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I have a four to five year old English Ivy plant with up to 10 feet (3 m) long vines.

Three months ago I changed its pot and it remained healty for a while. Now, all of a sudden, its branches have started to dry out and die one by one. There is a strange white covering (not sure if it's fungus) just at the base of all the branches. I tried spraying hydrogen peroxide at the base but that hasn't helped.

White covering on the base of dying out ivy

When I repotted it three months ago in a bigger pot I used as soil a potting mix by Miracle gro. The pot has drainage holes in the bottom. The plant is indoors near a window but with indirect sunlight. I water around once a week when the upper soil is a little dry and let the excess water drain out (same as I have been doing for years).

Any suggestion would be appreciated.

Some More Pictures:

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Update:

All the branches dried out. I cut of a couple of junctions covered with fungus but couldn't find any turd capsules like stuff. So this might not be Sclerotinia. See these pictures:

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Ashar
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    How recently did you change the pot and what soil did you use in the new pot? Are there drainage holes in the new pot? Is the plant in or outdoors? – Bamboo Aug 13 '18 at 17:30
  • Repotted 3 months ago in a bigger pot. Soil is a potting mix by miracle gro. THe pot has drainage holes in the bottom. The plant is indoors near a windows but with indirect sunlight. I water around once a week when the upper soild is a little dry and let the access water drain out (same as I have been doing for years). I also updated the question with this information. – Ashar Aug 13 '18 at 18:17

1 Answers1

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Sclerotinia White Mold

This plant is not looking like a keeper. I am worried this might be Sclerotinia.

I can't see them but I get the feeling that you have spider mite as well. Not the deal breaker Sclerotinia is however.

Please send a few more pictures, Ashar. If this is Sclerotinia you need to dispose all the soil and plant in a thick plastic trash liner. Clean that pot with major bleach before ever using it again.

Miracle Gro soil should have been sterilized. Did you add any compost or unsterilized soil/ingredients when you repotted? Did your soil contain fertilizers? How about water holding gimmicks such as sponges or gels?

Your soil looks too wet thus contributing to fungus. You said that you water once a week or so when the top of the soil is dry? Which is good. Better would be to test the weight of the pot to see if it needs water. That is how I do it anyway and it works. Water at 8 pounds per gallon is heavy. Lifting a pot when most of that water is gone is a very marked difference.

Check out this article although I am having a hard time imagining where you would have picked up Sclerotinia. Might not be Sclerotinia which is one of the worst diseases to contract...and it is a fungal disease. There are other types of fungus that are white like this. It would be nice if you could do a bit of an operation?

Looking at this picture, cut off the branch coming towards the viewer from the trunk of this plant. Sclerotinia would have these rat turd looking capsules in that joint. Please get a magnifying glass and look at the leaves, the greener leaves, on their undersides. Look closely at the junctions of petiole stems and the leaves for fine fine webbing.

A weakened plant will be susceptible to insects and disease. If you have to lose this plant, let's make sure of this ID and the problem so you never have to repeat. A picture of the entire plant, please? A close up of the leaves? And a close up of that juncture with the stem cut off the trunk.

stormy
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  • Thanks for the detailed answer. I'll try and post more pictures later today. The disease might be from the old pot that I have reused. I didn't add any thing to the soil other than the existing soil around the roots from the previous pot. – Ashar Aug 13 '18 at 21:14
  • Exactly, Ashar. Nothing you could or should have done better. Get rid of all debris and cut off dying leaves, branches. I am a little sensitized to Sclerotinia, it is very very bad and I've had a close up battle with this stuff. This may not, I hope not be Sclerotinia. When you cut that branch off from the main stem look for that 'rat poop'. Truly unique fungus and a major crop killer. Send pictures, we'll be waiting! – stormy Aug 14 '18 at 21:39
  • Should I cut off a healthy branch or a dying branch to look for the 'rat poop' like capsules? – Ashar Aug 15 '18 at 19:18
  • I would cut off a dying branch. If you could find a branch with a junction covered with the white mycelium near the base of this plant? The first two pictures have a couple of likely looking candidates. While you are at it, please get rid of as much debris and dead stuff on your plant. Use newspaper and all debris/soil goes into a plastic garbage liner. Wear latex gloves. Do you have other plants nearby? Is this plant indoors or is it out of doors? – stormy Aug 15 '18 at 21:45
  • I have updated the question with new pictures. Couldn't find any rat poop like capsules from the cuttings. This was indoor, I have more indoor plants too and the rest are still healthy. – Ashar Sep 12 '18 at 14:57