Here's a tip that got rid of ALL my fungus gnats ,as I own over 155 plants lol. 1st week water with Honey water (anti-fungal, anti-bacterial,) The 2nd week water with peroxide water. 3rd week plain water. Repeat until gnats all disappear. (Bottom watering only) I did this twice. You're welcome haha
Terracotta pots are made to be porous so when you water your plants you can submerge the pot half way and leave it sit until the pot changes color. This will take a few minutes. Once it has soaked and become saturated, let the excess water drain off and place in it's tray. Doing this will help the plant need less frequent watering. It also allows for thorough saturation of the soil as well.
The terra cotta is NOT the problem, its the dissolved mineral salts that leach out of the hard water and the liquid fertilizers & solidify on the porous clay. That white haze that coats the outside of your clay pots are those dissolved minerals salts. Then everytime your plant is watered the roots get burned when they are subjected to sitting in damp soil as some of the concentrated salts re-dissolve back into the soil. When the pot starts getting the whitish haze its time to knock it out of the pot, set the plant and root ball aside, take a stiff plastic bristle brush to the terra cotta pot to dry-scrub as much of the haze off as you can. Then rinse any dust off under running water. Then place it in a clean 5 gallon bucket with fresh warm water. I let it soak overnight if you can. Rinse off again and then repot the plant with fresh potting mix.
I actually love terracota pots and keep all my plants in them. I feel like it's easier to not overwater with them - however, I do live in a naturally humid environment, meaning stuff dries out slower anyways
Terracotta is fine. It's actually amazing for some plants. A few just simply need greater watering care. You simply have to know your plants and know your watering habits. If you typically underwater, you definitely shouldn't use red clay for anything except succulent plants. If you typically over water, there are many water sensitive plants that will benefit from clay. It also depends upon your environment, as dry climates exacerbate under watering issues and wet climates exacerbate over watering issues.
I was thinking the same thing. I am just starting to replace my plastic pots with terracotta pots and saucers. I only have snake plants. They seem to like their new pots. :)
I so appreciate the info! I’m a succulent lover and have most of mine in Terra cotta. I’ve seen that chalky coating but had no idea what it was. Thank you so much for the advice! I put my philodendron birkin in terracotta (moved from a plastic pot) and it’s health improved a lot. I just have to water more frequently. I think I’m going to repot my ficus teneke in terracotta. Her leaves look terrible, brown edges, mushy spots.
The way I managed to get rid of gnats is by bottom watering my plants. If top watering, I used dry soil on top right after watering to prevent gnats from hatching or being attracted to my plant 👌🏼
Terracotta pots being porous also gets more oxygen to the roots, works the same in eggs, oxygen can get trough the eggshell and the babies inside do not suffocate. Which is good for avoiding root-rot. That's also why you need to water it more often, i guess.
Terracotta pots are good for plants that like to dry out between watering. My snake plants and some orchids do very well in these. It might be worth mentioning I live in a relatively cool wet area of the country (pacific northwest), and I cannot, ever, ever, keep my orchids in sphagnum because of related issues with being too wet, too long.
All advice needs to be taken within the context of where we're growing. Lots of normally very good advice doesn't necessarily work in our part of the world!
I've seen great results fighting fungus gnats with neem oil. I just put some neem oil into a spray bottle, mix it with water and spray my plants, both foliage and soil, every time I water them. I'm being consistent and there's very few gnats I'm seeing this year as opposed to this time last year
I thought about using Neem oil, but I read on a site (don't remember the name) that Neem oil kills the good bacteria in the soil. I decided not to use it just in case. I have been growing plant since I was a teen now in my 60s, never had fungus gnats. I researched found lots of stuff and started. First cinnamon in my tote of soil and sprinkled on top of soil on all plants, second, mosquito bits every 3 days sprinkle some in every pot then use a fork to stir into the soil about 1 to 2 inches down, third apples cider vinegar mix in little cups around the house forth, the yellow sticky traps taped to my windows or on shelves but not in planters ( they attract the gnats so lead them away). I am having great success and have them down to minimum in just 4 weeks. Hope this helps.
Thanks for this video! This could take years to learn…I’ve been gardening over 50 years, I know! However, just moved from cold Minnesota,USA to Florida. Learning all over again! But these hints are helpful no matter where you are.
I definitely agree with you about the darn terra cotta pots!! I had 3 Christmas cacti- 2 of them in terra cotta and one in a plastic pot. The one in the plastic pot was thriving and the other 2 looked like they were ready to meet their maker. I repotted them in plastic and they perked back up. No more terra cotta here no matter how cheap and pretty it is!
For the Terracotta pot situation I just keep the reservoir full of water for my monstera and pink princess. Since the pot is so porous it acts the same way in reverse! Keeping the pot hydrated keeps the plant happy and raises the local humidity. Both of my plants in these guys are thriving
@@SheffieldMadePlants Yes! I use the saucer as a reservoir. Using your bottom watering technique, I found that as long as water is in the saucer the terracotta absorbs majority of it and doesn't cause root rot for a more aroid centric potting media. As long as the terracotta is hydrated it doesn't suck all the moisture out of the soil. This has even allowed some moss to spontaneously pop up in my pink princess and begin to thrive. I also put worm castings in ala planterina and I believe that acts as a constant source of nutrients for my plant as well. So Its almost like a mcguivered self watering pot. I love your channel and learn a lot from it! Can't wait to see what you post next!
Hi, this confuses me because I thought monstera's prefer a dryer soil. Doesn't keeping terracotta pots in the saucer full of water keep the soil moist? I don't understand how this does not lead to root rot, when the soil will continue to suck in water from the saucer. Could you explain further?
I did the same thing. I will never order plants during winter. They had heat packs but one of these leaves looked like it was dying. I think maybe the soil didn't have enough aeration. I bought 2 geoganthus plants on Etsy and it died. Luckily, my local Lowes had the same plant and I bought a new one. My 2 year old calathea pinstrip also died this year and seeing it in the video made me sad lol. I always used rainwater for it but I moved it and maybe it got made at me.
I have to disagree with the sweeping statement that terra cotta pots are bad for plants. They do allow them to dry out faster, but that isn't always a bad thing. I live in Louisiana where it's humid and rains nearly every day in the summer, and terra cotta pots are absolutely essential because they allow them to dry out. No matter how many drain holes you drill in plastic pots it is almost impossible to keep patio plants from getting root rot due to staying soggy all the time. It also depends on factors like what type of soil you are using and what type of plant you're growing.
I have several rare Hoya species and they got infested with fungus gnats last year. I was mortified that they were dropping leaves since they're usually very resilient. Then i was introduced to something called "Lizetan" which has a pesticide that's absorbed by the roots so that anything feeding on the leaves or eating the roots unalives itself. Since then I've yet to see another one of these flying around!
@@SheffieldMadePlants Neither did I! It's made by Bayer and I think mostly sold/used in Germany. I use the pellet kind that you just shove in to the soil where it dissolves over time. Even my garden roses have been mostly aphid free this summer 👌 Sidenote; it also claims to be safe for pollinators - though some studies show that it may interfere with their coordination. I only use it for indoor plants and my roses since the bees don't find them all that interesting.
For the fungus gnats, there's an amazing product called gnatrol wdg. It's become difficult to get though. I've not looked into why that's the case, but it tends to only be available in bulk quantity. You can sometimes find it in smaller quantities if you search around. I used to have a horrible fungus gnat problem, and after using gnatrol wdg it's been years since I've seen one.
For fungus gnats, just get some sundews. They are some of the most interesting houseplants and they really do the job. They might not destroy every single gnat, but the issue will be controlled. Plus it's a free fertiliser for the plant!
@@SheffieldMadePlants The main issue with sundews is that if you bottom-water them, it should be only with reverse osmosis/distilled/rain water. They are extremely sensitive to water hardness. Top-watering washes out the salts anyway, provided you flush the water from the saucer after draining. And the substrate should be acidic peat. Otherwise they are very easy.
As always, great video! And entertaining too! 😂 I’ll be glazing my terra cotta! That makes sense. My picky pin stripe Calathea is looking great, but down to 2 leaves. The stress coat wasn’t helping it in a porcelain pot. I actually had switched to a smaller terra cotta. I’ve been watering it w/ distilled water only about every 5 days. Regarding fungus gnats, after trying everything for 4 yrs, it seemed like adding H2O2 to watering helped as well as the clear sticky strips I add to my plants. Harris brand. I trim them to 1” strips. I use the yellow sheets too & trim those down. Saves a little $ to buy them in sheet form.
…once the gnats stopped, I stopped adding H2O2 to watering. I didn’t want to throw off the fertilizer, etc. I also keep those tennis racket looking bug zappers around now. I’m addicted & now own 3, just for everyday bugs getting in. My teens are making fun of me for buying too many zappers. 😂
I have gotten really good at catching small fliers by hand and mooshing them. A thought, arent there nematodes that you can apply to your plants, that will eat the pests in the soil? I know there are specific ones that eat the pests i had, worked wonders.
Glad your Philos have started to bounce back! Give them a pole and they'll take off! I got a machine that sucks the bugs into a sticky trap! Highly reccomend! Way better than the yellow stickies bc the light attracts them and the fan sucks them in ☺️ For terracotta I only put Cactus in there, but I'll do the plastic nursery pots and put the plastic into the terracotta, especially if you can find the ones without drainage!
I notice that whenever I buy soil from big box stores, the two blue ones, I always end up with fungus gnats... the only things that's rid of them completely is the sevin-5 dust/powder... it works like a charm
Hello @SheffieldMadePlants.! I feel there is more nuaces than just black or white in some of your points. The problem you got from having plants ship during cold weather season is caused by Pethium or Phytophtora, which are like you mentionned caused by cold, but not just plain cold. These diseases apear mostly on Aracea family and are caused by fast drop in temperature and very high moisture (condensation) in the packaging. You are very perseverant to try saving these and most of the time when this happens it's in the compost pile they go. Usualy we need to change soil with very porous and chunky texture of soil to bring back the plants, increase overall heat and controll too high relative moisture for a while. Fungus gnats can be dealth with easely by using yellow sticky trap (like you shown) and one of two very light sprays on the soil of product containing permithrin or Peritrin and BUTOXYDE PIPERONYLE. For terra cotta pots, all you need to consider is always the right pot in the right soil for the right plant. You need to amend you mix to accomdate the fact that terra cotta pots dry faster but on the other hand bread more and thats very good for the roots. For water have you ever considered that the aquarium aditive your adding is also changeing your water PH and alkalinity? I have maintaned plants (over 30 year) in cities where there is chlorine added to water and this was never the concern on long run but PH and alkalinity of city water eventualy changing the soil PH and salt content (mainly calcium). Bugs in compost... There is more good ones than bad ones unless you freakout on any bugs. Having plants indoor means having some of the nature inside and bugs do come with it!
Right now I'm experimenting with onions in my flower garden.... Cutting them up to try to keep the cats out... I'm also soaking cut onions in rain water to pour over plants that I don't think look healthy enough..... It's my little experiment...
Terracotta is wonderful for mature cattleyas alliance plants in a quick draining medium. My Cattleya trianae has been in the same pot for several years.
The most satisfying way to deal with plant problems is getting more plants. Especially plants that eat the problem. No more fungus gnats in my tea since I strategically placed a few sundews here and there 😊
Dechlorinator or water conditioner only tackles the chlorine and chloromines in your water, not your heavy metals. If you live in an old house run your tap water until cold, this will remove the stagnant water that has been sitting in your pipes and gathering metals from your pipes.
I teach in a discord about aquariums and plants. Fun fact, chlorine naturally gasses off after 24 hours in an open container and those conditioners don’t remove the metals, just let your water sit for 24 hours. And more than likely you will be right.
@@SheffieldMadePlants I don’t think a lot of water distributors here in Florida use chloramine. That sucks, and I didn’t think it was that common. It makes a lot of sense for the conditioner for that then. But it still doesn’t remove the metals. And if you can collect rain water, nature’s best water right there. 😂 well water probably my second favorite. If you ever do the video again, I’d point out the difference, but it doesn’t hurt. Just adds more expense to new people to the hobby to those who may not need it. That said, I may need to adjust how I tell people how I do things. Since it may not apply.... love how these hobbies are so interchangeable on tips and tricks. Makes it easy to jump from on to another. 😂
Great info thank you! I love terracotta, but I can see how the indoor ones aren't helping. What about for outdoor (esp since we live in a humid/rainy environment [Htx] ; I don't want root rot). Was looking to use them for olla watering for my outdoor beds til I can get a system in. The heat is brutal!
Here is a tip for flying gnats...... I have a small collection of vintage bug lights. You know, the kind you use outside. They are very small, and can actually double as a nightlight. It attracts the bugs and no pesticides are necessary. Think about it...... why do they fly in your face while watching TV ? The light !
The yellow sticky cards are mostly for monitoring for the presence of pests or for measuring their populations, they're not really meant to be used to control them (though they might make a dent in smaller collections). Predatory nematodes are wayyyy better at controlling fungus gnats imo than mosquito dunks. You can usually kill them off with one application as long as you keep the soil moist as they'll persist in the soil unless they dry out.
I only use terracotta for some cacti. My bunnyear cacti is in a very warm spot, in a terracotta, i hardly water it, and it is thriving. It is literally my happiest plant, constantly growing new ears. I think putting it into terracotta helped a lot because its soil is almost dry even after watering. So I agree that you should be careful with terracotta, but for plants that likes dry environments it is great.
When cleaning out fish tanks, as in once a year when you change water and rocks and rearrange plants?. Use that water for your plants...... I also use the anti chlorine liquid for fish tanks and I add it to my water before I water my plants.
Water conditioner interesting. I thought I was the only one that had problems with terra cotta pots, I only have a few left but those plants seem happy, I never had any luck with those self watering pots either.
Thank you for all the guidance on plants that you're providing, your honest way of doing it and the encouragement you have given me by making plant care so easy!! Thank you so much 👍🙏
Gnats: You need to do 3 things at the same time. 1. Let the top 1/2 to 1 inch dry out. When you water, use 3% hydrogen Peroxide in a 50/50 mix with water. Water the plants well. It will kills the eggs and larvae but not hurt the plants. 2. Remove the top 1/2 to 1 inch of soil and replace with small gravel like in an aquarium. Gnats can't lay eggs in that. Once problem is over, remove gravel and top up with fresh soil. 3.Set up a fruit fly/gnat trap near the plants. Mix some apple cider vinegar with water and a couple of drops of liquid dish soap. Cover the container with cling wrap and poke a few small holes in. The ACV attracts the gnats and the dishsop prevents them being able to escape the surface of the water. They drown. Also, treat all drains in your home as the gnats can live in those as well. Repeat in 2-3 weeks and again 2-3 weeks after that. It should take care of all of them.
You don't want to work with dry perlite. You should wet it first. The dust is similar to asbestos dust and you don't want to be breathing it in. But once stratified in soil its safe. In other words its not dangerous to use perlite for your houseplants.
I find that clay pots are good for pelargoniums (often known as "geraniums"), as they are semi-succulent and prefer the dryer side than being too wet or damp conditions. Obviously other plants do better in plastic pots but my collection of pelargoniums love them.
Avoiding over watering and using plenty of _ceylon_ cinnamon on the surface of the soil decreases the growth of the fungus that the gnats thrive off of. It works very well for all my plants.
Ohh yes!!! I agree with what you said about the terracotta pots!!! They dry out so much faster and on top of that, they get those weird whitish yellow stuff on it! I thought it would be pretty and all, but now I want a refund 😢
I have 1 butterwort, 1 sundews and 1 pitcher plant and won the war against bugs lol. Sundews ate few hundreds. Buttterwort ate like 100s. Pitcher, I don''t really know. haha.
I use a house and garden insecticide spray and spray the top of the soil of each plant about once a year. I did just order some yellow stickies BC it's mosquito season and I can't be too prepared 🤣
Hey 👋. I've got a question. I'm looking into getting some more pots for some Aloe Vera pups I've recently separated. In the room their in the humidity regularly reads in the 50s% to the high 60s and occasionally low 70s. Should I still stick with terracotta in this case, or go with some plastic ones as long as they still have drainage holes?
For beginner plant lovers like me, get to know what type of soil you plants should be living in! Dumb me bought Aloe Vera and String of Pillows, only for them to die and I don't know why, but after a moment of realization and research, it was because I was using potting soil mix and NOT Cactus and Succulent Soil potting mix😭😭 there goes my money!
Meanwhile me, having a project of changing all of my 70 plants to terracotta 😏😏😏 Terracotta is more healthy for the plants since its more porous and the roots can breathe well. Im always afraid of overwatering, so yeah 😅 my choice.
@@SheffieldMadePlants What do you mean? Shouldn't do moss poles? Or moss poles shouldn't get fungus gnats? I was thinking that all of that moisture might produce fungus gnats.
I actually prefer terracotta for my cacti and succulents because I have had my succulents die in the past from root rot and I use terracotta to absorb extra water and they are thriving
To permanently get rid of fungus gnats, I'd wholeheartedly recommend nematodes! Last autumn, there came a point when there was approx. one fungus gnat flying around my face per every five minutes. After just *one* watering session with nematodes, the fungus gnat population has reduced so significantly that I've only seen maybe a couple this past month? Honestly still can't believe how quick and easy it was to get rid of this nuisance that had lasted for months prior 🪰
I bought a bunch of carnivorous plants and keep them peppered throughout my houseplants and they do a great job of hoovering up all the fungus gnats. One of my favorites, a Drosera binata, had over 170 gnat bodies on its leaves at one point. I still have fungus gnats but it's nothing like it used to be.
Me too, I have a pinguicula (butterwort) or a nepenthes on each of my orchid shelves (94 orchids) which have really taken care of the fungus gnat problems for the last two years. The only time I see any is when I've new plants in from an order and they are gone pretty quickly. What does not work are Venus fly traps as the gnats are just too fast for them.
I found where the carnivorous cool kids are hanging out! I love it. Yeah, the Sundews are awesome at nailing these pesky little buggers, though I do love pings and pitchers too.
I would LOVE to keep a few carnivorous plants, but I'm afraid that with living in Phoenix, I won't be able to keep the humidity high enough. I do have a humidifier in a room where most of my plants ate6, and even my calatheas are happy with that set up, but I'm just afraid it won't be enough.
I would have never thought of using water conditioner that I used for my fish tanks... in my plant water. Pretty genius. Thank you very much for all these tips!!
As long as you have freshwater fish, use any water from your tank after a water change or tank cleaning. That water is full of fish guano and traces of composted food the fish missed. and is great fertilize. If there were any harmful chemicals in the water, your fish would have already let you know. Just don't use water from a salt water tank.
- If you continuously water with mosquito dunks, you should stop the larvae reaching adulthood, so eventually, when the existing adults die, no more problem. Fungus gnat life cycle is about 2 weeks, so 1 or 2 months watering cycle should be enough to cover all the eggs laid in the soil. - I love terracotta pots for cactus for the reason that they don't hold water. - Thanks for the water conditioner tip.
I've still had better luck with a 2-pronged attack of apple-cider-vinegar-water with a drop of soap, to catch the adults; combined with mosquito bits (or dunks if you prefer) to catch the larvae
On the fungus gnats, I’ve found that watering with diluted hydrogen peroxide even just once reduces them by at least 90%. Also, bottom watering helps a lot as it keeps the moisture down low, beneath where the eggs are laid, so the eggs just dry out and die. Finally, I find terra cotta pots are good not just for cacti but for almost anything other than ferns. Wicking water away is good, even if it means I’m watering once every four or five days instead of once every 7. That’s why we add all that perlite, after all. Terra cotta is rather like perlite all along the sides of the soil.
It's been a while I left a mosquito dunk in my watering can. Still have gnats. I only water with it. I even tried to make tea as suggested by someone. I've also been using neem oil, I noticed they disappeared for a while, but they always come back. I'm so annoyed with them that I'm finally considering getting rid of everything that I can't put in a kratky system. Hydrogen peroxide didn't do much either for me. I tried apple cider vinegar and red wine vinegar, they didn't even bother with it. I've killed some plants in the process trying to get rid of them, it's so frustrating.
I've been having issues with i think underwatering. I live in a sub-tropical climate and it's very hot here right now. Outside the plants are thriving, but I have some inside that aren't doing as well. Outside I notice some of the smaller plants will look sad so I will water them when I notice it, usually they get water every 3 or so days depending on how hot it is, and if it rained. My soil is straight sand, so the plants in the sand get watered more than the ones in the soil beds I have (2 of them). I feel like I should be watering more inside, as I only do once per week or so, but I notice the ones outside thriving much betteer then they get constant water. I've read so much how a "dry period" is good for some plants, but It seems like too dry is an issue. I also seem to have lost a plant that lis looking sad, as I thought it might have been overwatered since I watered a little more, but maybe it was actually underwatered, because it's been quite a while since then.
That is good advice in general, but it is important to qualify that it is more about the amount of water at once than about frequency. Many of my plants are much happier since I stopped slavishly following the general "wait until the top layer of the soil is dry and only water then" procedure for every plant. I still do it for the majority of them but quite a few actually enjoy being moist all the time, notably calatheas and the more exotic begonias, and consequently I water them a little every day instead of a lot once a week.
@@AlvinKazu straight up sand as soil is hardcore, typically when wet the sand will be very compact and the roots won’t be able to get enough air. Usually it’s not a good idea to use just sand for the substrate as it tends to lead to root rot. It’s probably a good idea to mix a small amount of sand with some soil and/or perlite as that’ll be much better drainage and will give your plants the necessary oxygen they need. Also, when your plant looks sad sometimes it’s a good idea to take it out of the pot to evaluate the problem. You can tell a lot just look at the root of the problem
As a fish-keeper, I HIGHLY recommend Seachem Prime as a water conditioner. You only need one mL per gallon, so you can put a single drop in your water bucket, swirl it around for a few seconds, and you’re good to go. It’s far, far cheaper than any other water conditioner. By comparison, API’s StressCoat+ needs 10 mL per gallon. It also contains additives that help replenish stressed fish’s slime coats. I’m not sure how plants would react to that.
Fungus gnats used to be a real problem for me. Not anymore. Not even one. I started using Systemic Houseplant Insect Control. It is a bottle of granules. I just sprinkle the appropriate amount on the top of the soil and then when i water it goes down in the soil. This works for other pests as well. It is miraculous. It lasts for about 3 months.
I can't agree enough! I bought a very expensive Ring of Fire in March online. It got hung up in the mail, and even though I bought a heat pack, it was severely cold stressed. I lost most of the leaves, all of the roots!! I was able to propagate it, and it's just getting its first leaf.
I agree 100% on the fungus gnats. Two years ago the larvae almost killed my peace lily. Last year in spring I bought Nematodes and yellow sticky traps. Since then I have only seen two or three gnats. Best choice I ever made. Now spring is in full swing and I see more of the little buggers again, so I ordered Nematodes again.
@@nunyabiznes33 the Nematodes do reproduce but in my case there were no fungus gnats in the winter so they starved. Nematodes are completely safe for humans and pets. You won't even notice them, even when handling the soil they live in
@@silviap4478 predatory nematodes sold in horticulture are safe for humans, you mean! There are nematodes that parasitize plants (e.g. root knot nematode) or humans (e.g. hookworm). Obviously you were talking about the predatory/horticultural ones but I just wanted to specify so people don't get the wrong idea.
I have almost one hundred plants in my living room, all of which are in terra cotta pots. They're doing great, and I only water once a week typically. Aside from plants that need pretty constant moisture, like ferns or peace lilies, pretty much anything can go in a terra cotta pot. In fact, the leaching of the water increases ambient humidity, which a lot of people struggle to maintain. It also helps prevent overwatering, especially with succulents and cacti. If your plants are drying out fast, you might consider your room temperature, amount of light your plants are getting, and your humidity level, all of which will affect how often you have to water your plants regardless of what pot you use.
Thank you for sharing your issues to help us not have the same problems. A lot of people only like to share their success. My new favourite plant channel 👏
Diatomaceous earth (food grade) works wonders. Finally got rid of the gnats completely after 2 years of fighting them using everything you mentioned in the video. Spread the diatomaceous earth on top of the potted soil and bottom water the plants. The top needs to stay dry. Gets rid of the larvae so they can’t grow into adults. Meanwhile use the yellow stickys until you no longer see the gnats flying around.
Time for me to see if the DE works after it’s been dried out after watering! I bought a big bag full and I don’t get many gnats on the sticky things. 🤔
Diatomaceous earth kills all the bugs! When the gnats land on it to lay their eggs, they get coated in it and die too. We lived in a roach infested apartment complex and we were the only ones who didn't have roaches after we got diatomaceous earth. The stuff is a godsend.
Please, please tell me that you have transferred your new awareness of the importance of pure water to yourself and your family. You may not currently be aware of the damage that toxic, chemicalized water most certainly doing to your body, but you one will. Please do not care more about the water you give your plants than water you give to your children and self!
@@SheffieldMadePlants I think it's more like not liking hot soil! Aside from the tropics, it's pretty rare for all available soil to be room-temp both day and night all year round. (For example, I found some figures for the avarage yearly soil temperature in Italy at 50 cm depth: mean 14.4 C, min 4.6 C, max 22.7 C. So even in relatively warm temperate areas, most of the soil only reaches room temp during the hottest summer months.)
Plants drying out too much in terra cotta? Skill issue and also an issue of buying the cheapest, worst, most porous terra cotta. You get what you pay for.
Terracotta pots should only be used for plants that come from hot and dry climates, like succulents and cactuses. Especially if you tend to over water. I’ve had my monstera deliciosa in terracotta too. Most houseplants will only do well in terracotta if you are happy to water them frequently.
You just helped me find the problem about my chinese money plant! Mine had the same dark parts too. I will water it less frequently now, thank you! When I started watching your videos I only had 3 plant. Now I have more than 40 and all of them are thriving!
I LOVE the glazing idea for terracotta pots. So awesome! ❤🎉 BTW I'm not the sharpest knife in the kitchen either - but we are cute. That makes up for it. 😂
Terra-cotta pots are helpful if the potting medium doesn’t drain well, and you tend to overwater. However, you are better off providing plant soil that drains well, and learning to water judiciously.
Thank you for the good and informative video (as always) 👍🏻 My experience with terracotta pots is pretty much the same as yours. I switched to some higher-quality plastic pots, that look somewhat better than the nursery pots. I haven't tried the coating tip for the terracotta pots yet, but I might give it a go, because like you say, they look nice and rustic (and I still have my empty terracotta pots in my basement storage room) I've used the water conditioner as you recommended for about two months now, and I can already see the difference on my more sensitive plants. That and the moisture meter are gamechangers for your indoor plants. Thank you for all the great tips and advice. I'm learning a lot from your videos, and/or getting my scatter brain memory refreshed about stuff I heard or read, but forgot about
I just regularly add new recruits to my Amblyseius army every once in a while, and keep a payer of sand on top of my pots. This has severely reduced the problem, and since the various types of amblyseius prey on different pests (I also have a thrips population to keep in check), I’ve found that rotating additions of various strains keeps my jungle happy and healthy in spite of the pests in the soil, and that hitchhike with new plants.
grow your plants in pon then you have fungus gnats. Terracotta are best to prevent fungus gnats in your compost. Never have plastic pots. Never have pots in vases. You do everything the hard way. your glazing the pots causes all your fungus gnats
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Here's a tip that got rid of ALL my fungus gnats ,as I own over 155 plants lol. 1st week water with Honey water (anti-fungal, anti-bacterial,) The 2nd week water with peroxide water. 3rd week plain water. Repeat until gnats all disappear. (Bottom watering only) I did this twice. You're welcome haha
@@Trini4th 😁
Could you make a video with tips for how to care for and make a: Dracaena fragrans thrive?
Terracotta pots are made to be porous so when you water your plants you can submerge the pot half way and leave it sit until the pot changes color. This will take a few minutes. Once it has soaked and become saturated, let the excess water drain off and place in it's tray. Doing this will help the plant need less frequent watering. It also allows for thorough saturation of the soil as well.
When you love Sheffield Plants channel so much that you search everyday until you see a new upload, and this one was two minutes ago - win!! Haha
😂😂 thanks!
I do this too daily ‼️😄😊👀👀👀
I set the notifications on so I never miss one. This is the only channel I follow that I allow notifications for
it's Tuesday or Wednesday and Saturday 😊
Yes! Isn't this guy the best?! I'm so much braver with chopping on my plants. I hope he never runs out of house plant tips!!
The terra cotta is NOT the problem, its the dissolved mineral salts that leach out of the hard water and the liquid fertilizers & solidify on the porous clay. That white haze that coats the outside of your clay pots are those dissolved minerals salts. Then everytime your plant is watered the roots get burned when they are subjected to sitting in damp soil as some of the concentrated salts re-dissolve back into the soil. When the pot starts getting the whitish haze its time to knock it out of the pot, set the plant and root ball aside, take a stiff plastic bristle brush to the terra cotta pot to dry-scrub as much of the haze off as you can. Then rinse any dust off under running water. Then place it in a clean 5 gallon bucket with fresh warm water. I let it soak overnight if you can. Rinse off again and then repot the plant with fresh potting mix.
Thank you! I guess I need a brush.
How would a white vinegar soak do? Do you think it would eat the terracotta?
I actually love terracota pots and keep all my plants in them. I feel like it's easier to not overwater with them - however, I do live in a naturally humid environment, meaning stuff dries out slower anyways
Definitely easier to not overwater 👍
I live in a really dry area and use only Tera cotta. I have had no issues.
Agree. I'm slowly replacing my plastic pots with terracotta except for my ferns. I tend to overwater so for me it works well.
I agree, terracotta is awesome. I don't mind having to water a bit more often.
yep, I'm an overwaterer and definitely prefer terracotta
Terracotta is fine. It's actually amazing for some plants. A few just simply need greater watering care. You simply have to know your plants and know your watering habits. If you typically underwater, you definitely shouldn't use red clay for anything except succulent plants. If you typically over water, there are many water sensitive plants that will benefit from clay. It also depends upon your environment, as dry climates exacerbate under watering issues and wet climates exacerbate over watering issues.
Yep good point. I often forget about my plants in clay pots so prob not great for me 😅
I was thinking the same thing. I am just starting to replace my plastic pots with terracotta pots and saucers. I only have snake plants. They seem to like their new pots. :)
I so appreciate the info! I’m a succulent lover and have most of mine in Terra cotta. I’ve seen that chalky coating but had no idea what it was. Thank you so much for the advice!
I put my philodendron birkin in terracotta (moved from a plastic pot) and it’s health improved a lot. I just have to water more frequently. I think I’m going to repot my ficus teneke in terracotta. Her leaves look terrible, brown edges, mushy spots.
I think I'd need terracotta pots the next time I attempt to grow rosemary again.
@@nunyabiznes33 this plant never survives winter in my garden 😬
The way I managed to get rid of gnats is by bottom watering my plants. If top watering, I used dry soil on top right after watering to prevent gnats from hatching or being attracted to my plant 👌🏼
Terracotta pots being porous also gets more oxygen to the roots, works the same in eggs, oxygen can get trough the eggshell and the babies inside do not suffocate. Which is good for avoiding root-rot. That's also why you need to water it more often, i guess.
Fair shout 👍😁
Terracotta pots are good for plants that like to dry out between watering. My snake plants and some orchids do very well in these. It might be worth mentioning I live in a relatively cool wet area of the country (pacific northwest), and I cannot, ever, ever, keep my orchids in sphagnum because of related issues with being too wet, too long.
💯
All advice needs to be taken within the context of where we're growing. Lots of normally very good advice doesn't necessarily work in our part of the world!
I've seen great results fighting fungus gnats with neem oil. I just put some neem oil into a spray bottle, mix it with water and spray my plants, both foliage and soil, every time I water them. I'm being consistent and there's very few gnats I'm seeing this year as opposed to this time last year
Thanks for sharing 👍
I thought about using Neem oil, but I read on a site (don't remember the name) that Neem oil kills the good bacteria in the soil. I decided not to use it just in case. I have been growing plant since I was a teen now in my 60s, never had fungus gnats. I researched found lots of stuff and started. First cinnamon in my tote of soil and sprinkled on top of soil on all plants, second, mosquito bits every 3 days sprinkle some in every pot then use a fork to stir into the soil about 1 to 2 inches down, third apples cider vinegar mix in little cups around the house forth, the yellow sticky traps taped to my windows or on shelves but not in planters ( they attract the gnats so lead them away). I am having great success and have them down to minimum in just 4 weeks. Hope this helps.
Thanks for this video! This could take years to learn…I’ve been gardening over 50 years, I know! However, just moved from cold Minnesota,USA to Florida. Learning all over again! But these hints are helpful no matter where you are.
Great stuff 👍 thanks
I definitely agree with you about the darn terra cotta pots!! I had 3 Christmas cacti- 2 of them in terra cotta and one in a plastic pot. The one in the plastic pot was thriving and the other 2 looked like they were ready to meet their maker. I repotted them in plastic and they perked back up. No more terra cotta here no matter how cheap and pretty it is!
Glazing is an option!
@@SheffieldMadePlants I never even thought of that until I saw you do it!! I'll have to glaze the ones I have so they can be reused.
For the Terracotta pot situation I just keep the reservoir full of water for my monstera and pink princess. Since the pot is so porous it acts the same way in reverse! Keeping the pot hydrated keeps the plant happy and raises the local humidity. Both of my plants in these guys are thriving
Do you mean the saucer?
@@SheffieldMadePlants Yes! I use the saucer as a reservoir. Using your bottom watering technique, I found that as long as water is in the saucer the terracotta absorbs majority of it and doesn't cause root rot for a more aroid centric potting media. As long as the terracotta is hydrated it doesn't suck all the moisture out of the soil. This has even allowed some moss to spontaneously pop up in my pink princess and begin to thrive. I also put worm castings in ala planterina and I believe that acts as a constant source of nutrients for my plant as well. So Its almost like a mcguivered self watering pot.
I love your channel and learn a lot from it! Can't wait to see what you post next!
@@captainlovebug thanks 😊
Hi, this confuses me because I thought monstera's prefer a dryer soil. Doesn't keeping terracotta pots in the saucer full of water keep the soil moist?
I don't understand how this does not lead to root rot, when the soil will continue to suck in water from the saucer. Could you explain further?
I did the same thing. I will never order plants during winter. They had heat packs but one of these leaves looked like it was dying. I think maybe the soil didn't have enough aeration. I bought 2 geoganthus plants on Etsy and it died. Luckily, my local Lowes had the same plant and I bought a new one. My 2 year old calathea pinstrip also died this year and seeing it in the video made me sad lol. I always used rainwater for it but I moved it and maybe it got made at me.
It’s always the Calathea behaving badly 😡
How much you love plants really comes through every video.
Glad it does 👍😁
I have to disagree with the sweeping statement that terra cotta pots are bad for plants. They do allow them to dry out faster, but that isn't always a bad thing. I live in Louisiana where it's humid and rains nearly every day in the summer, and terra cotta pots are absolutely essential because they allow them to dry out. No matter how many drain holes you drill in plastic pots it is almost impossible to keep patio plants from getting root rot due to staying soggy all the time. It also depends on factors like what type of soil you are using and what type of plant you're growing.
No problemo 👍
I have several rare Hoya species and they got infested with fungus gnats last year. I was mortified that they were dropping leaves since they're usually very resilient. Then i was introduced to something called "Lizetan" which has a pesticide that's absorbed by the roots so that anything feeding on the leaves or eating the roots unalives itself. Since then I've yet to see another one of these flying around!
Thanks for the tip. Never heard of that before
@@SheffieldMadePlants Neither did I! It's made by Bayer and I think mostly sold/used in Germany. I use the pellet kind that you just shove in to the soil where it dissolves over time. Even my garden roses have been mostly aphid free this summer 👌
Sidenote; it also claims to be safe for pollinators - though some studies show that it may interfere with their coordination. I only use it for indoor plants and my roses since the bees don't find them all that interesting.
For the fungus gnats, there's an amazing product called gnatrol wdg. It's become difficult to get though. I've not looked into why that's the case, but it tends to only be available in bulk quantity. You can sometimes find it in smaller quantities if you search around. I used to have a horrible fungus gnat problem, and after using gnatrol wdg it's been years since I've seen one.
Thanks for the tip 👍
For fungus gnats, just get some sundews. They are some of the most interesting houseplants and they really do the job. They might not destroy every single gnat, but the issue will be controlled. Plus it's a free fertiliser for the plant!
It's on the list to get
@@SheffieldMadePlants The main issue with sundews is that if you bottom-water them, it should be only with reverse osmosis/distilled/rain water. They are extremely sensitive to water hardness. Top-watering washes out the salts anyway, provided you flush the water from the saucer after draining. And the substrate should be acidic peat. Otherwise they are very easy.
@@dmitrimikrioukov5935 thanks for the heads up
As always, great video! And entertaining too! 😂 I’ll be glazing my terra cotta! That makes sense. My picky pin stripe Calathea is looking great, but down to 2 leaves. The stress coat wasn’t helping it in a porcelain pot. I actually had switched to a smaller terra cotta. I’ve been watering it w/ distilled water only about every 5 days. Regarding fungus gnats, after trying everything for 4 yrs, it seemed like adding H2O2 to watering helped as well as the clear sticky strips I add to my plants. Harris brand. I trim them to 1” strips. I use the yellow sheets too & trim those down. Saves a little $ to buy them in sheet form.
…once the gnats stopped, I stopped adding H2O2 to watering. I didn’t want to throw off the fertilizer, etc. I also keep those tennis racket looking bug zappers around now. I’m addicted & now own 3, just for everyday bugs getting in. My teens are making fun of me for buying too many zappers. 😂
Ooo I need me one of those 😁
I have gotten really good at catching small fliers by hand and mooshing them.
A thought, arent there nematodes that you can apply to your plants, that will eat the pests in the soil? I know there are specific ones that eat the pests i had, worked wonders.
Like mr miyagi? I’ve heard good things. I’d need a lot for all my plants so would end up being expensive
Glad your Philos have started to bounce back! Give them a pole and they'll take off!
I got a machine that sucks the bugs into a sticky trap! Highly reccomend! Way better than the yellow stickies bc the light attracts them and the fan sucks them in ☺️
For terracotta I only put Cactus in there, but I'll do the plastic nursery pots and put the plastic into the terracotta, especially if you can find the ones without drainage!
Could you provide a link to the machine you used? Thank you!
Thanks although the Melanochrysum keeps getting stuck new leaves. Does yours do that? What’s the machine called? I deffo need that
The machine is called a Katchy. I just got one today!
I notice that whenever I buy soil from big box stores, the two blue ones, I always end up with fungus gnats... the only things that's rid of them completely is the sevin-5 dust/powder... it works like a charm
You never know what’s in them I guess 😬
Thank you for your videos!! I've learned so much about taking care of my houseplants!
I'm so glad!
Hello @SheffieldMadePlants.! I feel there is more nuaces than just black or white in some of your points. The problem you got from having plants ship during cold weather season is caused by Pethium or Phytophtora, which are like you mentionned caused by cold, but not just plain cold. These diseases apear mostly on Aracea family and are caused by fast drop in temperature and very high moisture (condensation) in the packaging. You are very perseverant to try saving these and most of the time when this happens it's in the compost pile they go. Usualy we need to change soil with very porous and chunky texture of soil to bring back the plants, increase overall heat and controll too high relative moisture for a while.
Fungus gnats can be dealth with easely by using yellow sticky trap (like you shown) and one of two very light sprays on the soil of product containing permithrin or Peritrin and BUTOXYDE PIPERONYLE.
For terra cotta pots, all you need to consider is always the right pot in the right soil for the right plant. You need to amend you mix to accomdate the fact that terra cotta pots dry faster but on the other hand bread more and thats very good for the roots.
For water have you ever considered that the aquarium aditive your adding is also changeing your water PH and alkalinity? I have maintaned plants (over 30 year) in cities where there is chlorine added to water and this was never the concern on long run but PH and alkalinity of city water eventualy changing the soil PH and salt content (mainly calcium).
Bugs in compost... There is more good ones than bad ones unless you freakout on any bugs. Having plants indoor means having some of the nature inside and bugs do come with it!
I have considered the ph. The one I use doesn’t change the ph so all good
Love the water softener tip
👍
Right now I'm experimenting with onions in my flower garden.... Cutting them up to try to keep the cats out... I'm also soaking cut onions in rain water to pour over plants that I don't think look healthy enough..... It's my little experiment...
Let me know if it works
I personally use terracotta pots for succulents and cacti, to help avoid root rot
👍👍👍
Love terracotta pots... they're perfect for some of my plants!
Succulents and 🌵 I guess
Terracotta is wonderful for mature cattleyas alliance plants in a quick draining medium. My Cattleya trianae has been in the same pot for several years.
The most satisfying way to deal with plant problems is getting more plants. Especially plants that eat the problem. No more fungus gnats in my tea since I strategically placed a few sundews here and there 😊
Great tip 😁
Great!
Love the self deprecating humor!😊
😁 cheers!
I am using demetaneous earth for gnats. Amazing. And this is the only remedie that works
Lots of shouts outs for this 👍
Those terracotta pots are good for cactus and succulents.
I don’t seem to have problems with my terracotta pots 🤷🏼♀️🪴
But there’s some plants I don’t plant into them.
Yeah some plants really aren’t a fan
Dechlorinator or water conditioner only tackles the chlorine and chloromines in your water, not your heavy metals. If you live in an old house run your tap water until cold, this will remove the stagnant water that has been sitting in your pipes and gathering metals from your pipes.
Thanks
I teach in a discord about aquariums and plants. Fun fact, chlorine naturally gasses off after 24 hours in an open container and those conditioners don’t remove the metals, just let your water sit for 24 hours. And more than likely you will be right.
Another fun fact, most water companies now use chloramine which doesn’t gas off
@@SheffieldMadePlants I don’t think a lot of water distributors here in Florida use chloramine.
That sucks, and I didn’t think it was that common. It makes a lot of sense for the conditioner for that then. But it still doesn’t remove the metals. And if you can collect rain water, nature’s best water right there. 😂 well water probably my second favorite.
If you ever do the video again, I’d point out the difference, but it doesn’t hurt. Just adds more expense to new people to the hobby to those who may not need it. That said, I may need to adjust how I tell people how I do things. Since it may not apply.... love how these hobbies are so interchangeable on tips and tricks. Makes it easy to jump from on to another. 😂
Great info thank you! I love terracotta, but I can see how the indoor ones aren't helping. What about for outdoor (esp since we live in a humid/rainy environment [Htx] ; I don't want root rot). Was looking to use them for olla watering for my outdoor beds til I can get a system in. The heat is brutal!
Ollas are good in the garden 👍
AGREED that terra cotta pots are not good for house plants but they're wonderful or cacti.
👍👍👍
Here is a tip for flying gnats......
I have a small collection of vintage bug lights.
You know, the kind you use outside. They are very small, and can actually double as a nightlight.
It attracts the bugs and no pesticides are necessary.
Think about it...... why do they fly in your face while watching TV ?
The light !
Gnats tend to stay near the plant though
@@SheffieldMadePlants
No problem.
These are very small bug lights...... totally able to be placed next to the plant or problem area.
Dude I'm so glad I found your videos
Thank you 😊
The yellow sticky cards are mostly for monitoring for the presence of pests or for measuring their populations, they're not really meant to be used to control them (though they might make a dent in smaller collections).
Predatory nematodes are wayyyy better at controlling fungus gnats imo than mosquito dunks. You can usually kill them off with one application as long as you keep the soil moist as they'll persist in the soil unless they dry out.
I’ve heard lots of good things about them 👍
Get you some “Soil Tonic” from Mountain Organics Botanicals! It’ll help you battle the fungus gnats with much better luck!!
I only use terracotta for some cacti. My bunnyear cacti is in a very warm spot, in a terracotta, i hardly water it, and it is thriving. It is literally my happiest plant, constantly growing new ears. I think putting it into terracotta helped a lot because its soil is almost dry even after watering. So I agree that you should be careful with terracotta, but for plants that likes dry environments it is great.
Very true 👍
I had a knat infestion. I used organic neem cake. I no longer have a knat infestation.
Sounds good
When cleaning out fish tanks, as in once a year when you change water and rocks and rearrange plants?. Use that water for your plants......
I also use the anti chlorine liquid for fish tanks and I add it to my water before I water my plants.
Plants love that 👌
Great information once again! Thank you!
Thanks for watching 😁
Water conditioner interesting. I thought I was the only one that had problems with terra cotta pots, I only have a few left but those plants seem happy, I never had any luck with those self watering pots either.
It’s well worth glazing them!
Great advice all around. Thanks for the video. 👍
Thank you 😊
I wonder how effective is a supersoil respecting the soil food web principles at battle gnats without external care.
Thanks!
Thank you very much for the super thanks! 😊
Thank you for all the guidance on plants that you're providing, your honest way of doing it and the encouragement you have given me by making plant care so easy!! Thank you so much 👍🙏
Gnats: You need to do 3 things at the same time.
1. Let the top 1/2 to 1 inch dry out. When you water, use 3% hydrogen Peroxide in a 50/50 mix with water. Water the plants well. It will kills the eggs and larvae but not hurt the plants.
2. Remove the top 1/2 to 1 inch of soil and replace with small gravel like in an aquarium. Gnats can't lay eggs in that. Once problem is over, remove gravel and top up with fresh soil.
3.Set up a fruit fly/gnat trap near the plants. Mix some apple cider vinegar with water and a couple of drops of liquid dish soap. Cover the container with cling wrap and poke a few small holes in. The ACV attracts the gnats and the dishsop prevents them being able to escape the surface of the water. They drown.
Also, treat all drains in your home as the gnats can live in those as well.
Repeat in 2-3 weeks and again 2-3 weeks after that. It should take care of all of them.
Thanks for the tips
You don't want to work with dry perlite. You should wet it first. The dust is similar to asbestos dust and you don't want to be breathing it in. But once stratified in soil its safe. In other words its not dangerous to use perlite for your houseplants.
I find that clay pots are good for pelargoniums (often known as "geraniums"), as they are semi-succulent and prefer the dryer side than being too wet or damp conditions.
Obviously other plants do better in plastic pots but my collection of pelargoniums love them.
👍👍👍
Avoiding over watering and using plenty of _ceylon_ cinnamon on the surface of the soil decreases the growth of the fungus that the gnats thrive off of. It works very well for all my plants.
Great point!
Ohh yes!!! I agree with what you said about the terracotta pots!!! They dry out so much faster and on top of that, they get those weird whitish yellow stuff on it! I thought it would be pretty and all, but now I want a refund 😢
I don’t mind the white markings to be fair. Looks natural 😁
Love your channel!
Thank you so much!
Terracota is great for succelents. You don't need to do this treatment...the whole point of the pot is to benefit of root breathing
Terracotta pots are great for succulents though.
True
I have 1 butterwort, 1 sundews and 1 pitcher plant and won the war against bugs lol. Sundews ate few hundreds. Buttterwort ate like 100s. Pitcher, I don''t really know. haha.
Nice tactics 😁
I only use terra Cotta for my lithops since they only get watered like once or twice a year.
Great info ..TY💜
Glad it was helpful!
I use a house and garden insecticide spray and spray the top of the soil of each plant about once a year. I did just order some yellow stickies BC it's mosquito season and I can't be too prepared 🤣
What's the pesticide you use?
I am using water barrel for water all my plants.
Hey 👋. I've got a question. I'm looking into getting some more pots for some Aloe Vera pups I've recently separated. In the room their in the humidity regularly reads in the 50s% to the high 60s and occasionally low 70s. Should I still stick with terracotta in this case, or go with some plastic ones as long as they still have drainage holes?
Terra cotta can work as it’s a succulent but plastic will also be fine
Man with soft voice talks about plants, with the bonus of sleep aid. 😇
😂
For beginner plant lovers like me, get to know what type of soil you plants should be living in! Dumb me bought Aloe Vera and String of Pillows, only for them to die and I don't know why, but after a moment of realization and research, it was because I was using potting soil mix and NOT Cactus and Succulent Soil potting mix😭😭 there goes my money!
I’m surprised it outright killed them though!
Terra cotta is great for succulents
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Terracotta pots are ideal for cactus and succulents because they help prevent overwatering. They're not great for plants that need more water.
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Can you recommend a good water conditioner for my calathea
I use API stresscoat
Hi, I never found the compost you mentioned?
Do they not sell in your local garden centre?
@@SheffieldMadePlants yes, I’m sure they do.
Meanwhile me, having a project of changing all of my 70 plants to terracotta 😏😏😏 Terracotta is more healthy for the plants since its more porous and the roots can breathe well. Im always afraid of overwatering, so yeah 😅 my choice.
No problem with that 😁
What about fish tank water?
Very good
@@SheffieldMadePlants Thank you
City water sucks. i don't live in the city. What about well water?
Isn’t it quite hard? Not sure how it compares to be honest
Do you know if moss poles attract fungus gnats?
Shouldn’t do
@@SheffieldMadePlants What do you mean? Shouldn't do moss poles? Or moss poles shouldn't get fungus gnats? I was thinking that all of that moisture might produce fungus gnats.
@@anythinggoes9 I don’t think they attracts gnats. I think they prefer to lay their eggs in soil
@SheffieldMadePlants
Oh. Ok. Thanks for clearing that up. I think I may give it a try. Thanks for your great videos.
I actually prefer terracotta for my cacti and succulents because I have had my succulents die in the past from root rot and I use terracotta to absorb extra water and they are thriving
Good point 👍
i laughed, i cried 😁
You and me both 😂
To permanently get rid of fungus gnats, I'd wholeheartedly recommend nematodes! Last autumn, there came a point when there was approx. one fungus gnat flying around my face per every five minutes. After just *one* watering session with nematodes, the fungus gnat population has reduced so significantly that I've only seen maybe a couple this past month? Honestly still can't believe how quick and easy it was to get rid of this nuisance that had lasted for months prior 🪰
Good to know thanks! 👍
I bought a bunch of carnivorous plants and keep them peppered throughout my houseplants and they do a great job of hoovering up all the fungus gnats. One of my favorites, a Drosera binata, had over 170 gnat bodies on its leaves at one point. I still have fungus gnats but it's nothing like it used to be.
You sure it weren't 172?
😂😂😂
Me too, I have a pinguicula (butterwort) or a nepenthes on each of my orchid shelves (94 orchids) which have really taken care of the fungus gnat problems for the last two years. The only time I see any is when I've new plants in from an order and they are gone pretty quickly. What does not work are Venus fly traps as the gnats are just too fast for them.
I found where the carnivorous cool kids are hanging out! I love it. Yeah, the Sundews are awesome at nailing these pesky little buggers, though I do love pings and pitchers too.
I would LOVE to keep a few carnivorous plants, but I'm afraid that with living in Phoenix, I won't be able to keep the humidity high enough. I do have a humidifier in a room where most of my plants ate6, and even my calatheas are happy with that set up, but I'm just afraid it won't be enough.
I would have never thought of using water conditioner that I used for my fish tanks... in my plant water. Pretty genius. Thank you very much for all these tips!!
Glad you found it useful 👍
As long as you have freshwater fish, use any water from your tank after a water change or tank cleaning. That water is full of fish guano and traces of composted food the fish missed. and is great fertilize. If there were any harmful chemicals in the water, your fish would have already let you know. Just don't use water from a salt water tank.
- If you continuously water with mosquito dunks, you should stop the larvae reaching adulthood, so eventually, when the existing adults die, no more problem. Fungus gnat life cycle is about 2 weeks, so 1 or 2 months watering cycle should be enough to cover all the eggs laid in the soil.
- I love terracotta pots for cactus for the reason that they don't hold water.
- Thanks for the water conditioner tip.
Thanks for the tips
Wow great tips too.
I've still had better luck with a 2-pronged attack of apple-cider-vinegar-water with a drop of soap, to catch the adults; combined with mosquito bits (or dunks if you prefer) to catch the larvae
On the fungus gnats, I’ve found that watering with diluted hydrogen peroxide even just once reduces them by at least 90%.
Also, bottom watering helps a lot as it keeps the moisture down low, beneath where the eggs are laid, so the eggs just dry out and die.
Finally, I find terra cotta pots are good not just for cacti but for almost anything other than ferns. Wicking water away is good, even if it means I’m watering once every four or five days instead of once every 7. That’s why we add all that perlite, after all. Terra cotta is rather like perlite all along the sides of the soil.
It's been a while I left a mosquito dunk in my watering can. Still have gnats. I only water with it. I even tried to make tea as suggested by someone. I've also been using neem oil, I noticed they disappeared for a while, but they always come back. I'm so annoyed with them that I'm finally considering getting rid of everything that I can't put in a kratky system. Hydrogen peroxide didn't do much either for me. I tried apple cider vinegar and red wine vinegar, they didn't even bother with it. I've killed some plants in the process trying to get rid of them, it's so frustrating.
The best piece of gardening wisdom I ever heard was that overwatering kills more plants than any other thing…
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I believe it. 👍🏼
I've been having issues with i think underwatering. I live in a sub-tropical climate and it's very hot here right now. Outside the plants are thriving, but I have some inside that aren't doing as well. Outside I notice some of the smaller plants will look sad so I will water them when I notice it, usually they get water every 3 or so days depending on how hot it is, and if it rained. My soil is straight sand, so the plants in the sand get watered more than the ones in the soil beds I have (2 of them).
I feel like I should be watering more inside, as I only do once per week or so, but I notice the ones outside thriving much betteer then they get constant water. I've read so much how a "dry period" is good for some plants, but It seems like too dry is an issue.
I also seem to have lost a plant that lis looking sad, as I thought it might have been overwatered since I watered a little more, but maybe it was actually underwatered, because it's been quite a while since then.
That is good advice in general, but it is important to qualify that it is more about the amount of water at once than about frequency. Many of my plants are much happier since I stopped slavishly following the general "wait until the top layer of the soil is dry and only water then" procedure for every plant. I still do it for the majority of them but quite a few actually enjoy being moist all the time, notably calatheas and the more exotic begonias, and consequently I water them a little every day instead of a lot once a week.
@@AlvinKazu straight up sand as soil is hardcore, typically when wet the sand will be very compact and the roots won’t be able to get enough air. Usually it’s not a good idea to use just sand for the substrate as it tends to lead to root rot. It’s probably a good idea to mix a small amount of sand with some soil and/or perlite as that’ll be much better drainage and will give your plants the necessary oxygen they need.
Also, when your plant looks sad sometimes it’s a good idea to take it out of the pot to evaluate the problem. You can tell a lot just look at the root of the problem
As a fish-keeper, I HIGHLY recommend Seachem Prime as a water conditioner. You only need one mL per gallon, so you can put a single drop in your water bucket, swirl it around for a few seconds, and you’re good to go. It’s far, far cheaper than any other water conditioner.
By comparison, API’s StressCoat+ needs 10 mL per gallon. It also contains additives that help replenish stressed fish’s slime coats. I’m not sure how plants would react to that.
Thanks for the recommendation 👍
Great tips in here! The bottom watering and letting top soil stay bone dry is what worked for me! It keeps the top layer too dry for development!
It does help!
Fungus gnats used to be a real problem for me. Not anymore. Not even one. I started using Systemic Houseplant Insect Control. It is a bottle of granules. I just sprinkle the appropriate amount on the top of the soil and then when i water it goes down in the soil. This works for other pests as well. It is miraculous. It lasts for about 3 months.
Cool thanks for the rec 👍
I wish non americans could access those, they are illegal where I live
I can't agree enough! I bought a very expensive Ring of Fire in March online. It got hung up in the mail, and even though I bought a heat pack, it was severely cold stressed. I lost most of the leaves, all of the roots!! I was able to propagate it, and it's just getting its first leaf.
It’s a nightmare isn’t it 😬
I agree 100% on the fungus gnats. Two years ago the larvae almost killed my peace lily. Last year in spring I bought Nematodes and yellow sticky traps. Since then I have only seen two or three gnats. Best choice I ever made. Now spring is in full swing and I see more of the little buggers again, so I ordered Nematodes again.
I definitely need that!
The nematodes don't reproduce? Also, what nematodes are safe for humans and pets?
@@nunyabiznes33 the Nematodes do reproduce but in my case there were no fungus gnats in the winter so they starved.
Nematodes are completely safe for humans and pets. You won't even notice them, even when handling the soil they live in
@@silviap4478 OK TY. I must have thought of some other microscopic animal.
@@silviap4478 predatory nematodes sold in horticulture are safe for humans, you mean! There are nematodes that parasitize plants (e.g. root knot nematode) or humans (e.g. hookworm). Obviously you were talking about the predatory/horticultural ones but I just wanted to specify so people don't get the wrong idea.
I have almost one hundred plants in my living room, all of which are in terra cotta pots. They're doing great, and I only water once a week typically. Aside from plants that need pretty constant moisture, like ferns or peace lilies, pretty much anything can go in a terra cotta pot. In fact, the leaching of the water increases ambient humidity, which a lot of people struggle to maintain. It also helps prevent overwatering, especially with succulents and cacti. If your plants are drying out fast, you might consider your room temperature, amount of light your plants are getting, and your humidity level, all of which will affect how often you have to water your plants regardless of what pot you use.
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Thank you for sharing your issues to help us not have the same problems. A lot of people only like to share their success. My new favourite plant channel 👏
Awesome thank you 😊
Diatomaceous earth (food grade) works wonders. Finally got rid of the gnats completely after 2 years of fighting them using everything you mentioned in the video. Spread the diatomaceous earth on top of the potted soil and bottom water the plants. The top needs to stay dry. Gets rid of the larvae so they can’t grow into adults. Meanwhile use the yellow stickys until you no longer see the gnats flying around.
Nice tip thanks 🙏
Does it only work when bottom watering? I’m a top waterer for the ease of it, but I hate the gnats.
@@becominghealthyandhappy getting DE wet will make it useless. You need to keep the top layer dry for it to even work.
Time for me to see if the DE works after it’s been dried out after watering! I bought a big bag full and I don’t get many gnats on the sticky things. 🤔
Diatomaceous earth kills all the bugs! When the gnats land on it to lay their eggs, they get coated in it and die too. We lived in a roach infested apartment complex and we were the only ones who didn't have roaches after we got diatomaceous earth. The stuff is a godsend.
Please, please tell me that you have transferred your new awareness of the importance of pure water to yourself and your family. You may not currently be aware of the damage that toxic, chemicalized water most certainly doing to your body, but you one will. Please do not care more about the water you give your plants than water you give to your children and self!
Clay pots is colder than other pots because of evaporation. Since many plants prefer colder soil, this can be a advantage.
How come they like cold soil?
@@SheffieldMadePlants I think it's more like not liking hot soil! Aside from the tropics, it's pretty rare for all available soil to be room-temp both day and night all year round. (For example, I found some figures for the avarage yearly soil temperature in Italy at 50 cm depth: mean 14.4 C, min 4.6 C, max 22.7 C. So even in relatively warm temperate areas, most of the soil only reaches room temp during the hottest summer months.)
Plants drying out too much in terra cotta? Skill issue and also an issue of buying the cheapest, worst, most porous terra cotta. You get what you pay for.
Terracotta pots should only be used for plants that come from hot and dry climates, like succulents and cactuses. Especially if you tend to over water. I’ve had my monstera deliciosa in terracotta too. Most houseplants will only do well in terracotta if you are happy to water them frequently.
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I must say, that's a gorgeous photograph of the dastardly fungus gnat. 3:19
EDIT: 2... HOURS... LATER... 🤣
Your dry humor cracks me up.
😂 thanks!
You just helped me find the problem about my chinese money plant! Mine had the same dark parts too. I will water it less frequently now, thank you! When I started watching your videos I only had 3 plant. Now I have more than 40 and all of them are thriving!
Nice one! 👍
I LOVE the glazing idea for terracotta pots. So awesome! ❤🎉
BTW I'm not the sharpest knife in the kitchen either - but we are cute. That makes up for it. 😂
😂 absolutely
Terra-cotta pots are helpful if the potting medium doesn’t drain well, and you tend to overwater. However, you are better off providing plant soil that drains well, and learning to water judiciously.
Sure 💯
Thank you for the good and informative video (as always) 👍🏻
My experience with terracotta pots is pretty much the same as yours.
I switched to some higher-quality plastic pots, that look somewhat better than the nursery pots.
I haven't tried the coating tip for the terracotta pots yet, but I might give it a go, because like you say, they look nice and rustic (and I still have my empty terracotta pots in my basement storage room)
I've used the water conditioner as you recommended for about two months now, and I can already see the difference on my more sensitive plants. That and the moisture meter are gamechangers for your indoor plants.
Thank you for all the great tips and advice.
I'm learning a lot from your videos, and/or getting my scatter brain memory refreshed about stuff I heard or read, but forgot about
Cheers mate. It’s well worth looking at glazing them pots. Makes a big difference. Have a good weekend
@@SheffieldMadePlants A good weekend to you and yours as well
I just regularly add new recruits to my Amblyseius army every once in a while, and keep a payer of sand on top of my pots. This has severely reduced the problem, and since the various types of amblyseius prey on different pests (I also have a thrips population to keep in check), I’ve found that rotating additions of various strains keeps my jungle happy and healthy in spite of the pests in the soil, and that hitchhike with new plants.
Cool thanks for the tip 👍
grow your plants in pon then you have fungus gnats. Terracotta are best to prevent fungus gnats in your compost. Never have plastic pots. Never have pots in vases. You do everything the hard way. your glazing the pots causes all your fungus gnats