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mold

Ant

Your one and only pest!
I just noticed my pygmy drosera pot was covered in surface mold and I think it killed all my D. nitidula ssp. allanostigma x eriksoniae. :-( How can I get rid of it before it gets my pygmaea?
 
You can use alcohol on a q-tip to get rid of it initially and then treat the soil surface with fungicide. If you don't have anything commercial to use as a fungicide I've heard cinnamon can be used.
 
I am worried about using alcohol as the pots drainage holes are on the side so it might stay in the soil, will salt kill the drosera or will a bit not hurt?
 
let it dry out a little bit.
 
alcohol on a q-tip is not going to stay in the soil at all. It evaporates very quickly.
 
Right. Said alcohol placed on your skin does not stay there, the same is with cuts thank god.
 
okay, I just did an alcohol treatment.
 
Normally when i get mold, there's something wrong with the conditions...
i.e. the media is not draining enough, not enough light, too waterlogged, media wasn't rinsed, etc...
Do you have a pic or can you describe what you're using right now?
 
I am using a tray with a few holes poked into it, my mix is 1 part peat, 1 part perlite, and it is in a west facing bow window.
 
  • #10
Don't forget; Neem Oil is a good soil drench for molds and fungus and is for direct application to plant leaves as well.
 
  • #11
Some people also apply cinnamon to the surface.
 
  • #12
As a member of BACPS we just had a meeting about mold and insect control. We had 4 guest speakers from different botanical gardens come and talk about this. It was very informative! Anyway They stated a sulfer spray would work well for mold control. I don't know if this will effect sundews negitivly as I hear they can be very sensitive to certian things. They talked about the sulfer as a good control for Neps. & Sarrs. Cinnamon was also discussed but most of the botanical gardens had to stop using it because people were having bad alergic reactions to it. They did say it seamed to work well though so it might be a option for your personal use.
 
  • #13
Try to improuve air circulation if you have good level of light. Also you can keep them warmer and less wet and the mold should go away. Mold can easy kill your pygmys.
 
  • #14
I have used cinnamon for treatment as we have plenty on hand. However it does not work well to prevent fungus or mold because the oils in cinnamon that have the anti-fungal properties are volatile and evaporate over time.
 
  • #15
Probably something wrong with the mix, which is why the mold took hold. Mold and moss capitalize on nutrients in the mix, and are good indicators of mineralization. Pygmy species are sensitive to transplant, esp. if not healthy, otherwise I would advise you transplant. As it is, the best advice is to let the pot dry out at the surface. To water, put the pot in a few inches of water for 3 or 4 mins. The aim being to provide moisture to the roots while keeping the surface nearly dry. Increase air circulation by using a small fan. You might also get by with dumping the entire root ball into your palm. At this stage your palm will be cupped over the rosettes. Carefully reverse the root ball and remove several cm of the top mix, reinsert the root ball into the pot and add appropriate top dressing high in sand content, about 70/30. This will likely fix the problem, at least short term.
 
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