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Peace Lily's

themanfromvolantisthemanfromvolantis Posts: 44
in Problem solving
Some time last year i posted under a different ID....it was quicker to start a new one than find my log in for the old one. Sorry. 

This was the post. 

https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1012815/peace-lily-in-bad-shape

In the end i split the peace lily into 4

This is the fate of each one ...


1 Got overwatered and is now in another room drying out


2 Hasn't done anything much but the room where they all were is quite cold due to an ASHP being just outside. Below....



3 I will come back to. As it's the one troubling me most. 

4 Got sent to Coventry. Literally, to my Auntie Pat's. 

So then....number 3

I split the peace lily into 4. The main plant plus 3 satelites. Peace lily 3 is what remains of the main plant. 

Like peace lily 2, it didn't really grow but didn't die either. 

Then... a few weeks ago i noticed some mushrooms growing underneath the leaves. 

I didn't know what to do. Any thoughts? 

I recently removed as many as i could. Photos attached. 

Can anyone identify what they are? 

I also noticed that some of the leaves appreared shiny, possibly wet looking, despite me having cut back on the watering to discourage the mushrooms. 

There was also some cobweby hairs, indicating spider mites maybe. 

See what you think. Thanks. 



There are no mushrooms on the other 2 peace lilys. 

Posts

  • themanfromvolantisthemanfromvolantis Posts: 44
    Anybody? 

    I've downloaded some mushroom Id apps but they aren't very good. 

    My Dad has a book about mushroons but there are literally thousands in there and a good 40% of them look a bit like these. 
  • AndyDeanAndyDean Posts: 157
    Don't know what the mushrooms are, but I wouldn't worry about them if your plant looks healthy, which that does to me. You could knock off the fruiting bodies before they have a chance to release spores though.

    That white stuff does look like salt to me, although hard to tell. Wipe the leaf with a damp cloth.

    I think the white stuff on the soil is fungal.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Is that wet looking leaf sticky?  Those white things look like insects. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • InglezinhoInglezinho Posts: 568
    Peace lily is not so easy in England. It is from S America remember. It likes very warm, humid conditions, but burns easily in strong sun. Let the rich compost dry out between waterings.

    Never use mushroom compost for anything.
    Everyone likes butterflies. Nobody likes caterpillars.
  • madpenguinmadpenguin Posts: 2,543
    I have never had any luck with Peace Lilies (tried several times!).
    My daughter however must have just the right conditions.It sits on the kitchen island quite some distance from the window.The kitchen though is quite light and steamy when cooking taking place.Looks lovely and healthy and flowers well.

    I on the other hand resorted to an artificial one  >:) and have had many compliments on how healthy it looks and asked how do I get it to flower!!

    “Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
  • AuntyRachAuntyRach Posts: 5,291
    These are notoriously difficult to get the watering just right. I use a mist-spray (they like humidity) and water the soil infrequently. It makes sense that fungi/mushrooms will thrive in damp and dark conditions letting the soil dry out a bit plus some circulating air should help. The white fluffs and web may be spider mites - but they usually like warm and dry! Try wiping the leaves or putting outside to have a blast from a hose (not too powerful!) and replacing the soil. They all look pretty good though. 
    My garden and I live in South Wales. 
  • themanfromvolantisthemanfromvolantis Posts: 44
    Thanks guys. The plot thickens. 

    Before i continue, i should mention that this peace lily had been doing well up until 2018. 

    It is at least 9 years old, maybe more than 11 even and has faced a number of obstacles in it's like.

    It first appeared in my life sometime between 2008 and 2010. We moved offices in both those years. While at the office, it was over-watered,  underwatered, given cold coffee etc etc and was on it's last legs. 

    I declared to the team that i was going to take it to my mum to save it. 

    Which she did. Some months later i got the peace lily back looking really good. I didn't know where to put the plant and in my lazy ignorance i thought "plant like the sunshine". So i put it outside in a nice sunny spot. 

    I know. I know. 

    Obviously it nearly died. 

    I read up about peace lilies and put it somewhere more suitable. It did so well that i decided not to return it to work but to keep it. 

    So there you go. 

    Back to the present day....

    I saw again what i thought were things moving in the "soil" in the pot..

    I zoomed in with my phone and they appeared to be microscopic maggots. 

    Fortunately i have a microscope. This is what they are: 







    Yikes ! 

    Now then. I have looked and i believe they are fungus gnat larvae. Does anyone agree/disagree? 

    So....what do i do? 

    The peace lilies are now in the shed. 
  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    The easiest thing to do with fungus gnats is to let the soil dry out between waterings. Don't water the plant until it's really drooping and then water from underneath by standing it in a bucket of water. Don't let the surface of the soil get wet. If you see adult flies around kill them and use the sticky traps if you can. Give the plant a feed so it can keep making roots to deal with any larvae damage and it should be fine.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • AndyDeanAndyDean Posts: 157
    I get fungus gnats every now and then, grow lots of seedlings on the windowsill as well as houseplants. I have a sundew which I move around to near wherever I see a lot of little flies and it seems to clear them up!
  • themanfromvolantisthemanfromvolantis Posts: 44
    Thanks both. 

    Just looked up what a sundew is. I had never heard of them. It reminded me that i have this in the greenhouse...



    So i have brought it into the house. It's only a little one but after surviving winter in the greenhouse of doom, i'm hoping for good things from it this year. And it it feasts upon fungus knats then....even better. 
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