Have you ever wonder why mushroom growing in succulent pot? If so, this article is for you. However, many people may find it shocking to spot mushrooms growing in succulent pots.
If you are a succulent enthusiast and constantly go through situations like these, you are at the right page as I am going to give you an insight on this subject.
Mushroom growing in succulent pot. Why?
Mushrooms may grow in succulent pots due to several causes. For example, the excess watering, fertility of soil are some of the reasons which would be in favor of mushrooms to develop in succulent pots.
Having said that, if you spot mushrooms growing in succulent pots, it is not a thing which you need to panic about. That is simply because it will not create any adverse impact on the plants or contribute to the health deterioration of the plants.
Where do the mushrooms come from?
As aforesaid if there are spores remaining in the soil, it would contribute to the growth of the mushrooms. This would be the root cause for the growth of the mushrooms in the pots.
To elaborate further on this, if there are mushroom spores which are floating around the plant’s chances are that some of them may end up landing on the soil.
This occurring could take place at any time anywhere. For instance, spores could reach the succulent soil when they are in the nursery where they are growing.
Furthermore, they may also tend to reach the plants when you transport them. Additionally, they can also end up landing on the succulent soil when they are in the garden center where you purchase them too.
Secondly, consider that you have grown the succulents in a rich soil mix, then those conditions will be quite favorable for the succulents to grow.
Once there is a rich potting mix, it would be quite easy for the germination to take place. On another note, Mushrooms don’t prefer to grow in Miracle Gro soil.
So, if you want to avoid them growing in the succulent pots, you may consider making use of them.
Last but not least, excess watering is one more reason which would help the mushrooms to grow freely in the succulent pots. Having said that, it would further help for mold to develop also.
So, if you are someone completely new to succulent gardening, it would be quite useful to be aware of these factors so that you will not have to go through these.
Are they harmful?
Mushrooms are not harmful. Generally, a mushroom type called Leucopcoprinus birnbaumii would tend to occupy the succulents’ pots quite a lot and they are not harmful.
If I briefly explain the appearance of those, they would be pale yellow in color. Furthermore, they would usually emerge with gills on the underside of the cap.
Fortunately, they would not damage your plants as they would only depend on the decaying matter. In other words, they would fulfill their nutrients requirements from the decaying material only. They would usually combat with fungus Gnats and not with the plants.
That said, these mushrooms would be somewhat annoying as they can multiple at a rapid pace by releasing spores.
So, if you happen to see one mushroom at first chances are that you may see them in multiple numbers as they progress.
However, if you have grown the succulents in a more temperate climate, they will not be able to reproduce at the same rate they do when they grow in their natural habitats.
If you were wondering whether mushrooms could be toxic for you, no they are not toxic given that you don’t consume and ingest them. The floating spores would not result in health risks for you.
How to get rid of mushrooms growing in a succulent pot?
Getting rid of the mushrooms in succulent pots is not an easy task. This would be quite a difficult task if you specially live in a warmer place where there will be quite a lot of spores hanging around the air.
However, what I recommend you do is to simply pick the mushrooms or just let them be as they are since they would not harm your precious plants.
Watering
Keep in mind that if you had practiced the right way of watering the plants at first, it is very unlikely that you will have to go through conditions like these.
So, to get rid of them you need to immediately reduce the number of times you water them. Don’t get confused as you should not reduce the watering amount.
Instead, you need to reduce the watering frequency. I propose that you apply water for them once every ten days when they are actively growing.
However, you may have to change this depending on various factors such as the plant’s size, weather, pot size and so on.
Use fungicide
Besides, you may come across a wide array of commercial fungicides in the market which you can use for this purpose.
When you use it, ensure that you thoroughly soak the soil in it. However, when you practice this method, you need to wisely select the right fungicide unless it may badly affect the beneficial fungi on the plants.
However, if you had watered them precisely and provided them with a good soil mix it is very unlikely that you will have to deal with these. You may consider going ahead with this option if you do not wish to transplant them.
There are so many options which you can use to ensure that you select the right one for your plants and then adhere to the labeled instructions before you use them.
However, in general context, you may have to water the plants with water and then make use of them.
Keep in mind that some fungicides could be harmful for the insects. So be mindful when you apply them specially on the plants which are grown outdoors.
Soil condition
I suggest using a gritty soil in the succulent pots. If you are growing succulents for a long time, you may be already aware of how important it is to use a gritty soil mix.
In fact, watering the plants precisely and providing a right soil mix goes hand in hand. If you use a soil mix which comprises too much organic material , they will tend to retain more moisture and lead to health deterioration of the plants.
Ultimately , mushrooms would also find it favorable for them and they would end up developing on the soil mix.
As such I urge you to use a soil mix which consists of organic material such as perlite or turface so that it would be beneficial for the plant’s healthy growth. Additionally, it would create less potential for the mushrooms to occur also.
Repot
The most successful way of getting rid of the mushrooms in the succulent pots is transplanting them in a fresh soil mix.
Unless you may just remove the top layer of the soil also. However, repotting the plants is not a major task to do and many people opt to do this method.
Furthermore, when you transplant the plants, you need to ensure that you wash the pots thoroughly by using hot and soapy water.
You can be tactful in adding a drop of bleach so that it would guarantee that there are no remaining spores in the succulent pots.
In addition to that you may consider sterilizing the soil mix also so that it would kill the fungus or any other remaining pests in the soil mix.
Many people prefer to spread the plants on a baking sheet and place them in the oven at a temperature of 250 degrees for about a quarter hour.
If you use commercially made soil mix ,chances are that they may contain a bit of mycelia. Hence sterilizing the soil mix and then using it is the ideal thing to do.
Pull it away
Best thing is to pluck the mushrooms at the very moment you spot them. Once you remove the caps, that literally means you are taking off the source of the spores.
That way you can slow the growth of the mushrooms. In addition to that you could conside changing the growth conditions around the plants.
For example, if the humidity level , temperature around the plants is low, that will help to decrease the number of mushrooms which may develop.
That said, the conditions which suit well for the succulents also fit in for the mushrooms as well.
Conclusion
Before wrapping this up, I hope this article gives you a wider knowledge on what mushrooms could do to your succulent pots, the modes of getting rid of them etc. I hope you will find this information useful for your gardening purposes.
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