Help, Fungus I cant get rid of

17 years ago

Ok, I have a large Brugmansia in a large pot that has developed a yellow fungus that sprouts little yellow mushroom heads since we brought it indoors for winter. From what I've read on the internet (though i know that the fungus i have may not be what I was reading about) this is a fairly common problem that won't harm the plant much. However, the Fungal smell is heavy in our house and my wife and I are ready to get rid of it. I've tried Neem oil, a low solution of botanical soap and water and simply scraping off the dirt but to no affect. If there is an easy way to kill this smelly mess then I have not found it. I did mention it to my local Nursery but the guy took the opportunity to expound at length only proving that he had a Bontany degree and not really offering a solution. Help form any expearanced someone would be greatly appreciated. thank you.

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Comments (7)

jean001
17 years ago
The fungus is growing on the organic portion of the potting mix. It won't damage your plant in any way.

If the fungal smell is coming from the fungus, remove and discard the fungus.

Beyond that, what sort of "fungus" is it? A toadstool/mushroom, or what?
greattigerdane
17 years ago
Fungus, mold and mushrooms grow because the soil is staying too wet indoors, no breeze to help dry the plant out.

Try digging out more soil down near the top part of the root-ball, getting more of the spores out that keep growing because of the wet conditions. Add back dry soil and keep the plant dryer.
I have also heard that "Tinactin" for foot problems works well in killing moldy soil! Never tried it, but have read that it works well!
Not sure how much to use, maybe someone will know.

I wonder if a small bowl or two of vinegar placed on the soil, or at least close by will help with the smell, it helps in absorbing paint fumes after painting a room!
It might be worth a try until you get the problem taken care of.

Billy Rae
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I figure I could add something years later since other people added comments a year later. I moved into a rental house in Boulder, CO that had very well done perennial beds around the time this original post was written. It's been neglected for 7 or 8 years or so, especially the last 3 years. I can tell from Google maps the last year the lambs really took out for the rest of the beds and even the yard. I've been digging, pulling and now have covered an entire bed with clear plastic to kill the seeds before I'll consider planting there. The roots have formed an impenetrable mass and are sometimes thicker than my thumb. They have smaller roots finding them all together. I think if I were building a prairie Sod house I would be thrilled to find these. I'm constantly facing masses of sprouts and churning them over with hopes of killing most of them. We live in a Bee Safe neighborhood, and I don't think Round Up would have helped much anyway. I put an ad on craigslist and I've had many people haul garbage bags of plants away but eventually I got tired of answering the text-I think I had probably 50 people take A wavering amounts of these plants. I've never had them spread before but I stay on top of them, possibly since I use them in flower arrangements or pull them out as soon as they stray out of their designated area. I've discovered I now despise them and I don't think I'll ever let them grow again. I see them downwind from our yard and I'm tempted to go pull them now to spare them future agony- especially since it's likely the seeds came from here in the first place.
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silphion
Original Author
17 years ago
Whahahahahaha!!!!

I did it! Trying a freeky ill-advised strategy, I got rid of this pesky indoor fungus. The Answer: Coffee!

I have a heathy interest in mycology and thanks to that foundation it was in my mind that A: changing the overall PH of the soil is not somthing most mushrooms appreciate; and B: Adding extra Nirogen might also have an effect.

dispite these two quasi-scientific thoughts the deciding factor was one of smell. What could I use that would both mask the smell of putrid fungus and also do no damage to the plant? Coffee.

The result has been amazing. In less than a week an examination of the soil benieth the very light layer of used coffee grounds showed absolutly no mycelium...NONE! Ive since mixed the grounds into the top layer so it looks pretty again and there has been no regrowth. I hope many people get to see this post because I can't imagine an easier solution to this problem. ~Hurray and Wahoo !
eddy_rae
17 years ago
Thanks for the info. I was confronted by a neon yellow batch of mushrooms in two of my house plants this week so I am going to try the coffee grounds (and drying out the soil a little).
maxthedogruff
16 years ago
this was great as I have had the same problem with a large plant(not sure of its name) and was concerned my plant would die. I've had it for 5 years and it got so tall I had to repot it and figuered I was over watering and thats when the yellow mushroom shaped growths started appearing. glad to know I dont need to change the soil, will keep the plant dryer and I cant wait to try the coffee grounds. Thanks
User
16 years ago
Don't know abt the mushrooms or the coffee, I would have suggested applying Cinnamon to the soil. Turns out it's an excellent antifungal, have learned this from orchid growers, & have dusted orchid roots w/ it myself when I had no other fungicide.

I've also heard of the Tinactin cure, but I'm more likely to have Cinnamon than Tinactin in my home.

Glad you found the remedy!!
aleshia_bonilla_gmail_com
12 years ago
Thanks! I just saw these in my house plant along with a lot of little flies. I was able to get right of the flies last time by letting the plant really dry out, but I hate doing that to plant. I'm definitely going to try this and maybe I'll add a little cinnamon too!

Help, Fungus I cant get rid of

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