Root Fungus Illustrated

[farmer d]

I thought it would be useful to show a pic of what really bad root fungus looks like.  This is root rot on my Melon Melange.  You can see the main root is just falling apart along with some others.

Major root pruning and changing out of the soil today (2nd time for soil) and I will add a fungicide as well in hopes of saving this plant.  The leaves tell the story.





Farmer D

[helixturnhelix]

I'm sorry to see you had a plant succumb to root fungus.  There's not too much you can do at this point, possibly rinsing out all the soil and soaking the roots ball in a 10 percent bleach bath for 5 min, then rinsing with fresh running water and potting up in a semi serile potting mix of 50/50 peat and perlite.  Then just keeping it warm and see what happens. 

Living in the PNW fungus was a real concern in the winter so I found watering only when completely dry and using epsoma salts (which is high in potassium, magnesium and sulfur) help protect and give disease resistance to my plants.  Also inoculating your plants with beneficial fungi, mycorhizzae, not only will outcompete the pathogenic types but also increase the surface area of your plants roots and ability to absorb nutrients.  Unfortunately synthetic fertilizers kill off these fungi, so you need to use organic fertilizers to use these fungi.  I inoculated my potted plants a few weeks ago (I haven't done it before because I was using synthetic fertilizers) and have seen a positive change in the growth of my plants.   

[Darkhorse]

Chris, where do you get the mycorhizzae, and what's the dosage?

[helixturnhelix]

Hey Jordan,

Usually you can find them at more specialized garden centers.  The dosage varies based on the product, but it iwll be marked on packaging.  There is a nice liquid type made by fox farms, called microbe brew, which has both mycorhizae and beneficial microbes!

[LJG]

In regards to mycorhizae, you also need to use RO or other water that does not have chlorine - which most city water has. This is especially true with plants in pots.

[Charlie]

One product that a number of hibiscus enthusiasts use and recommend is named Actinovate. It's reasonably priced and might do some good for those interested in this approach. Here's a link to it http://www.actinovate.com/

Charlie

[mphquicksilver]

The cheapest place I found was on ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACTINOVATE-Lawn-Garden-Organic-Fungicide-OMRI-2oz-pack-/230687602105?pt=Fertilizer_Soil_Amendments&hash=item35b60d75b9#ht_2235wt_907