Disinfecting pots

[MrBeto]

I have a couple pots I’m planning to use next spring. I had an azalea and a jbp that didn’t make it through this year, due to fungus. How do you guys clean yours ?

 

[CamdenJim]

Bleach won't do the job? If it's good enough for NCIS, ...

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I’m sure Jim was kidding about the bleach. Any pots that I need to clean, I use a nylon brush and water. Scrub them well, and set them out to bake in the sunshine for a week or two.

 

[MrBeto]

So, no worries about fungus ?

 

[Vin]

Distilled White Vinegar

 

[Mellow Mullet]

I use Simple Green or vinegar with a scrub brush. Even if you completely sanitize the pot, there is probably more fungus on your bench, the ground under it, and spores everywhere in the air. Fungus is always among us. It is good to do a preventative spraying with a fungicide monthly in the summer. I lost two maples to fungus this season, and it looks like it may be three before it is over with. A Trident, a kyohime, and a ryusen.

 

[GrimLore]

Vinegar will do a good job killing fungal. Left to soak a bit and scrubbed it also takes care of calcium deposits at the same time. I have only used Clorox Cleanup and a sun bleaching when dealing with bacterial problems which are thankfully rare.

Grimmy

 

[Lorax7]

Vinegar will work. Alternately, if you don’t have any vinegar handy, you could use baking soda and water. I’ve used both of those treatments on different occasions before for getting the stinky mildew smell out of my clothes when I’ve washed a load of laundry and forgetten to put them in the dryer. Should work the same in a bonsai pot as it does on clothes.