changed the soil but it still didn't help, so eventually I got a terra-cotta pot after finding out it helps dry soil faster. And ever since my peace lily has been thriving!! It has grown SO many new leaves the past 2 months it's crazy. And the fungus gnats are gone! BUT I have to water it almost every 2 days because it dries out so much quicker. And if I miss a day the leaves start to brown, as you might see in the pictures above. I can't win with this plant!
Last edited by katea Nov 6, 2019 2:11 PM Icon for preview
Image
Nov 6, 2019 2:09 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Kate
Maryland
Bee Lover Cat Lover Houseplants Region: Maryland
Baja_Costero

I have a pitcher that filters my water. I'm not an expert on that so I'm not sure how much it helps, but I don't use it straight from tap

(Also I'm pretty new to this website so is there a way to tag people or reply to them? Lol I don't know what I'm doing! Hilarious! )
Image
Nov 6, 2019 2:17 PM CST
Name: Daisy I
Reno, Nv (Zone 6b)
Not all who wander are lost
Garden Sages Plant Identifier
@katea

Put an @ in front of their avatar name and a message is sent to the recipient they were mentioned in this tread. The names are case sensitive so, if there are capital letters, they should be captialized.

My name, DaisyI is wrong quite often because that is not an L at the end of Daisy. I usually copy and paste the name so I know its right.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming...."WOW What a Ride!!" -Mark Frost

President: Orchid Society of Northern Nevada
Webmaster: osnnv.org
Image
Nov 6, 2019 4:21 PM CST
Name: Lynda Horn
Arkansas (Zone 7b)
Eat more tomatoes!
Bee Lover Lover of wildlife (Black bear badge) Tomato Heads Salvias Lover of wildlife (Raccoon badge) Peppers
Organic Gardener Native Plants and Wildflowers Morning Glories Master Gardener: Arkansas Lilies Hummingbirder
I am not at all sure, but the white stuff in the pics looks like that stuff that gathers on pots when hard water is used, or the remnants of fertilizer. Anyone else? The poster also mentioned having a problem with every kind of pot the peace lily was in. When I had mine, I put a couple of nightcrawlers in the pot. Never had any issues with that plant. It lived to a ripe old age, I got tired of it, and passed it on. A friend still has it, and it still has nightcrawlers in the pot. nodding
Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.
Mother Teresa
Image
Nov 6, 2019 4:42 PM CST
Name: Daisy I
Reno, Nv (Zone 6b)
Not all who wander are lost
Garden Sages Plant Identifier
I never have problems with mold on my pots, not even the terracotta pots full of orchids in my humid greenhouse (and they get watered daily). But there it is, mold on the bottom of a terracotta pot. I think its due to a lack of air circulation inside the plastic bag. So, maybe what you need, @katea, is better air circulation around your plants.
Thumb of 2019-11-06/DaisyI/b6b676
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming...."WOW What a Ride!!" -Mark Frost

President: Orchid Society of Northern Nevada
Webmaster: osnnv.org
Image
Nov 6, 2019 6:09 PM CST
Name: Baja
Baja California (Zone 11b)
Cactus and Succulents Seed Starter Xeriscape Container Gardener Hummingbirder Native Plants and Wildflowers
Garden Photography Region: Mexico Plant Identifier Forum moderator Plant Database Moderator Garden Ideas: Level 2
You can rule out salt deposits by watering with purified water (as I do for my plants in unglazed terra cotta pots) and seeing if they stop (which is the reason I don't use tap water for them).
Image
Nov 6, 2019 6:24 PM CST
Name: Will Creed
NYC
Prof. plant consultant & educator
The white substance is from mineral deposits, not mold. Hard water and fertilizer are the most common sources of mineral salt deposits on terra cotta pots. The potting soil you used may also be unusually high in mineral salts. In general, the mineral deposits are harmless to the plant and your Peace Lily appears to be healthy.

When you water, be sure to water thoroughly until some water trickles through the drain hole. Don't let the pot sit in the excess water. It is best to water just before the leaves start to wilt again after a thorough watering.

Roots coming out of the drain hole are not a reliable indication of it needing a larger pot. However, if your plant only goes 2 or 3 days after a thorough watering before it starts to wilt, then it probably needs a larger pot.
Will Creed
Horticultural Help, NYC
www.HorticulturalHelp.com
Contact me directly at [email protected]
I now have a book available on indoor plant care
Image
Nov 6, 2019 6:30 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Kate
Maryland
Bee Lover Cat Lover Houseplants Region: Maryland
I don't think it's the water I'm using. All summer I used fresh rain water to water my plants, but since it hasn't been raining as much anymore in my area I've just very recently switched over to purified water. The pots have had that stuff on it all summer long, so maybe it's the soil?
Image
Nov 6, 2019 6:31 PM CST
Name: Will Creed
NYC
Prof. plant consultant & educator
Perhaps. What soil did you use?
Will Creed
Horticultural Help, NYC
www.HorticulturalHelp.com
Contact me directly at [email protected]
I now have a book available on indoor plant care
Image
Nov 6, 2019 6:34 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Kate
Maryland
Bee Lover Cat Lover Houseplants Region: Maryland
Also about the soil.. whenever I water my plants the little rocks (fertilizer I think) start to come to the surface? If that makes any sense. Overtime there seems to be more and more pebbles on the top of my soil as if they're being pushed to the surface or rising somehow. I'm thinking on removing them from the top and just throwing them away. Should I do that?
Image
Nov 6, 2019 6:36 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Kate
Maryland
Bee Lover Cat Lover Houseplants Region: Maryland
This is the soil.
Thumb of 2019-11-07/katea/eae88a
Image
Nov 6, 2019 6:41 PM CST
Name: Will Creed
NYC
Prof. plant consultant & educator
The white particles that float to the top are probably perlite and are not a problem.

Miracle-Gro makes so many different potting mixes that I cannot tell what is in the one you have. Can you post a photo of the ingredients list usually found on the back in fine print?
Will Creed
Horticultural Help, NYC
www.HorticulturalHelp.com
Contact me directly at [email protected]
I now have a book available on indoor plant care
Image
Nov 6, 2019 6:48 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Kate
Maryland
Bee Lover Cat Lover Houseplants Region: Maryland
Thumb of 2019-11-07/katea/457e4f

Only the members of the Members group may reply to this thread.
  • Started by: katea
  • Replies: 22, views: 8,285
Member Login:

( No account? Join now! )

Today's site banner is by nben and is called "Chocolate Covered Cherry Coleus"

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.