How To Get Rid Of White Plant Mold

Are you seeing white dots on your plants? It may appear as a white powder mark or a white fluffy or fuzzy mark. If so, you're likely looking at mold. It can appear anywhere on your plants but often is the most obvious on the leaves. It may also be on the top of your soil as well. Either way, it needs to go.

Step 1

Remove any dead or fallen leaves and debris from around your plant. If the soil has white mold on it then scoop away a thin layer of the soil to remove the bulk of that mold. Allow the top of the soil to dry as much as possible before watering again. Sprinkle a little baking soda on top of the soil. Baking soda is a natural an anti-fungal and will help prevent more mold growth. Keep the soil clean by removing rotting leaves off the soil as well.

Step 2

If the white mold is powdery then it is dormant. If the white mold is fluffy or fuzzy then it is active mold. If the mold is active you'll want to keep it away from other plants, moving it outside is best.

Mix up a batch of baking soda and water. I used a ratio of 1 tablespoon of baking soda to 1 gallon of water. Adding in 1 teaspoon of oil and 1 teaspoon of castile soap to that gallon of water is optional. The oil and soap are supposed to better help the baking soda spread around the plant.

Spray your plant one time per week until the mold is gone. I sprayed mine down pretty good, to the point where it is dripping all over. I repeated that weekly for about 3 weeks and the mold was completely gone after a month.

This treatment should work well on active (fuzzy) mold. If you have dormant (powdery) mold then cutting away the affected leaves may be the only solution.

Step 3

Like many mold issues, a damp and shady environment is often the cause. In my case, my outdoor plant which is often in the shade has been fine for years. This past year was very rainy and damp and likely causes my issue. For many, simply over watering their plant could be the cause for the mold growth.

Avoid overwatering your plants by making sure the top of your soil is dry before you water. At certain times of the year the drying times make take longer than other times. You're better off checking the soil than sticking to a strict watering schedule.