"Jonno" wrote in message
u...
FlowerGirl wrote:
"Cynthia" wrote in message
...

When transplanting some pot plants I've noticed that there is a fluffy

white

fungus type of material on the decomposing matter in the soil. The
plants

If the material was mushroom compost its quite likely leftover mushroom
spores.

i had white threads in my veggie patch for about a month after i put
mushroom compost in it, so this is definitely possible !! it freaked me out
for a while, but it seems to have gone away by now.

otoh, for o.p., it could just be crappy potting mix with unrotted organic
material in it that's going mouldy. it seems increasingly difficult to get
nice potting mix these days & i don't know why that is. i suspect it's
partly the fad for putting in so much bark chips & less nice loamy stuff,
but also i've had a few with gobs of gunk(?!) in there that just weren't
rotted down yet, as though the manufacturers have simply lost patience with
making it properly. the mix i bought recently seems better (to my ignorant
and evidently old-fashioned eyes :-).
kylie


It could also be too alkaline?
That causes deficiencies in the soil and could cause the symptoms you
write of....
Also there could have been too much artificial (liquid) fertiliser added,
which shows up as salts on the surface mainly.
Plunging the pots into water can remove some the excess. And is also a
quick way of reviving dried out plants....
A soil test kit for testing alkaline or acidity would be part of the
answer. Otherwise repotting the plants in known quality mix would solve
the problem, usually.
If theyre annuals I would get the good stuff in future...