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greengreen_ds

my kalanchoe.. yellow fungus?

greengreen
15 years ago

i've had an indoor potted kalanchoe for years, it doesn't flower (although a rehabbed/re-potted bit of it has in my mother's care)i believe, because it had a rough life for a while. since i moved it to the pacific northwest from downstate new york it has grown so much fuller & looks healthier than ever (still no flowers, but i don't really mind).

so i went away for a couple of weeks, during which time my roommate was watering my plants. a few days after i returned i saw lots of "strong" yellow smelly fungus(?) on the soil & up against the base of the plant. i panicked and started scoping the stuff of and throwing it down the garbage disposal. it smelled fungusy (as in, like mushrooms)and i think some of it was sort of cylindrical shaped like it was growing upwards, tower-like. it seemed as though it appeared overnight, although perhaps my international jet-lag of the days prior made me not as perceptive as i'd otherwise be.

i wanted to immediately re-pot it but i didn't have any fresh potting soil & i don't know what kind to use anyway.

i removed it from the pot (which itself was a bad idea bc it has no proper drainage holes, just rocks on the bottom) loosened some of the soil & put it literally leaning in a large empty container outside to air/dry out in the sun. what should i do? i'm thinking my roommate over-watered it, not realizing that it has to be watered less for being a succulent and in such a drain-inefficient situation. do i need to tease all the soil away from the roots & replant it? can i just replant it now that it has dried out-- it's not looking so good leaves are yellowing-- shock maybe...

sorry to go on & on, i wanted to give as much information/detail as i could. i read about 'slime mold' or slime fungus.. some pple said it was harmless. is that what it was?

any insight would be very much appreciated.

thanks.

Comments (4)

  • dufflebag2002
    15 years ago

    I'm sorry I have never seen a yellow fungus, it may be I'm in the wrong location for the spores. We have black and white fungus. We do have yellow toadstools, however, if you mean that kind of fungus.? You could put the soil mix in the micro wave for 5 min. and reuse it, this could have been in your mix especially if you have peat in that soil.
    Give it more air circulation, and give it a pot with good drainage. Don't allow water to stand in the bottom of a dish. Those three things may help it out. Use a fan in the room. Let it dry out between waterings. I don't know where you live. What side of the Rockies. Norma

  • keithinhawaii
    15 years ago

    I have this fungus in the potted plants on my lanai. I had it in my house plants in the San Francisco Bay Area. See the article noted here.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month for February 2002

  • ltecato
    15 years ago

    Yeah, I've had that exact thing in my potted plants at various times and places for years. Matter of fact I just found it today in a terracotta planter I'm growing Haworthia and Crassula in. I'm glad to hear it doesn't harm the plants, but it probably indicates that I need to move that planter to a drier spot.

  • antm0
    15 years ago

    what i would do to be on the safe side is change up your soil mix a little to something a little more coarse maybe, and if you repot it, dont put into a pot that is alot bigger then the one it is in now. At the nursery here, yellowing of leaves on our kalanchoes means too much water. That sucker will also bloom for ya if you put a dose of food into it every once in awhile, and let it dry out completely between waterings, we found that, that kind of stress helps it set flower clusters, oh and make sure it gets plenty of light. In phoenix ours went out of bloom, so we put it in a shade house with 70% shade cloth, watered when completely dry and fed em as well, a month and a half later they started to form clusters of buds. I would say when you re-plant that you dont disturb the roots too much, if you do, you will promote rot of the broken exposed roots (not saying you will for sure get that) but thats the major thing that kills succulents when repotting, so be gentle. Another thing, rocks at the bottom of a pot is probably not the best thing either. I would go to your local nursery and see if they sell a formulated cactus mix, this should allow quick drainage, and the soil shouldn't stay too wet between waterings, it will also cancel the need to put rock on the bottom of pots which just hinders drainage. Google around for different soil recipes.. i mentioned in another post here that with my succulents, i use pumice, coir, and sand (not play sand). I hope that babbling helped somewhat :\