The first thing I tried in the gritty mix one was an African violet rooted leaf. Later that same day, I repotted my pony tail palm in it.
The AV roots immediately stopped growing; within two weeks, the roots were stunted and brown. I was able to save the leaf, but was a bit concerned about my palm! The kind folk in one of the other forums here told me replant it in the gritty mix, but to leave it in the same container (not to pot up), after cutting off some of the old roots. I did, but quickly realize my mistake: the original container had no drainage. While I could make that work with a peat based mix, it didn't work with gritty mix! I couldn't ever tell if I was over or underwatering it. The lower leaves started dying and I knew I needed a new pot NOW.
I received a bulb pan from a friend yesterday, so today I repotted it. I knew that the roots had taken hold in the mix, so was hoping the palm was acclimating and doing better. (The roots not grabbing the mix quickly was a problem in the beginning as my palm fell over when hubby vacuumed by it and pulled on a leaf....). What I didn't know was if the roots were happy or not. With the dying leaves, I was concerned.
Imagine my surprise when I was able to get it out and saw this:
{{gwi:50266}}
Obviously these thick white roots are the sign of a happy plant. I am positive that I'd not have that growth if it was in a peat potting mix.
I'm still working on using the gritty mix in other ways, but I'm thrilled to have stumbled into this forum and few months ago and found people willing to question the commonplace and find solid science to back up our growing efforts. I appreciate everyone who's contributed to this vast amount of knowledge.
justaguy2
georgeiii
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lathyrus_odoratusOriginal Author