Why are there mushrooms in my plant pot?

I noticed mushrooms suddenly grew extremely tall overnight, but by evening they completely disappeared. New ones popped up again the next day. I've stopped watering since then.I think they're probably harmless since they disappear so quickly. But they do ruin the plant's appearance, and new ones keep popping up. How can I stop them from spreading? : (

Mushrooms are a sign of active soil life. There is mycelium in the soil medium that, when watered, create fruiting bodies that you see (mushrooms).

Personally, I welcome them! The only alternative I can think of at this moment would be to repot the plant into a sterile medium but you might still end up transferring some of the biology from the last pot.

Those in the first picture look exactly like some we've had in our poo compost beds. They appeared very soon after the bed was built, grew for a while, then disappeared. I'm guessing they are a "pioneer" type species (don't know if there's a more specialised term for fungi) - appear, eat all of whatever it is they like eating, produce a lot of spores, then die off. I'd think if you just leave them alone, they'll disappear eventually.

You soil appears to be garden soil and not potting soil.  Am I right?

There may have been some spores in what you collected.

As Timothy suggested you could repot the plant into a sterile medium.

'Tis the season. I see mushrooms popping up everywhere, but I live in the Pacific Northwest. It's spring and very wet. Could be normal or could be that you are overwatering.

Those mushrooms look like they might be members of the Coprinopsis genus, which includes several species of ephemeral "inky cap" mushrooms that typically appear on compost, manure, garden soil, etc. They like nitrogen rich substrates and help convert manure into compost and then into soil. Like Timothy said, they are nothing to worry about and they are a sign of active soil life.  I see similar species all the time on my horse manure compost piles. They used to be in the Coprinus genus along with shaggy mane mushrooms , but were split off into their own genus after DNA studies showed they were unrelated to shaggy manes.

Because you have done things right and gotten lucky!!

As already stated, mushrooms are a part of normal, natural soil.  Potting soil isn’t always so fortunate as the growing conditions are pretty artificial, but if you have mushrooms, it means that you have natural, healthy fungi growing in your container living in symbiosis with the potted plant.


Congratulations!!



Eric

Yes! Those mushrooms are gone, but it looks like new ones might still grow. I haven't watered for a while, and the situation seems to have improved a bit.

Eino Kenttä wrote:Those in the first picture look exactly like some we've had in our poo compost beds. They appeared very soon after the bed was built, grew for a while, then disappeared. I'm guessing they are a "pioneer" type species (don't know if there's a more specialised term for fungi) - appear, eat all of whatever it is they like eating, produce a lot of spores, then die off. I'd think if you just leave them alone, they'll disappear eventually.

Actually, I'm not sure - I just randomly bought this soil online. The product page only said it was 'special potting mix for flowers.'😅

Recently there seem to be fewer mushrooms. I'll keep observing, and if the situation doesn't improve, I'll consider taking some action.

Anne Miller wrote:You soil appears to be garden soil and not potting soil.  Am I right?

There may have been some spores in what you collected.

As Timothy suggested you could repot the plant into a sterile medium.

Thanks for the advice! If the mushrooms aren't stealing nutrients from the soil, maybe I'll keep them (as long as their numbers stay under control).

Timothy Norton wrote:Mushrooms are a sign of active soil life. There is mycelium in the soil medium that, when watered, create fruiting bodies that you see (mushrooms).

Personally, I welcome them! The only alternative I can think of at this moment would be to repot the plant into a sterile medium but you might still end up transferring some of the biology from the last pot.