Psychotria Viridis mold issues, help please!

[Ford Prefect]

I just bought a small Chacruna plant. A few days ago I noticed fuzzy grey mold growing in the soil, not on the plant (i hope). I attempted to remove the moldy top soil layer and change it's location (all indoors). The mold grew back in a few days. I'm 98% sure it was infected in my house. The plant was sent from California and I live in the damp, moldy window silled Pacific Northwest.

So what can I do to remove the mold and not hurt my plant? Neem oil, maybe?

 

[DoctorMantus]

Well i am not sure what kind of mold you are working with. But maybe i can suggest try getting some worms, stick that in your planter.

The worms kinda help the dirt and give it the ability to breathe, and it is possible you have mold because its too wet.
I hope it works out, good luck.

 

[SnozzleBerry]

Perhaps a light misting of the affected area with h2o2 (standard OTC 3% solution)...

 

[proto-pax]

Neem oil works by messing up the molting stage of insects or interfering with their neurological system, not sure which, but either way it wont work. I think tobacco has anti-fungal properties...

 

[distopia]

So what can I do to remove the mold and not hurt my plant? Neem oil, maybe?

If the plant is still healthy, give her a transplant.
Discard all the soil, wash the roots in clean distilled water (no tap water with high pH).
Prepare a good soil. 1/2 rich potting soil and 1/2 perlite for drainage.
Put some expanded clay (hydroton) on the bottom layer for drainage.

Since PV loves high humidity levels you MUST have a good soil to avoid mold in the soil!.
Neem oil does not work on this problem.
Soil does not have to be all wet, It must be able to dry pretty fast... Otherwise with high humidity levels (such as pv needs) it will get nasty quickly.

 

[Ford Prefect]

Yeah, i've been thinking a good transplant is in order. I would not have thought to wash things with distilled water though.

I've been watering vary lightly, if at all. Misting the leaves like a new clone mostly. Now that I have the next node coming up I'm feeling the shock from the trip here is passing and I can transplant now.

I would include a pic of the mold, but it's so thin at the moment you wont be able to see it.

 

[MelCat]

You may want to just get a cheapish soil ph tester. I'd be willing to bet your soil is a bit acidic which allows mold and bacteria to thrive. The ideal ph is around 6.5

A soil tester won't give you completely accurate readings but you can get a fuzzy notion as to what you're working with.

As long as you keep it between 6 and 7 you're good. Not only does this discourage the bad mold and bacteria, it also allows the plant to absorb more nutrients.

This link will describe what I'm talking about a bit better.

A quick fix is to just toss a little lime on top (not too much) and water it in real good. If/when you transplant it's normally a good practice to throw a little bit of lime into the mix just to sweeten the soil a bit. You don't want to go crazy with it as a little goes a long way.

Edit: Just looking at your plant, she seems pretty healthy. You may want to top her soon though to encourage bushing out. If you don't want to top her, you can tie her over and that will make the lower branches spring up as the top part of the plant. Just keep untying and retying her at different angles to make her bush out that much more. It's good for the plant and therapeutic at the same time. Kinda like bonsai but not.

I'd still transplant her though and bury some of that long stem down in the soil to give her more support to handle the tying down.

 

[ntwhtyouknw]

A light chamomile tea solution works well, its a natural anti fungal. I allways spray my seed trays with some. Perfect for an organic gardener.

 

[jamie]

^that is good to know..thanks!

I find that my tropical plants(other than shade plants like salvia) tend to get more mold in low light situations..mold grows alot better in the shade it seems.

 

[Lago Chiller]

What works for me to hold down mold and algae is to dust the soil with powdered charcoal.
That is a pretty big plant, I don't think that mold will hurt your plant but if you lay a 1/4 inch of powdered charcoal that will sure toast any baddies.
Charcoal put on soil this way will be hydrophillic and seem to repel water but eventually it will take it up. You can reapply it as often as necessary too.
Let us know what you do and how it works.

Oh yeah, Lump charcoal for BBQing works great, just wear a dust mask and scrape it on some hardware cloth or an old sieve outdoors preferably.