S/H white mold growing on roots

[Tabbyblack13]

If the roots are healty I wouldn't. New roots can develop from the old roots.

[gravotrope]

uncoated aspirin (1 tab per gallon or weaker) helps the plant isolate infected tissue and basically compartmentalizes it so the healthy tissue stays healthy, be careful using it on a plant in spike though, it can stop the growth (like hitting pause to use the energy on its immune sysem for a while instead of flowering). I do not grow in s/h but for me it is an invaluable tool with plants not already in spike that have fungus or bacterial probs. Keep in mind that it is a weak acid and can change pH in a s/h environment though.

In the original photo at the start of this thread, I can tell the wispy thin cottony tuft is pinhead mold, definitely not a symbiote. Treating it the way you did was definitely the right move, bnegrete. I have also successfully fought pinhead mold (on a howeara) using garlic water alternately with Neem and weak physan on a weekly basis for about a month.

[rosemadder]

Any time you put a plant in a new environment, it has to adjust. A plant newly put in S/H may lose a number of roots in the transition-- if some of the existing roots are not compatible with the S/H environment, then they're gonna go. No biggie.

The problem with repeatedly sterilizing your plants is that it prevents a natural balance of healthy fungi & bacteria from forming.

If there is dead organic matter in the pot, it is going to rot. That's inevitable-- it will just keep getting colonized by a fresh crop of microbes (mold spores are in the air, constantly) in between each medication treatment, over and over again, until it's removed or finally finishes rotting.

The presence of some rotting material does not necessarily mean the plant itself will become infected or damaged. Some fungi is beneficial or even necessary. Plants are built to co-exist with a wide range of fungi and critters, and won't succumb if they're healthy (unless you get something truly virulent, like pythium).

In terrariums, where some buildup of organic matter in a moist environment is unavoidable, springtails are considered very beneficial. In nature, springtails are a really important part of healthy soil ecosystems, eating mold. If you don't mind having tiny, harmless, almost invisible critters in your pots, they will help control fungus.

Generally when I see mold in a plant that's adjusting to S/H, I don't worry about it. If it was worrying me, I'd be inclined to hit the plant once with a treatment just in case, then let it alone to recover. Could try adding a beneficial mycorrhizae product from a garden shop to help out-compete anything nasty, if you like.