Well now, this is awkward.
As you may have read earlier in the Winter, I put my carnivorous plant collection in the refrigerator to simulate the cold hibernation period they get in their natural climate. At the time, I said--and I quote--
"Some people recommend adding a bit of a fungicide to the bag, but I've never done this and so far my little guys have always been fine."
I really should have listened to "some people". Today, about 2 months after I put them into hibernation, I checked on my Ziploc bag of carnivorous plants in the fridge and whaddya know, they were covered in fungus. The Sundew Plant was the worst, but the Pitcher Plant and the Venus Fly Trap also had some pretty big spots of fluffy grey grossness.
Carnivorous plants are very sensitive to moist conditions and grey mold is a persistent problem. This fungus thrives in humid conditions, so your carnivorous plants need excellent drainage (see my double pot trick) and ventilation. Hanging out in a Ziploc bag in my cold cuts drawer? Not very good ventilation.
I purchased a simple plant fungicide at Target with a gift card that my Auntie Sharon gave me (thanks Auntie Sharon, you saved my plants!). It's nothing fancy, just Garden Safe brand spray fungicide. To be honest, I chose it because it has a cool turquoise bottle that matches the color scheme in my apartment. Hey, if a girl's gotta have fungicide on her shelf, it might as well match the decor.
I sprayed the fungicide onto the plants AND the soil, to the point where the plants were moist and dripping with solution. I made sure there was fresh water in the bottom pot (remember, my double pot trick) in case the mold spores were in there as well. I need to spray it every day for a week, and if the mold doesn't show signs of improvement, I might actually uproot the plant to see if the roots are affected as well. Fingers crossed that it won't get that far.
I placed the plants back in the sun where they can dry out and wake up from their nap. I don't think this early Spring awakening will affect them too much, but who knows. I might be writing a "Well this is awkward..." blog post again in a few months.
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