This plant grows quite well, but why the white colour appears on the pot?
How to remove it?

Markjump wrote:
This plant grows quite well, but why the white colour appears on the
pot?
How to remove it?


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
Filename: WhiteColour.jpg |
Download:
http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=15820|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

It is dissolved salts that have gone through the porous pot and then dried
out. This could be from fertiliser or from the soil in the pot or both.
You can sit the pot in a tub of water and scrub it with a stiff brush. OTOH
you can use non porous pots or just put up with it.

David

On 9/5/13 5:24 PM, David Hare-Scott wrote:
Markjump wrote:
This plant grows quite well, but why the white colour appears on the
pot?
How to remove it?


+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
Filename: WhiteColour.jpg |
Download:
http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=15820|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+

It is dissolved salts that have gone through the porous pot and then dried
out. This could be from fertiliser or from the soil in the pot or both.
You can sit the pot in a tub of water and scrub it with a stiff brush. OTOH
you can use non porous pots or just put up with it.

David


This mineral deposit can also be from the water used to irrigate the
plant.

I leave it alone until I am ready to reuse the pot (e.g., potting a
rooted cutting from the plant that was previously in the pot). Then I
take a wire brush to clean away most of the mineral.

Actually, I think light mineral deposits add character to the pot. And
in the brick path from the public sidewalk to my front door, I really
like seeing bricks with different amounts of minerals.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Thanks a lot for above two responses.

Yes, it is perhaps the case: the water is very hard and has full of high mineral content....that will be OK if there is no harm for people living with me.

However, why David E. Ross loves bricks with different amounts of minerals? Are you an artist? Can you find anything beautifull from the picture I attached?

On 9/6/13 7:08 AM, Markjump wrote:

Thanks a lot for above two responses.

Yes, it is perhaps the case: the water is very hard and has full of
high mineral content....that will be OK if there is no harm for people
living with me.

However, why David E. Ross loves bricks with different amounts of
minerals? Are you an artist? Can you find anything beautifull from the
picture I attached?


No, I'm not an artist.

The flower pot in the photo looks okay. It appears that the plant is
well established and not newly planted. The pot also looks unique, not
like a million other pots fresh from the nursery.

When reusing an old pot, I do remove the mineral crusts that form on it.
Leaves resting on those crusts are sometimes damaged by the minerals.
In my area, the crusts can also be too salty for many plants. But I do
leave the stains left behind when the crusts are removed.

If the stains bother you, try wiping them with a rag soaked with vinegar.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

Thanks a lot for your helps, I will try to use vinegar but I need to buy a bottle of vinegar

On Friday, September 6, 2013 7:49:43 PM UTC-7, Markjump wrote:
'David E. Ross[_2_ Wrote:

;990488']On 9/6/13 7:08 AM, Markjump wrote:-



Thanks a lot for above two responses.



Yes, it is perhaps the case: the water is very hard and has full of

high mineral content....that will be OK if there is no harm for people

living with me.



However, why David E. Ross loves bricks with different amounts of

minerals? Are you an artist? Can you find anything beautifull from the

picture I attached?

-



No, I'm not an artist.



The flower pot in the photo looks okay. It appears that the plant is

well established and not newly planted. The pot also looks unique, not

like a million other pots fresh from the nursery.



When reusing an old pot, I do remove the mineral crusts that form on

it.

Leaves resting on those crusts are sometimes damaged by the minerals.

In my area, the crusts can also be too salty for many plants. But I do

leave the stains left behind when the crusts are removed.



If the stains bother you, try wiping them with a rag soaked with

vinegar.



--

David E. Ross

Climate: California Mediterranean, see

'My Climate' (http://tinyurl.com/4xkcb64)

Gardening diary at 'David Ross's Garden Diary -- Current'

(http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary)



Thanks a lot for your helps, I will try to use vinegar but I need to buy

a bottle of vinegar

You actually don't NEED vinegar (a weak acid) but can scrub off the white stuff with a kitchen abrasive pad.

However, if you DO get vinegar, allow me to pass on an unrelated usage: I have a terrible habit of forgetting small tools, like [secaturs - Brit talk] [pruning shears - US talk] after working in the garden. So they are out in the dew, get rusty; eventuallyI find them.

I fill a tall glass with vinegar and leave the wounded tool (opened) maybe overnight. Easy to clean off next day and oil. And swear to never again..

HB

Markjump

Higgs Boson wrote:

I have a terrible habit of forgetting small tools, like [secaturs - Brit talk] [pruning shears - US talk]
after working in the garden. So they are out in the dew, get rusty; eventually I find them.

If I ever forgot small tools I can kiss them goodbye, just try
searching several acres. I carry small tools in a contractor's
bucket... I've been using one of these for many years, just grab it
from my shed whenever I do gardening chores:
http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/p...eSearchResults
Another good way to store small tools in a garden is in a rural
mailbox.

I fill a tall glass with vinegar and leave the wounded tool (opened) maybe overnight. Easy to clean off
next day and oil. And swear to never again.

Removing rust with acid pits the steel, you'd do better removing the
rust with fine emery cloth. However they do make stainless steel
pruning tools:
http://www.amazon.com/Florian-Tools-.../dp/B001PB3H3K