Mushrooms in False Aralia pot?

Hello.. I'm new to the forums, Jayneth, nice to meet ye all! :)

I have a false aralia growing in a mixture of regular houseplant compost, orchid bark & perlite. It's been in this mix for around 3 weeks, although I've had the plant for at least 3 years. At the moment it's just off to the side of a SW facing window. It gets watered approx every 12-14 days or so, and fertilised with soluble houseplant feed around every 3 weeks.

Anyway, I've just noticed these wee mushrooms growing in there!

Don't know much about mushrooms.. no idea what type it is, or if it's something I should be trying to get rid of. Am I doing something wrong, or is having these little invaders in there not too much of a problem? Hope someone can advise! :)

Thanks,
Jayneth.

Plants live side by side with thousands of species of fungi, very few of them harmful. What you're seeing are the fruiting bodies of a species of fungus that has probably been in your soil since it was made, which means the plant has been living in peace with that particular species of fungus since it was potted in that soil - no big deal. Also, the presence of these fruiting bodies doesn't mean anything other than conditions in the pot are favorable for the fungus to fruit. Many jump to the conclusion that because the little fruits appear that you're doing something wrong (usually the suggestion is that you're over-watering) or the soil is 'contaminated'. Fungi like damp soil with lots of air in it - just like our plants do, so thee fruiting bodies aren't particularly telling of anything except that they're there.

Al

Thanks, tapla! So I can just let them be? That's good, I like them! Was a bit disappointed when i broke the one in the picture by mistake...

You can let them be or remove them if you wish - no matter. Unfortunately, the part you can see is short-lived, so they won't be around long.

Al

I'm seeing a lot of mushrooms in pots (and elsewhere) lately too. So much rain! Yours are much more interesting than mine.

If you feel like doing so, I'd love to see a pic of your whole tree. With a trunk that size, it must be impressive. Do you have any idea how old it is?

You said the plant has been in this potting mix for only 3 weeks, so presumably the fungal spores or immature forms were in some part of the new mix. While it's true that most fungi are not harmful, and some are absolutely essential to the functioning of healthy plant ecosystems, many years of experience with potted plants that live exclusively indoors have shown that the appearance of mushrooms is a warning that the plant soil may be a bit too wet. Most potted foliage plants, false aralia among them, like their soil to aerate more between watering than really suits mushrooms. Since you've had this plant for 3 years, obviously you know how to water it correctly, so I would expect the mushrooms to disappear in short order

Hey :)

Thanks for the extra replies! I suspect it's not as impressive as you'd expect, purpleinopp.. We moved house in April & the poor thing dropped all its leaves in response, so I've given it a pretty severe pruning since then. I was a bit nervous about doing it, but it's showing some nice new growth, so I think I made the right decision. I'm not sure how old it is overall.. That was a pretty close up picture above, the trunk is currently just under an inch thick. It was probably around 16" tall when I got it originally. I'll grab a pic for you shortly. :)

The pictured mushrooms are indeed dying off now - as you said, Al, they didn't last long at all! Pretty sure I'm not overwatering, & I've also used the same potting mix for several other houseplants & there are no mushrooms in any of them! So it's a bit of a mystery, but the false aralia seems happy, so I'm not worried. Thanks folks! :)

Here ye go purpleinopp! x

Nice trunk, and lots of growing nodes! Hope you enjoy it well for many more years.