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bigshoes213

mold and mushy blooms

bigshoes213
16 years ago

I can not seem to get rid of mold. It forms on the top of the dirt all around my amaryllis. One day there is none then the next it is covered. How do I get rid of it and how do I prevent it from coming back. I live in zone 7 and my amaryllis plants are inside. I try to let the dirt dry out a little before each time I water. Also my red lion just bloomed but the flower only lasted about 24 hours then died but the bloom instead of drying became kinda mushy. What am I doing wrong. Any help would be great. I am new to amaryllis plants and have about 6 of them right now. Thanks

Comments (7)

  • soultan
    16 years ago

    Try almost let the soil dry out between waterings, not just a little, and only water from below. That should help with the mold problem. Though I have no idea of the mushy blooms. I have never experienced it myself.

  • hopflower
    16 years ago

    There are many home recipes for getting rid of moulds on top soils. Usually it is caused by too much moisture and not enough air movement. You can try scraping the top bit off shallowly and carefully; and then replacing it with fresh soil. Let the pot almost dry out before you water again as well. I am sure some others on here have some more tips for you.

  • jodik_gw
    16 years ago

    I would say your plants need better air circulation and to dry out more in between waterings... a moisture meter would be a really good investment... I bought a really nice one that gives me moisture, light, fertilizer and PH amounts, so I can correct for anything lacking or the opposite. It was about $24 from eBay... but I think you can find them at your local garden center or most large retail stores that handle garden supplies. A meter that only takes moisture readings would be less expensive.

    Good luck with your bulbs!

  • soultan
    16 years ago

    I just had an experience with Angelique turning to mushy when I bought it in the house. It was originally outside in the garden center. So could it happen to your Red Lion that it gets open air for the day, then when you bring it in, it just collapses because of the extra heat inside? Just a guess. Like you leave the window open during the day and close it for night and turn on the heat...
    And I agree. The mushy blooms do not look pretty attractive.

  • salpal
    16 years ago

    Hi big shoes! It sounds to me like maybe you have some bad soil going on. Perhaps it's retaining too much moisture. I agree with hopflower and jodik and personally would take off the soil that you have whether things have bloomed or not (being nice and gentle to those roots) and replace with something with a faster drainage. I really like the "pine bark fine" based soils that "Al" recommends on the container gardening forum. Alot of the people here use coir which I have no experience with but they seem to like it and get good results. Either way mold sounds like moisture to me, and would explain mushy collapse. Also if/when you repot (I would) Give it a break on the water and be very careful not to overwater in the future. I hope your amaryllis recover!

  • bigshoes213
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks so much for your responses. I scraped the mold off the top layer of soil and am resisting watering them so often. I hope that works. Also I am planning on adding either some of the coir or the bark to my soil. I am currently using the miracle gro soil (green and yellow bag) at least if my memory serves me right that is the name. It works fine with my plants outside but I think I may mix up my own soil mix for in the future and see how that works out. I have become abit obsessive on my amaryllis plants. This is my first year growing them and I believe I have bought one everytime I have gone to the store. =0) But thanks again for your imput everyone.

  • soultan
    16 years ago

    Miracle Gro should work well with amarylli. I use the same. It retains water well, and it dries out between one to two weeks, so you should not water your bulbs more often than weekly or once every two week. You can also just lift the pot and if it feels like you are only lifting the bulb, the soil has dried out. Don't be afraid with amaryllis bulbs to almost completely dry them out between waterings. They like semi-dry soil.

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