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Cacti & Succulents

Planting in Fired Clay

18 years ago

I have grown about 40-50 c&s in a mixture of soil conditioner, c&s soil, and fired clay. They have done well. I got into Bonsai about a year ago and order some tiny bonsai pots. They are less than an inch tall and between 1 1/2 to 3 inches wide. I decide finally to put some different succulents into these pots (portaluca afra and various crassula family). I have ready a thread before of those who plant in pure Turface or other fired clay products. I have searched and can't find the thread. I am wanting to know how often I should water these little guys and if I should use the c&s fertilizer each time I water. I know that the Turface absorbs water and releases it back to the roots, but how do I know when to water? When the top layer of fired clay looks dry? Any thoughts from someone who has tried this meathod of growing? Thanks in advance.

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Comments (3)

User
18 years ago
Hi,

I know nothing abt this type of growing.

However, pls. DO NOT USE C&S fertilizer at every watering. It's unnecessary & MAY harm yr. plants. Broadly speaking, C&S DO NOT want a lot of fertilizer. I grow lots of Succulents & fertilize MAYBE twice a year if that, always in peak growing season for C&S (usually Spring/Summer for the most part).

More is not necessarily better.
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shrubs_n_bulbs
18 years ago
If you grow without soil you will certainly need to provide fertiliser with every watering. This is called hydroponics. I have not been very successful with plants in just fired clay. I root cuttings in it but they won't grow in it, presumably because I haven't got the hang of getting nutrients to them.
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tanyag
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks for the reply. Shrubs n bulbs, I knew you had to fertilize because there is no soil. THey are very small plants, and of course, I don't want to burn the roots, so I was going to mix the fertilizer at half strength. I watered lightly yesterday and the clay pieces haven't seemed to dry much. They are supposed to absorb water and let it out slowly in theory. Should I wait a while before I start the fertilizing, or should I do it right away? What do you think? I wish Al was around. I think it was a post from him where he said he did this.
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