Hello my lovely readers!
WARNING!: This has A LOT of information in it, I apologize it is so lengthy but the more you know the better!
This topic came at the spur of the moment. I was going through a few gardening forums and found a fair amount of people asking if there was mold on their dirt, explaining what it looks like, and even posted pictures. So, of course, I thought I would make my own post about this avidly asked question and help everyone get to the bottom of this mold culprit! As well as how to fix them all very easily.
First of all, mold in your plants is something totally different then mold in your house walls or flooring. Mold in your plants is a lot easier to get rid of than trying to get rid of mold in your home plus most plant mold is not harmful to humans or pets. Also if treatment is done right the first time the mold in your plants will not come back. Often people think anything of a different color other than brown living on the top of their dirt where the plants live is mold. Well that is not all that true, mold is a type of fungus, or what I like to call it fungi.
There are two culprits that tend to appear on your plants dirt that I am going to tell you about and I will explain how to get rid of them easily! Usually what most people see on the tops of their dirt is a white and/or a yellowish substance on the surface of the soil. (This mainly occurs with house plants but do not discard that it can happen to outdoor plants as well) This type of fungus is called SAPROPHYTIC SOIL FUNGUS. It is a type of mold/fungus that feeds on the decaying matter in the soil. Do not get freaked out but even if you cannot see this mold it is probably in your soil. If you cannot see it, you honestly do not have to take the time to sterilize your soil. Fungus is everywhere, until it becomes a problem in your dirt do not try to remove it. As goes the old saying I like to use “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Think of that before you try to go after something you cannot see and realizing it is probably a waste of your time. Another type of problem people see on top of their dirt is a green and/or yellow type of moss. Lots of people do not think moss can grow on their house plants but it is a real thing! If you see it growing do not be alarmed. It is not fungus or mold; it actually is not even apart of the same family. Moss is a part of the nonvascular plants; Bryophytes. The reason why I am including this with our saprophytic soil fungus is because it can be treated the same way. If not even easier.
So you are probably wondering why are two or one of these mischievous culprits growing on the top of your dirt? Well it is very simple; fungus does not grow unless you feed it same with moss. Moss and fungus both like damp, and humid condition. Which an over watered plant is a warm house over the winter or even in the summer is ideal conditions for them to awaken and start their dirt take over.
Your next question I am guessing is; “is it harmful to humans?”: The answer is no. Neither of these are harmful to human, most fungus is actually not harmful to human, you will not develop some kind of fungus yourself, or turn green anytime soon from playing in your house plants dirt. I would be more worried about your health if you were touching and playing with some not so recognizable mushrooms. Next, is it harmful to your plants: No if it is dealt with quickly. Yes, it can be if left untreated. The best thing about fungus or moss coming alive is it is telling us something is wrong. Think of it as when your plants are lacking water they start to wilt pretty much warning us “hey if you do not water me I am going to die.” Well Fungus and moss is the best indication to tell you “Help you’re drowning me in water!” If you keep it up and disregard the fact that there is fungus or moss growing on your plants dirt root rot will probably occur if you do not look after it. Root rot is a very hard task to bounce back from.
So my thoughts on how to deal with these pesky guys.
First off I would check how wet your soil is; take a pencil and insert it into your dirt leaving a bit of the pencil sticking out, now pull it out. If there are any dirt clumps sticking to your pencil your soil is too moist. You have found the culprit!
The next step I would take is acquiring a spoon or tiny hand shovel and scrape off the top layer of your dirt. Making sure there is no fungus or moss left on the top. DISCONTINUE WATERING until your soil is dry, then water it again. After a week or so you will notice if the fungus has come back, or not. If it has not congrats! If it has take the next step.
If it continues to grow you will need to take your plant out of its pot and observe. Does your plant have root bound causing the water to not reach the bottom, and just stay up towards the top? (When the roots of the plant outgrow the pot and become extremely tight in the pot.) If that is the case you must scrape off the top layer of soil to reduce the risk of making the fungus or moss re-appear, next re-plant your pot into a bigger pot so your plants roots can have room to branch out. Do the same if your soil is draining the water but your pot seems to hold the water inside instead of letting it drain out.
Once that is corrected I would advice you to put some cinnamon on the top layer to cover the soil of your plants dirt after you replant or just scrape the top later of the dirt off. Cinnamon seems to discontinue the growth of fungus even though there has been no research, give it a try and see how it works out! After everything is said and done you will have normal dirt again. Just remember to water less (let it dry out between each watering,) and use cold water when watering your plants.
I know this was very lengthy but I hope it teaches you all something new! Happy growing! :)