Expert: Christopher Littrell - 12/3/2008

Question
Hi Chris,

I have recently received a Red leaf dew thread sundew but I have been experiencing some problems with mold. This mold is not the typical white and fuzzy mold which I usually can get rid of with Sulfur based fungicides or Neem. It comes up as small wart looking structures and has an orange/ brown color to it and color to its base has some white. It has gotten to the base of the plants and seems to be growing on the shoots of my sundew. I tried applying a layer of sulfur fungicide and neem oil on the surface of the medium as well at the base of the plant but I am no seeing any real results that the fungus/ mold is receding. Would you perhaps know what this fungus or mold is? I know it is not slime mold as it does not exhibit any of the characteristics that slime mold has. I have also tried google-ing for the last couple days with no results or hints as to what this fungus is. I dont have any bright windows either that I could place the sundew by to kill spores as Indiana is quite cold right now and the temperatures are much colder by my windows and they are North facing.

Thanks for your help!

Yann R

Answer
Hello Yann,

I know the culprit well as your description matches the yellow fungus that grew around my seedling Sarracenias a while back. I used Neem oil directly on the fungus and that kept it at bay barely, killing some of it. There are a couple things to do to rid yourself of this deadly nuisance. I resorted to steaming my soil mix in a plastic bowl in the microwave. It will take a while to cool down enough to touch, but will be sterilized of mold and bacteria (and gnat larvae). Next, try your best to get some UV light on the plant while it is dormant. You might have to go to an exotic reptile section of your local pet store to get a UV light to place over the plant over winter to kill off some fungus. Any open air flow will help as well to blow fungus spores off your plant. I have a ceiling fan, that seems to help.

Repot the plant into sterilized soil mix and try removing the fungus physically if possible (even removing the infected leaves if needed). Treat the infected area with fungicides as you have been doing as per the instructions on the bottle. Getting that UV light going will help as well.

Good luck with that fungus as it is hard to get rid of once it gets on your plants.

Christopher