Mushroom Quandry

Mushrooms are something that we indoor gardeners sometimes have to deal with. 

 I found this in one of my houseplants last week...

Mushrooms in potted plants can be tough to get rid of, so I thought I would share a few tips with you!

1. Remove the caps. 

By removing that caps as soon as possible, you are removing their method of spreading spores. This will hinder mushroom growth in that pot, as well as keep spores from traveling to other pots. 

2. Soil Patrol. 

You can do one of two things: scrape the top two inches of soil off and replace it, or you can remove the soil completely and start with fresh stuff. 

3. Fungicide Drench.

Thoroughly drenching the soil with a fungicide can help eliminate mushrooms, though it isn't guaranteed. If all the fungus isn't killed, the mushrooms will be back.

4. Change conditions.

Mushrooms thrive in moist, humid, and warm conditions. If you can moderate the amount of humidity, water, and warmth your plants get, it can help reduce and/or eliminate mushrooms. Unfortunately, houseplants do much better in humid, warm conditions, so changing the conditions would be the least recommended plan of attack. You don't want stressed houseplants! Stressed houseplant lead to a lot bigger problems! 

5. Lastly... If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! 

Some people will just let the mushrooms grow- even adding little fairy garden ornaments and such to create a whimsical forest garden.

When I found the mushrooms, I scraped some soil off, replaced it with new, and did a fungicide drench. Hopefully that will take care of the problem!