A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Pot appearance question.

I have many houseplants and I hate the fact that the top of the soil seems to get discoloured and kind of crappy looking. Do any of you cover your soil or just stir up the top to keep the moss or mildew mold crap away?

I top-dress with pebbles.

Hi Tamara,

If green moss and mold are growing on the surface of the soil, then that suggests that the soil quality may not be the best and that you may not be letting the soil dry out quite enough.

The best potting mix for indoor plants is a peat-based, soilless potting mix. Moss and mold are rarely problems with these potting mixes.

A good "cover-up" is Spanish moss or sphagnum moss. Both are light and airy and can be placed over the tops of pots to cover a multitude of sins!

Thanks, your right it is a cheap soil. Sometimes you just have to spend a little more. I have learned my lesson. I thought that maybe tap water was the culprit. I water once a week and make sure it is dry an inch down before I water again.

tamara, it could be the tap water too. and, when $$ is tight, i will often mix the cheap stuff in with the miracle gro (the only "brand" i will pay more for) to stretch it. also, i have found, at the first of the season, they usually have the large bags that have about 4 times what a small bag has, for about the cost of 2 small bags. one of those will usually last me a whole year.

also, i tend to use the cheap stuff outside to help when i transplant plants. and for my container veggies, i use half and half.