I can at least confirm the white spots are normal, some of the others can probably help with the rest. wishing you the best of luck

Some of this looks & sounds a lot like cyclamen mites to me -- black spots, scarring on the leaves, slowed growth. I'd suggest treating your plants with an insecticide; neem oil is organic, if you'd like to avoid chemicals.

Monica, what miticide do you use? It's weird that insecticide wont work on mites. The stuff can be so powerful it should kill any small bug that comes in contact with it.

Mites are not insects....that's why you need a dedicated miticide to control. Neem oil is a miticide as well as being an insecticide so does double duty (and can control fungal issues as well, so a triple threat!!).

I rotate 3 different types - Avamax (smells like neem oil), Forbid and Kontos.

I won't comment on mites because I've never dealt with them, but I would also consider repotting the plant. Standard potting mixes become "sour" after a year, two max, and the signal is when plants stop growing. So either plan on repotting with new mix every couple years, or use something that won't break down so fast. I use coir and perlite and I never have to repot except to move up to a bigger pot. With a mix like coir, however, you do have to use fertlizer consistently.

Denise in Omaha

Let's clear up a few misconception here. Potting mixes do not sour unless they become anaerobic. But they do breakdown and compress or collapse over time and that will influence on how well plants do as that affects both continued good drainage and aeration. That's why one should consider repotting after a couple of growing seasons, not because the soil is 'sour'.

And coir is just as liable to breakdown and compress as peat. A more durable mix would be one that focuses on materials very slow to decompose or immune to collapse - bark, perlite/pumice, grit or Turface. And virtually ALL plants grown in a container situation will need regular, routine fertilization. There is really no nutrient load to any potting mix (unless you opt for a fert added mix like some of the Miracle Gro products) so all the nutrients must be supplied by the grower.

To sour, at least for the way we are using the word here, means to go bad, or to have a rancid smell. If the potting media breaks down, it has gone bad, at least in the aspect of it no longer serving it's puropse as a chunky or well-draining mix.

Also, anaerobic means lacking oxygen. It is very difficult, unless there is absolutely no drainage, and the mix itself becomes fully compacted and water-logged, to induce an anaerobic environment in a potted plant. And by then, the plant itself would be in dire straits, if not already dead.

There are many anaerobic bacteria that cause a sour smell or cause organic matter to go sour, but just as many that require oxygen that smell sour and cause organic matter to sour, as well.

There are plenty more ways that potting media can sour (again, when we say sour, we mean to go bad or smell awful), aside from becoming anaerobic. The natural breakdown of organic potting media can throw off the balance of oxygenation (while not becoming anaerobic), as well as drainage, which, in turn, can encourage the growth of some pretty foul smelling fungal and bacterial colonies. Some of these colonies, while giving off a sour smell to us, are harmless to the plant itself (but their growth can throw off the pH of the mix).

Even a batch of well-arerated and well-draning, brand new media can "sour", if the media has become inoculated with any bacterial or fungal colony that gives off an odor that we perceive as foul.

It is important to regularly change potting media, not just to ensure proper drainage and aeration for good plant health; it also gives you the opportunity to check the root health, and to correct any bacterial and fungal overgrowth, which can affect the pH of the mix, which can cause a decline in plant health and the perception of "sour" to us.