Why Your Houseplant Soil Has Mold?
I know that it’s scary to look at your plants, look at their soil and see a whole bunch of white mold because I remember the first time that it happened to me, I was freaking out. I was kind of like, okay, is this plant going to die? What’s happening right now? First thing that I want to say is that this white mold is pretty harmless to your plant actually. So you shouldn’t be too worried about if your plant’s going to survive because it most likely will.
So although the white mold is not harmful, it may indicate that there are some things that you need to change about your care for the plant in order for it to be healthier. To get rid of the white mold is actually very simple, but I think it would be beneficial to kind of know about why your plant has this white mold and how to prevent it from getting this white mold ever again. So there could be several different factors contributing to why your plant has mold.
Most of them have to do with the wetness of your soil. If your soil is soggy, it is more likely to get this mold. There are things that you can change and be aware of to prevent this mold from happening.
Some factors can be overwatering, not enough airflow, poor drainage of the soil, it needing to have more sunlight, or just that you have contaminated soil. And these things are all easily fixable with a little tweak in how you care for your plant.
Table of Contents
Over-Watering
First contributing factor could be overwatering your plant.If you are overwatering your plant, that soil is definitely going to be overly moist, overly wet, and that could lead to this mold growing. So for overwatering, if you have trouble with overwatering your plant, I would recommend to get a moisture meter.
They’re very easy to use, just water whenever your plant soil is dry, because I know that sometimes when you use your finger, you can’t really tell what your finger is telling you. So that’s where I would recommend a moisture meter. Also, if you have a little log that you keep of how often you water your plants, you may find that you’re watering your plant more often than you thought.
Lack Of Airflow
If you do not have good airflow in wherever your plant is, there’s going to be more likely to be mold. For not having enough airflow, I can relate to this problem because I keep my orchid in my room and I have a humidifier that I constantly keep my room over 60% humidity, and I often don’t open the windows or turn on the fan.
So I’ve been making it more of a habit to open my windows at night and turn on the fan to keep the airflow going so that there’s not just stale air sitting there encouraging mold to grow.
Soil That Doesn’t Drain Well
Poor draining soil is also a factor. If your soil holds too much water, it is definitely going to stay soggy for a longer period of time than it maybe should be.
You can just add more aerating components such as orchid bark, perlite, my personal favorite, pumice stone. And all of this should help make your soil more airy and will let go of too much moisture. Also having your plant in a terracotta pot will help the soil not retain as much water because the terracotta pot is sucking the water out of the soil as well.
Lack Of Sunlight
Your plant also might need more sun, so if it’s not getting enough light, the soil will not be able to dry out and that can lead to soggier soil.
Using Contaminated Soil
just having contaminated soil will give you this mold. So if you are repotting your plant and it’s contaminated and you use the soil again, it is probably going to get the white mold again. So make sure that you are storing your soils properly, there’s nothing getting into that, like you don’t have it sitting outside open for anything to just enter into it.
Have it stored properly, seal it up, maybe use a chip bag clip for it so that nothing can get inside.
 *(Include an image of droopy leaves)* Some plants, such as calatheas, prefer moist soil at all times; otherwise, they develop that signature brown tissue damage on the leaves. The annoying thing here is that the damage cannot be reversed and can only be cut away, leaving you with a damaged plant. If the soil of your plant is bone dry, you'll notice that it's pulling away from the sides of the pot. This is because the soil has shrunk due to a lack of moisture, so make sure you are not letting this happen by watering a little more frequently. #### Signs Your Plant is Overwatered (darkgreen) Overwatering plants is a really common way that people kill their plants. Beginner plant enthusiasts often have a common misconception that houseplants need lots of water, but the reality is that these plants are native to hot climates where they may get periods of drought followed by large rain which rehydrates them. **Yellowing leaves** (red) can indicate an overwatering problem as well as an underwatering problem. If you are watering your plant too often and the soil is always wet, this can lead to root rot, which will begin to affect the leaves of your plant. **Limp and mushy leaves** (red) also indicate that you are overwatering your plant. This is particularly true with succulents such as Echeverias. Echeverias store water in their thick leaves and have difficulty storing excess water if you are watering your plant too often. This leads to mushy plants that eventually fall off.  *(Include an image of yellowing leaves)* Philodendron and Pothos plants tend to get mushy leaves that fall off if the soil is consistently soggy. My Philodendron Birkin recently developed some new brown leaves that fell off because I was overwatering it. Whereas crispy brown edges on leaves indicate an underwatering problem, if the whole leaves are turning brown, this tends to mean that the plant tissue is rotting due to too much water. You may also notice some water droplets on the ends of the leaves of some of your plants. This is the plant perspiring excess water through its leaves and can indicate that you are giving the plant too much water. Now, this tends to happen on plants that prefer drier soil, and I notice it quite often on my Philodendron Birkin and my Tradescantia Nanook. **Increased presence of fungus gnats** (red) can also be a sign that your plant is too moist. Fungus gnats like a moist top two inches of soil to breed and lay their eggs, so if your soil is wet, it creates a breeding ground for gnats. If you see lots of flea-like flies jumping around the top of your soil, I would just dial back on the watering and let the top two inches of the soil dry out before watering again. #### Watering Tips (darkgreen) It is important to allow the soil of your houseplant to dry out between waterings. This prevents the possibility of over-watering, which is one of the most common reasons people kill their plants. **Check the soil moisture** (red) before watering your plant by sticking your finger two inches into the soil. If it feels wet, leave it a few days and then check again. An even better way to check the soil moisture is to invest in a moisture meter. This device needs no batteries and tells you exactly how much moisture is in the soil, giving you control over watering your plants.  *(Include an image of a moisture meter)* When you identify that your plant needs water, make sure you give it a thorough soaking. Take your plant to a sink area and soak the soil four or five times until water drains out of the bottom each time. This ensures that all the soil in the pot gets moistened and there are no dry patches. **Bottom watering** (teal) is a method that has changed the health of my plants since I implemented it a couple of years ago. Place your plant in a container of water and let it absorb moisture from the bottom up. This method prevents water from getting on the leaves, which can cause leaf tissue damage. I hope this article was helpful. Now you know when to water your plants and when not to. Apply this knowledge to your plants and see the growth. Happy gardening! --- Incorporating these visual and formatting enhancements will make your article more attractive and engaging for your readers.](https://growinggaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/pexels-artempodrez-7242495-scaled.jpg)
