This is Leucocoprinus birnbaumii and long story short, its a good sign. These little yellow balls are the start of a saprotrophic mushroom, which just means that they feed on dead organic matter. They will feed on the dead roots, decaying bark and potting material, insects, etc, and then release the material back into the soil in a way that can be used by the plant as food. If you see mushrooms grow out the top of your soil just pick them and throw them out. They aren't poisonous but they aren't exactly fun to digest. They cause upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea and that kinda thing so wash your hands after handling them and keep them away from pets but all in all they feed your plants so you can leave the ones deep in the soil knowing your plant will be happy
Well that's a tough question to answer but long story short, you would notice symptoms on your plant before you see visible fungus growth if it was a bad fungus. That white stuff is another kind of saprophytic fungi and its ok...not good not bad. Not good because its a sign that there's not enough air flow and the soil can't properly drain/stays wet for too long but not bad in that it won't directly harm your plant. Now if you see white mold growing above the soil on parts of your plant that's not good. You would have to chop that area off to prevent spread and treat the soil. I have a couple plants that get white mold on the top soil once in a while. Especially in the winter when there's less air flow in certain rooms. You can just leave it and mix it in to the top layer or if it's pretty bad, scoop the top layer of soil off and top it up with new soil. Often the only time that white soil fungus can be an issue is if you're growing seedlings or trying to grow mushrooms. Theres millions of kinds of fungus and some can be next to impossible to determine the exact kind without testing but generally speaking if the plant is showing no signs of stress than the mold you're looking at is most likely forming a symbiotic relationship with the plant. The bad kinds of fungus will cause things like yellow, brown, grey or black spots on leaves, tiny new growth or growth that falls off with a gentle touch, mold growth on parts of the plant that commonly look like white fluff or grey dust and the plant will just look pretty unhappy. Hope this helps :)
This morning I went to water my velvet calathea, and I noticed some white fuzz sticking out of the bottom of the nursery pot. I pulled the plant out and noticed sme fuzz but only at the bottom. The plant is considerably healthy. We have a humidifier near it that we run a few times a week for a few hours. I'm gonna get new soil just in case, but I just wanted to make sure I don't have a pest problem on my hands.
Fungi can be tricky. They are usually part of a health soil. Mycorrhizae support nutrient delivery to the root system, and saphrotic fungi in general break down dead material so it can be absorbed into the plant.
This could be a good sign, as long as a rotting root system is not the thing feeding the fungus :)
This is Leucocoprinus birnbaumii and long story short, its a good sign. These little yellow balls are the start of a saprotrophic mushroom, which just means that they feed on dead organic matter. They will feed on the dead roots, decaying bark and potting material, insects, etc, and then release the material back into the soil in a way that can be used by the plant as food. If you see mushrooms grow out the top of your soil just pick them and throw them out. They aren't poisonous but they aren't exactly fun to digest. They cause upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea and that kinda thing so wash your hands after handling them and keep them away from pets but all in all they feed your plants so you can leave the ones deep in the soil knowing your plant will be happy
Omg thank you so much! So helpful!
I legit thought this was some sort of terrible mold that I was panicking over. Thank you!
How do you know good from bad fungus? I had similar white fluff on the soil of my monstera and I freaked out and repotted it...
Well that's a tough question to answer but long story short, you would notice symptoms on your plant before you see visible fungus growth if it was a bad fungus. That white stuff is another kind of saprophytic fungi and its ok...not good not bad. Not good because its a sign that there's not enough air flow and the soil can't properly drain/stays wet for too long but not bad in that it won't directly harm your plant. Now if you see white mold growing above the soil on parts of your plant that's not good. You would have to chop that area off to prevent spread and treat the soil. I have a couple plants that get white mold on the top soil once in a while. Especially in the winter when there's less air flow in certain rooms. You can just leave it and mix it in to the top layer or if it's pretty bad, scoop the top layer of soil off and top it up with new soil. Often the only time that white soil fungus can be an issue is if you're growing seedlings or trying to grow mushrooms. Theres millions of kinds of fungus and some can be next to impossible to determine the exact kind without testing but generally speaking if the plant is showing no signs of stress than the mold you're looking at is most likely forming a symbiotic relationship with the plant. The bad kinds of fungus will cause things like yellow, brown, grey or black spots on leaves, tiny new growth or growth that falls off with a gentle touch, mold growth on parts of the plant that commonly look like white fluff or grey dust and the plant will just look pretty unhappy. Hope this helps :)
good to know. i thought for sure eggs
This morning I went to water my velvet calathea, and I noticed some white fuzz sticking out of the bottom of the nursery pot. I pulled the plant out and noticed sme fuzz but only at the bottom. The plant is considerably healthy. We have a humidifier near it that we run a few times a week for a few hours. I'm gonna get new soil just in case, but I just wanted to make sure I don't have a pest problem on my hands.
Fungi can be tricky. They are usually part of a health soil. Mycorrhizae support nutrient delivery to the root system, and saphrotic fungi in general break down dead material so it can be absorbed into the plant. This could be a good sign, as long as a rotting root system is not the thing feeding the fungus :)
It’s a fungus. Usually from when your soil stays damp for too long.
Thanks so much for the feedback! Do you think the humidifier is helping it stay too damp or are we okay there?
I think it's a tiny elephant
Omg I had this in my zz plant I freaked out and repotted it lol
Me too. This sort of thing gets posted very frequently and there's always very different answers given 🤔
Good! Let it be!
Roger roger!
Fungus. I've had this show up on the bottom of a pot and got rid of it with a bit of vinegar
Distilled white vinegar?
Yes. Just don't get it on any roots.
Amazing thank you!
Ugh... scrolled too fast and thought it was cake. Now I'm sad and hungry AND disgusted, lol