Pots have white mold....what is this?

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KiMFDiM Alden, NY(Zone 5b) Oct 20, 2005

I use only terra cotta pots that I sterilize in bleach-water. I brought my plants indoors mid-September. The other day I noticed a white moldy-kinda stuff on the outside of the pots...not entirely covering. I don't think it is salts leaching thru the pot as it turns slimy when I water the plant and the pot gets damp.

1) Is this harmful for the plants
2) how do you get rid of it. I washed the pots of and it keeps coming back
3)How do you keep it from coming back!?

Lisa

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Crasulady2 Valley Village, CA Oct 22, 2005

Use a fungus spray daily until you get rid of it, and allow the plant to get more air, and light.. It's difficult to get rid of. You may be better off just putting the plant into a new pot. Wash your plant off thoroghly with soap and water, put the old pot into the micro wave for 5 min if you want to keep it. Use new soil, and keep it barely damp, let it dry out between waterings. This mold may spread so isolate your plant from the rest of your collection. New York seems especially prone to these problems. On warm days? open a window and if it's not too cold give it some fresh air. If you can't do that, put on a fan, believe it or not, to keep the air moving. Molds do not like fresh air, or light. This is the best I can offer, Norma

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renwings Sultan, WA(Zone 8a) Oct 22, 2005

I have an aloe growing in my kitchen plant window that has this on its pot. I tried getting rid of it. It's very resistant. It's been that way for 2 years and the aloe is just fine. So I don't worry about it anymore. Just looks strange.

The stange things is , this plant is normally dry most of the time, the window gets western sun and has two screens to ventilate it. Not normal for mold.

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KiMFDiM Alden, NY(Zone 5b) Oct 22, 2005

Yea, what's interesting is that I have all my plants grouped in my family room right in front of my south-facing sliding glass doors to the back patio with 6 long-tubed flourescent grow lights hitting them all.

Now, all these plants in this group are humidity-loving and are sitting on humidity trays (the non-humidity plants are in the family room where the fireplace is), but I do open the door every day for at least 15 mintues (even in winter as I hate stagnant, stale air...my husband hates this practice!), but I'm wondering if hitting them with a fan every day will help.

I can't isolate the pot as they all have it. But most of these plants are "moist, never dry out"...and while I let them dry a little bit over winter, I can't let them dry out all the way or the foliage will begin showing it sooner or later.

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