Aloe/succulent nutrition question!

11 years ago

I posted this on the 'cacti & succulent' forum a week ago and am still in need of answers. My mix is made and ready to go (besides any nutrients) and I have been practicing more patience than I thought possible, to not re-pot my plants until I know the nutrient source will be proper. PLEASE!!! HELP!!!

--------------(4/29/12)-------------

Hello to all! Brand new member, although I have learned quite a bit just from reading the posts and replies of all the well-educated horticulturists out there. So for that, I thank you!

I have a question as to what type of macronutrient ratio/regimen (as well as micronutrients, for that matter) would be most suitable for my Aloe and Succulent plants. I am switching my potting medium to tapla's 1:1:1 'gritty' mix that is virtually inorganic. I am looking for a suitable micronutrient slow release pellet to mix in with the 'soil,' as well as a water solluable/ liquid macronutrient provider (N P K) to be applied in very weak doses at every watering.

My Aloes, are of primary concern. I have heard and read that, sans a little bone meal in the spring, Aloe do not need or want any fertlization and in fact grow into leggy, awkward looking specimens when excessive nutrients are applied. I have several solitary tree aloe species (marlothii, vaombe, ferox, excesla, rupestris, thraskii) that all have the potential to reach 20' tall or more!! All of them (besides two 4' vaombes) are still only about 1' tall. --Maybe a little more detail than necessary but hey, I love those dang plants!! Hah! I want to see them reach their full potential!!

If anyone has had success with ANY nutrition regimen in conjunction with an inorganic mix for aloe and or succulents, I would love to hear your reports!!

--------(5/3/12)-------------

Okay so after calling every source imanigable, including Scott's headquarters and every single FL distibuter on their list, I have had no success in finding 'Micromax' that Tapla raves about in any quantity less than a 50lb bag for $90! I have given up the hunt and have setteled on an exceptional second (I think...) It's called 'Essential Minor Elements' in granual form and is made by Southern Ag. It contains all the trace elements I was looking for, besides CALCIUM >:( as well as excluding N P K.

So my question now is about gypsum. I want to supplement the lack of Ca that the EME provides, but want to keep the ratios consistent with eachother. The only place I have found gypsum has it in grannual form but I'm worried it will still wash out much faster (worried the powder might flush even FASTER) than the EME. Is it really recommended to mix in with the soil as well as the EME and how often should it be re-applied? I should mention that my FP 9-3-6 is in the mail and should be here soon. I just really want to limit the use of the FP (due to the presence of N) on just my Aloes. I still want the Aloes to have access to the micronutrients from the EME and gypsum when they get watered from the rain. Any advise?

THANKS TO ALL!! :)

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

TheMasterGardener1
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Once you get the FP you will no longer have to add anything, right? FP has ALL needed nutrients. Yea gypsum is just spread on the surface of the soil then watered in but you may not need to because of the foliage pro.
cMouser
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Master- I was hoping to limit the use of FP as much as possible on my Aloe plants due to the presence of Nitrogen. My thinking was that even if I do exclude this FP from their regimen (maybe only once or twice every two weeks at a VERY weak dose) they would still have a sufficient micronutrient source.
Related Discussions
Aloe Vera Questions
Q
Comments (3)
Your soil should feel dry at the surface within a day or two. If it's taking weeks, then you need to repot with a more porous soil. You probably have root rot which is why it's not growing. The wet soil could also be rotting the lower leaves that are resting on it. I would remove all of the old soil from the plant, trim away any rotten roots, and repot using a gritty soil. I did this to an Aloe Vera that had the same problem a couple months ago and it hasn't grown yet, but hasn't looked any worse either. Recovery may be very slow during the winter with few roots, but with time it should come back better than ever. Try to give it lots of light since that can be a problem indoors. Here's a link to a very good soil recipe. I've found the specifics are not that important as long as the particles are all large enough that water runs right through them. If you don't have the time or patience to find the ingredients, at least find one gritty component and mix 1-2 parts of it with each part new potting soil. Here is a link that might be useful: Succulent soil mix
...See More
aloe brevifolia (?) question regarding transplant / roots
Q
Comments (2)
yes! thank you. i now have 2 of those smaller, more blue-gray ones, and i think you're right -- that's the brevifolia. i seem to remember seeing it labelled as such at the place i go to look at plants [for sale]. humm.. i guess DARTMOUTH was wrong about the name?? i dunno. anyway, thank you very much for your reply. the little guy seems to be doing fine. i think one more leaf started getting brown at its base, and i quickly pulled it off.. there's weird little brown splotches on the bases of the lowest leaves on it, but they're not really soft. they're on the thin part right next to the stem, you know? the white part. i think they're fine. the stem seems just fine, and that's what counts, right.. i guess i should not have watered it directly after transplanting. oh well. i've been RACKING up my succulent collection creating boxes, pots, and a bed full of them, preparing for the heat. i suppose it's not transplant time, but i make sure they don't get TOO cold. since the frosts have stopped, the nights have been around 40 degrees lately, and my plants don't seem to mind too much. i mean the ones inside are making flowers right now, heh.. the ones outside are just continuing to look healthy. i'm keeping them as dry as i can stand (watering's too much fun!). i'll send photos and MORE QUESTIONS sooooooooon. thanks again, paul
...See More
various aloe vera/potting mix questions
Q
Comments (5)
When Hurrican Rita hitting us was a definite and the whole city was evacuating (for no reason at all apparently) I put my aloe (in soil) in a closed garage. That was in September 05. Oops, I sort of forgot about it -- until March of 06. I swear to you, it was pitiful. I brought it out, gave it a drink and left it alone to see if it would come back. Guess what. A year later and the thing is 16" tall with a diameter across the top of about the same, and it just finished flowering. They can withstand a LONG drought! ;0) As for soil, the stuff you have is junk by itself. It is loaded with peat which becomes hydrophobic when left to dry between waterings. I would only use it for about a quarter of my mix. Get some landscapers mix which is pine bark well decomposed (but still piecy, if that makes sense), and some grit of some kind. I use this stuff called OilDri which I get from Sam's for about $4.84 for a 25# bag. It is med-high fired clay and will hold it's structure for up to a year or more (that I know of). I also use decomposed granite or chicken grit. The feed stores sale it as Chicken Grit, but Home Depot sales decomposed granite as well - I think it was $3 something for a pretty good sized bag. You can also use unpainted fish tank gravel. I personally am getting ready to repot all of mine again without any peat. I am using coir instead. I bought it in the form of Bed a Beast at Petsmart in the lizard/iguana section for $5.99 for a block when hydrated makes 7 liters. I am going to mix 1 part coir, 1 part landscapers mix, 1 part OilDri, and 1 part decomposed granite. This makes it about 50% grit and very free draining-- good for where I am as constant rain is a high probability during the summer. I don't like perlite as it floats to the top. A lot of people like it because it is lighter than the stuff I've listed above, but other than my huge aloe and stuff in situ, my pots are only 3" to 8" so it's a non-issue. If your roots aren't white that is okay. A lot of succulents' roots turn a reddish tan color as they mature. As long as they are not mushy and/or dark brown, you should be good to go. Don't wait too long to pot up though. It can handle it, but why stress it. Happy gardening.
...See More
Aloe/Succulent nutrition question!
Q
Comments (28)
NYC- just to clear up, it rains like hell for about 3-4 months in the summer,(it probably averages 4-5 days/week of hard rains during that time, and the rest of the year is quite dry. In fact, we usually have drought like conditions which can spark lots of wildfires in mid-spring before the rains come. Cmouser- Yes, it is a cross between those two you mentioned, which is interesting because one is a summer-rain lover, the other a winter-rain lover. Again, from what I have read, Hercules should be fine, especially considering they grow them in the Miami area like I mentioned. You are right that they do branch, but that seems many years down the road, as most in containers I have seen online have one, or maybe two limbs. From what the Dr., and others have said, the Goliath gets extremely top heavy, so the Hercules might be a better option for container culture. Driftwood Nursery in Estero, FL (about 20mins south of Ft. Myers on US-41), has probably about 6-7 aloe Hercules and aloe ferox, all very nice size, for $49. The Hercules are just starting to show their trunk and have tons of thick leaves on top. The ferox also look good, though in my opinion the Hercules is a 'cooler' look, but I may be biased because I love the 'tree' look. I would definitely NOT call them an aloe nursery, nor a succulent one, but they do have a decent selection. If you also stop by Riverland Nursery, right off I-75, (so its on the way), it would make it worth the 1.5-2hr drive. I am actually planning on heading your way for tropiflora's annual 'inventory clear-out sale on June 29th. I have never been and have heard good things.
...See More
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Plants tend to use nutrients in a ratio that varies surprisingly little from plant to plant. What varies is the o/a amount of nutrients various plants require. I find it difficult to envision how you could improve on supplying all the essential nutrients in a favorable ratio at the rate you choose by using FP 9-3-6. I think you're making it far more complicated than it needs to be.

Best luck on whatever course you choose.

Al
cMouser
Original Author
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Al- Every single recipe I have seen you write out for the gritty mix says to include a slow release micronutrient source. You, yourself, have said many times that you use Micromax, as well as FP for all of your potted plants. I learn through observation and immitation. I figured if you were doing it, there must be a reason... Who better to immitate, than the most talked about person on these forums?! ;)

As it turns out, I made a (semi)educated guess from the information at hand, and decided to mix in the 'EME' with my 'gritty mix.' I will be picking some gypsum and watering it in. I am in the process of re-potting my Aloes as we speak. I will post pics soon for any of you who might care...
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
If you want a half pound of Micromax or so, I'll send it. I really haven't pushed its use, or the use of other micronutrient sources since I started using FP. I think I remember mentioning it once recently somewhere - prolly in an answer to a question, but I'm not sure. If you're using the gritty mix & FP 9-3-6, you can even skip the gypsum & Epsom salts. Your call ..... I have no problem at all keeping all my succulents perfectly happy (in MI) with nothing but the gritty mix & FP.

{{gwi:3244}}

{{gwi:3246}}

{{gwi:3241}}

{{gwi:2011}}

Shallow containers are tough on succulents, but .....
{{gwi:2010}}

{{gwi:3271}}

For fun
{{gwi:3266}}

Al
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I fertilize my succulents fairly regularly, using a low dose of Foliage Pro 9-3-6 -
which derives none of its Nitrogen from Urea, and so helps prevent leggy, bloated growth.
Since all of my succulents are in some form of grit or gritty mix, with only bark as the
organic fraction, a steady stream of adequate nutrients makes for the healthiest plants.

Josh
dirtguy50 SW MO z6a
11 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Al, that is some of the coolest stuff I have ever seen. What a talent. Thanks for the pics! Man, I am happy with just a simple tomato that is red and round. LOL

Aloe/succulent nutrition question!

Comments (7)

TheMasterGardener1

cMouser
Original Author

Related Discussions

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

cMouser
Original Author

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a

dirtguy50 SW MO z6a

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Aloe/succulent nutrition question!

Comments (7)

TheMasterGardener1

cMouserOriginal Author

Related Discussions

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

cMouserOriginal Author

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a

dirtguy50 SW MO z6a

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

cMouser
Original Author

cMouser
Original Author