TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk
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i am no expert but i dont think that the mold is a problem. I have little seedlings of other drosera that are in mold and thriving. And from what i have seen in my little experience with binata, they thrive in the same atmosphere as mold except they like alot more light than mold does. The white mold never bothers any of my plants that i have seen and it is in a bunch of places.
cheers,
Joel
cheers,
Joel
First, stop feeding your plants until the problem resolves. Second, get a small paintbrush and a bottle of isopropyl alcohol. Wet the brush and dab the spots that has mold.
These plants have never done well for me long term in terraria. Possibly you could grow them on a windowsill? They should not go dormant unless it is chilly enough for you to need a jacket
Regarding mold: I lost a 200 plant collection to mold in 1988. I had a substrate terrarium that I kept for over a decade. Mold is an indication of many adverse conditions. When nutrients and too high a ph allow the growth of cyanobacteria and blue-green algae these in turn fix atmospheric nitrogen into the substrate. The algae is then colonized by mold (algae produces agar: perfect food for mold), and the process of substrate breakdown is accelerated, releasing nutrients detrimental to CP in general. Cyanobacteria are also anaerobic: indicating a lack of oxygen available to plant roots. Anaerobic conditions are very bad for CP as the bacteria can attack the plants roots.
Plants may grow for awhile in these conditions but probably will eventually decline. Personally, I would repot a plant in a fungus infected substrate. If the plants are seedlings, I would probably opt to transplant some out asap into clean medium. The remainder I would attempt to lower the Ph of the medium with some form of peat tea since flushing the pot from the surface might not be possible with tiny seedlings.
Prevention is the best cure for seedlings: Be sure to wash silica sand until the water is crystal clear when using it in a mix for seedlings, this is the most frequent source of micronutrients that support algae growth.
I hate mold with a passion greater than my hatred of squirrels, and that is considerable. Once the fungus began sweeping my terrarium, nothing would stop it. I tried everything. In less than a week, every plant I had sweated to acquire for 15 years was a slimy puddle. I didn't grow CP again for over a decade.
These plants have never done well for me long term in terraria. Possibly you could grow them on a windowsill? They should not go dormant unless it is chilly enough for you to need a jacket
Regarding mold: I lost a 200 plant collection to mold in 1988. I had a substrate terrarium that I kept for over a decade. Mold is an indication of many adverse conditions. When nutrients and too high a ph allow the growth of cyanobacteria and blue-green algae these in turn fix atmospheric nitrogen into the substrate. The algae is then colonized by mold (algae produces agar: perfect food for mold), and the process of substrate breakdown is accelerated, releasing nutrients detrimental to CP in general. Cyanobacteria are also anaerobic: indicating a lack of oxygen available to plant roots. Anaerobic conditions are very bad for CP as the bacteria can attack the plants roots.
Plants may grow for awhile in these conditions but probably will eventually decline. Personally, I would repot a plant in a fungus infected substrate. If the plants are seedlings, I would probably opt to transplant some out asap into clean medium. The remainder I would attempt to lower the Ph of the medium with some form of peat tea since flushing the pot from the surface might not be possible with tiny seedlings.
Prevention is the best cure for seedlings: Be sure to wash silica sand until the water is crystal clear when using it in a mix for seedlings, this is the most frequent source of micronutrients that support algae growth.
I hate mold with a passion greater than my hatred of squirrels, and that is considerable. Once the fungus began sweeping my terrarium, nothing would stop it. I tried everything. In less than a week, every plant I had sweated to acquire for 15 years was a slimy puddle. I didn't grow CP again for over a decade.
I keep the plant in my terrarium because it it a) warm enough, b) humid enough, and c) bright enough...
I've been squirting it with benomyl all the time... I can leave the lid open slightly, and I think that that will sorta help the issue... Its not me whos feeding it, its 'The Gnats' who do so themselves...
I've been squirting it with benomyl all the time... I can leave the lid open slightly, and I think that that will sorta help the issue... Its not me whos feeding it, its 'The Gnats' who do so themselves...
Once again, avoid mold. This type of mold is not mycorhizae, and it is not your friend. Spraying with fungicide is also not optimal for good growth. It is better by far to start with less TDS, thereby avoiding the issue of algae and mold from the get go.
Benomyl is a powerful mutagen with carcinogenic capabilities, and has been removed from the market. Handle with extreme care!
Benomyl is a powerful mutagen with carcinogenic capabilities, and has been removed from the market. Handle with extreme care!
Tamlin
I was just thinking about your post here and your hypothesis about TDS.
Maybe that is why I have almost no problems with fungus or rot of any kind. Notice I did not say "no problems" or "never any problems".
Of course, as you know I rinse all my media ingredients, both peat moss and NZ sphagnum until the rinse water is 10ppm (parts per million) of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) or less, before I use it straight or in different combinations.
My plants get as many fluorescent lights (4 foot tubes) as I can possibly squeeze into the shelf space they occupy and I keep the temperature at or below 80F except for those species that like it "Hot".
Using redwood bark, sparingly, I find it to be an excellent acidifier, also fungal and bacterial inhibitor, and have not noticed it adversely impact the CP.
I definitely agree with you about the Benomyl. My fungicide of choice is rinse water from some powdered redwood bark, works wonders when you can see what you don't want to grow.
I was just thinking about your post here and your hypothesis about TDS.
Maybe that is why I have almost no problems with fungus or rot of any kind. Notice I did not say "no problems" or "never any problems".
Of course, as you know I rinse all my media ingredients, both peat moss and NZ sphagnum until the rinse water is 10ppm (parts per million) of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) or less, before I use it straight or in different combinations.
My plants get as many fluorescent lights (4 foot tubes) as I can possibly squeeze into the shelf space they occupy and I keep the temperature at or below 80F except for those species that like it "Hot".
Using redwood bark, sparingly, I find it to be an excellent acidifier, also fungal and bacterial inhibitor, and have not noticed it adversely impact the CP.
I definitely agree with you about the Benomyl. My fungicide of choice is rinse water from some powdered redwood bark, works wonders when you can see what you don't want to grow.
