HELP! Webby white patches on soil in new brugmansia pots

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lonibones Takoma Park, MD Jun 06, 2008

I just bought 2 brugmansias and I potted them up in 7 gallon pots. I used Walmart's Perfect soil mix (pink bag) and added my own miracle grow moist mix as well as some peat moss and a little vermiculite, mainly to cut the yucky pooey smell of the perfect mix. There were tiny flies flying up from the bag and I thought maybe these are mold gnats but I can't find any gnats in the sticky mold/fungus things on my soil. The patches are 1/2 to 1.5 inch patches, roundish, sticky, covering the soil in pot and just a couple patches in the other. Also the tiny new leaves that were coming up have turned brown and just drop off if I touch them. The big ones look fine.

Has anyone heard of a mold or fungus like this? What can I do? Can I mix better soil with this stuff? Is it too moist? Would soap or sulfur powder work? I can't really afford another 14 gallons of soil. Can I repot the brugs safely? Any help is welcome. Sorry I don't have pics right now.

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trioadastra Woodbury, MN(Zone 4a) Jun 07, 2008

I've never heard of that type of fungus, but I would recommend captan. Not sure how well it would work on established molds, but It is a great fungicide.

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Jun 07, 2008

I'd repot it in new potting mix. The yucky pooey smell you mention is something that you should not be smelling in a container mix. I'd get something like Miracle Gro or Scotts or Promix, then shake/rinse off as much of the icky Walmart soil as you can from the roots, and put it into the fresh potting mix. And even if it weren't for the smell, if the Walmart stuff has soil in it then it's really meant for garden beds not containers, you need to use only soil-less potting mix for containers, garden soil is too heavy and will retain too much water and cause problems like what you're seeing. I know you said you can't afford another 14 gal of soil, but you really need to get it in potting mix or else you've got a much better chance you're going to kill the plants.

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lonibones Takoma Park, MD Jun 07, 2008

Thanks for both messages. I didn't realize that potting soil was soil-less. It did have dirt and lots of big or sharp chips of wood and sticks too. I'll look for pro mix and the antifungal.

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