Date: Tue, 21 Jan 97 22:58 EST From: dave evans <T442119@RUTADMIN.RUTGERS.EDU> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg310$foo@default> Subject: Re: Mushrooms?
> All,
> The chopped spaghnum in which I'm growing my Darlingtonia seedlings developed
> mushrooms yesterday. These mushrooms are extremely tiny (1-2cm) and there are
> many of them. They are cream in color. Any ideas of what they are?
> Will this hurt the Darlingtonia? They look kind of cute, actually...
Hi Cindy,
Yes, that fungus *can* harm your plants. I have them coming
up in my Nepenthes terrariums, and lately, in the Drosera terrarium.
It nearly killed a P. rosie (but it's not a P.moranenis, so I have
no clue as to it's true ID). To stop it from finishing off the Ping,
I sprayed the soil and dead leaves around the butterwort with
hydrogen peroxide, avoiding the actual growth tip. Then I let the
soil dry. Of course, this treatment will quickly kill Darlingtonia,
which needs much more moisture than your average Mexican Ping...
Pick off the mushrooms as they appear to reduce the spores. Remove
soil and Sphagnum with fuzz on it. Use a spray bottle or some other
method to break up the fungus and wash it from the pot. This will
slow down the fungus but probably will not kill it off. To do that,
something about your conditions has to change.
It sound like your Sphagnum doesn't like it's conditions. The
humidity is too high for level of air flow or water flow. In the
wild, Sphagnum is washed and beat down by rain. In cultivation
and poor conditions it can grow too long (high humidity, low light)
and the bottom part starts to decay, molding up your pot or
terrarium. Many Nepenthes growers have had this trouble with the
moss and have stopped using it. I stopped using it for big plants,
but it is still great for rooting them. For other pots, I changed
the conditions to more reflect the plants' and the Sphagnum's natural
humidity and watering.
Dave Evans
P.S.
Generally, a couple mushrooms popping up here and there is OK, just
keep an eye on the plants near by. A whole pot full in the moss
and around Darlingtonia is bad.
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