the white stuff.. is the salts leaching out of the pot itself.. either ignore it.. or use glazed pots ...

arent these all house plants.. you might want to check that forum ...

i see no reason to start over..

just repot the one with mushrooms ...

BTW.. clay pots are NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO USE.. by even the most learned gardener.. they are useless ... you have tied yourself to a nightmare.. IMHO ... ANYTHING IS BETTER ...

lastly ... i would NEVER buy a plant with roots coming out the bottom ... and would walk by such stock...

good luck in the house plant forum.. because i know nothing about those particular plants ...

and lastly.. did you completely wet the potting media.. BEFORE USE????

ken

The "gnats" usually mean the soil is too wet. They disappear/die off if you let the soil dry in between waterings. Stick your finger down into the soil, you'll be able to tell how wet or dry the soil is. The mushroom should go away with less watering too.

Roots coming out of the pot bottoms is a good indication the plants are in pots that are too small. Clay pots are my least favorite for house plants - they get the salt leach pretty fast, but that doesn't hurt anything. Plastic and glazed ceramic will get it too so it's just a question of what you want to live with.

I like clay pots because they are porous. It has benefits and that's what I usually stick a 'mother' plant or large house plant into one regardless of the salt buildups on the outside. The gnats have potential to start up in any soil if the soil is not watered properly. By overwatering, it doesn't mean too much water at any give time. It means so frequently the soil stays too moist continually and it can set up a lot of disease conditions and is how most people kill houseplants.

As for rootbound........some houseplants PREFER to be rootbound. Letting it get so can be a tool to manage growth or blooming. If you bump a rootbound houseplant up to a larger pot, don't go a whole lot larger. I let certain of my houseplants get so rootbound they fracture the pot before repotting. Others I don't. You will need to look up what each of these plants prefer in the way of watering, light, and soil and I also recommend the houseplant forum.

rootbound is one thing.. growing out the bottom is another ... if there is excessive root growth out the bottom they have not been properly cared for.. prior to sale ... its nto that they will die or anything.. they will just be a bit trickier to deal with ...

the problem with clay pots ... is they actually wick the water out of the potting media .... and unless you are 100% attendant .. they will be ultra dry one day ...

and that could be why you are overwatering ...

its very hard to balance it all out ... especially in a house with forced air heat in winter.. or air conditioning in summer ... clay pots are really for the greenhouse situation .... where you have perfect heat.. and humidity ...

one trick ... is when you buy the plant.. you buy the next bigger plastic pot ... and then walk over and buy the matching clay pot ... and plant it in plastic.. and insert it into the clay ..

its called a 'pot in pot' system ... you get the look.. the plant get the pot it needs ...

ken

The majority of potted houseplants are grown on a capillary mat system. They're watered initially overhead and set on a capillary mat in bench trays, from that point on the mats are ebbed or moistened and kept that way, and as the surface of the soil dries out, it pulls water up to the top by capillary action. Trust me, roots will pop out the bottom and often grow along the mat surface. It's typical on houseplants purchased in stores and in no way signifies they were improperly cared for prior to sale. It's not cost effective to keep thousands of potted houseplants sitting in a greenhouse to get potbound out of neglect and profit margins are slim. What happens in the retail situation is another story, but with the box stores paying when they're run across the register the vendor will usually scoop up any tropicals long before they get nasty and they're often just sacrificed.