How can I rapidly dry out the soil of my newly repotted Peace Lily? Is it an infection, rot, or both?

[Lozbomb]

Hi guys!

About 8-9 days ago I repotted and divided my my peace lily.

This morning I came out to find one of the young leaves absolutely black and rotten. (See pic) When I went to bed last night, that leaf was only wilted, but still all green and with no black which appeared overnight. This sign of rot appearing so suddenly overnight is a bit alarming and I don’t know what to do.

I used approx: 65% premium potting soil, 30% succulent & cacti mix and 5% perlite when re-potting and dividing him into 3 about 8 or 9 days ago.
I also drilled extra holes in the base of the biggest pot and put rocks in the base.

Since the initial soak, I have bottom-watered the 3 new divisions once, which I did by putting the pot in a shallow dish of water for 30 mins, to prepare for a gentle treatment of anti-fungal systemic the next day.

Since then (5-6 days ago) the soil in two out of three of the new divisions (see pics) has barely dried out at all except for at the surface, despite putting them outside on the balcony every day.

I have been battling a lengthy bout of problems with my plants that started with mold after a very weird summer with little sunlight or fresh air here in Sydney, a result of 2 months of severe bushfires.... Could lingering mold spores in my house be accelerating rot and the effects of a Few days in a damp pot, or did I simply get the soil mix wrong... Maybe the pot is too big? Or it is pests, or something else..??

On the medium sized division I took (see pics, third plant) I found some white powdery stuff coating the base of the stems a couple days ago, which I gently cleaned off.

Is this a sign of an residual fungal infection from before I repotted, or is it in the air, or just standard rot and/or pests??

What should I do? Is it too soon to repot again? Should I spray again more aggressively with systemic antifungal or contact spray?

AAAAARGH! Please help!! I have work to do haha

Thanks in advance for taking the time to read & share your knowledge xxx hope everyone is keeping safe and in good spirits xxx

 

[oneeye]

Don't bottom water your plants because the soil will hold too much water at a time. In hot summer you can bottom water but only after a prolonged period of dryness. The problem with bottom watering is that the oxygen will be cut off and lost in the soak for many hours. Perfect invitation for fungal diseases, or anthracnose!
The way I dry my plants when over-watered is bring the pot off the ground and expose the drainage holes to a lot of air. I lift the pot off the ground with mason jar lids and run an oscillating fan in the area.

 

[oneeye]

You don't have to water your plants until they are soaked and water is running out of the drain holes every time. I like to measure the volume of water of a container of potting soil, before I plant a plant. Let me explain what I'm talking about by measuring the volume of water.
Take the container you want to plant in, and fill it with potting soil. Now measure the amount of water that goes in slowly until you first see a little discharge then stop. When its full, that's your water holding capacity and now that you know how much water it holds. Now that you know how much water the container holds and you can prevent over-watering or under-watering knowing this. Using the method are photo's below. At watering time, the little pot get only 75 ml, the middle one gets 200 ml, and the larger one gets only 1000 ml. These plants get just the right amount of water at watering time because I know the water holding capacity . I hope that helps.