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?


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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