Plant Mildew

12/13/2024 (Permalink)

If you start noticing a white powder on the leaves of your houseplants in your home in Fayette County, you might be dealing with plant mildew. Mildew is a specific type of mold that only grows on plants, and it can severely weaken and even kill them.

Some factors that cause mildew growth include: 

• Poor airflow around the plant 
• Excess humidity  
• An already weak plant

Removing Mildew  If you notice that one of your plants has mildew on it, here are some steps to take to get rid of it.

1. Take your plant outside and wash it with the heaviest spray it can reasonably take to remove the built-up mildew.

2. Cut away as many of the mildew areas as possible to protect the rest of your plant. This will not only keep it from spreading to the rest of it, but it will also allow more air circulation, which will help keep the leaves drier.

3. If you need to, you can purchase a plant-friendly mildewcide to kill off the rest of the plant mildew. Just make sure you do your research so that you know it's appropriate for your particular plant. This is especially important if they're edible, since you don't want to ingest any toxic chemicals.

4. Help your plant continue to fight off mildew by preventing the humidity that causes the mildew growth in the first place. You can do this by placing your plant in a sunny area, removing any dead leaves or weeds around the base of it, and watering around the base of it instead of on the leaves.

Mildew vs. Mold People often refer to the mold in bathrooms as mildew, but this isn't technically true. Mildew only grows on plants, so if you see something growing in other places in your home, it's a different type of mold.

Call a mold remediation company to clean up these areas and prevent it from spreading elsewhere. While plant mildew can be devastating to your plants, it doesn't have to be. Just follow these steps to remove and prevent it.

Tracie "Dusty" Nichols