Mold on top of sphag

[whalloper]

Hi again,

In some of my pots with bark, I put a layer of sphag on top to keep the top roots moist when necessary. Sometimes nasty musty smelling moss grows on the sphag. If I change the moss is there something simple I can spray on the moss to prevent that from happening again? I have physan, but is there something less intense I can use?

[Dorchid]

That's interesting, I have done the same thing but I haven't gotten mold on the sphag yet. I've been hearing that cinnamon is the miracle cure for fungus. Have you tried that?

[rcb]

Are you sure it is mold? I would be very surprised if it is. If it is moss or algae, it won't hurt anything, and the best way to prevent it is to not use the spag. If you look at pics of plants grown with spag, it is almost always green, unless it is very freshly potted, or the grower is a significant user of Physan type chemicals.

You could also try a weak bleach solution, but when I do use it, I rinse very well afterwards to soak out the bleach. I use a 2% as supplied in water.

As for the cinnamon, as it is a dessicant, wouldn't it kind of defeat the purpose of having the spag there?

[Dorchid]

"As for the cinnamon, as it is a dessicant, wouldn't it kind of defeat the purpose of having the spag there?"

Yea, I guess I didn't think of that. What about better air movement? That might dry out the moss also, but if mold is growing, it's obviously too wet, right? If it smells musty then it's probably mold and not algae.

[kmarch]

Can I get come clarification on something? Your post is titled Mold on top of sphag but in your post you say:

Originally Posted by whalloper

Sometimes nasty musty smelling moss grows on the sphag.

So is your concern about moss or mold?

If moss, just replace the moss with fresh.

If mold, you can just spray it with a fungicide. Sometimes shortly after repotting I'll get what I call a mold or fungus "bloom" where suddenly, practically over night I'll have a little colony of mushrooms or a layer of white mold over the top of the fresh mix. It doesn't happen very often but when it does, one spray with a good fungicide usually gets rid of it.

[tangers40]

i'm wondering if it's not algae too. i get some pretty good algae growth on the top of my tiny plants in sphag (as well as in my regular clear pots too). from what i understand, this is fairly normal and doesn't hurt the plant.

[Ray]

As for the cinnamon, as it is a dessicant, wouldn't it kind of defeat the purpose of having the spag there?

Actually, no.

Cinnamon will cause living tissue it is in contact with to appear to "dry up", but it it not truly a desiccant. A desiccant, by definition, absorbs moisture, but tissues in contact with cinnamon do not lose their moisture to it, they react to the chemicals to "scar over", if you will.