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My own little CHC experiment...

18 years ago

A few months ago I noticed some taro root at the local grocery store, so I decided to pick up a couple to plant. Since I happened to have some of the CHC/peat potting mix available I decided to pot one in the CHC's and one in a premium potting soil just for fun.

Anyway today was repotting day so here are a few pictures. Here are the two plants side by side:

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The one in the CHC's is definately more robust. You can see how much bigger the one leaf is compared to the other one. Here's a shot of the rootballs:

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Hard to tell from this photo, as I had already removed most of the potting soil from the one, but there was definately a lot more root development in the CHC's. Just look at the roots all piled up on the bottom:

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There weren't nearly as many roots bunched up at the bottom of the soil pot.

I was already sold on the whole CHC concept, and this certainly doesn't do anything to convince me otherwise.

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Comments (6)

bencelest
18 years ago
Wow! That's all I can say.
Did you put any fertilizer at all?
Laaz
18 years ago
Weeds, weeds, weeds !!! Nice comparison though. I have to find a source with a decent price.

Next time you want some of those let me know, they grow like weeds down here. We call them Elephant Ears & they are in every ditch in the state.
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gcmastiffs
18 years ago
What an interesting experiment! Citrus and Orchids, which prefer dryer soil and Alocasias which thrive in bogs, all love CHCS! I have lots of tropical fruit trees in CHCs and all have outperformed others in the ground or in regular potting mix.

Roots in CHCs hold them so tightly so it can be near impossible to separate rootball from CHCs.

Alocasias/Colocasias are much appreciated here. There are common ones and also many rare and beautiful ones. I have Borneo Giant- which develops leaves 12' long and up to 6' wide.

I also have some that only get 6-10' tall, growing in the swampy area of the property.

{{gwi:638124}}

Thanks for sharing your experience with the chips vs potting soil.

Lisa
Laaz
18 years ago
Lisa are those as invasive as the others ? I see the large ones like you have only in landscape planting. The variety in the first post we have here & it is very invasive taking over creek beds & ditches everywhere.
gcmastiffs
18 years ago
Laaz, some do send out pups, like the variety on the right. The black trunked one only grows from the middle and does not pup. I will simply cut out the pups as needed to keep them in a restricted area.

I see some growing wild in Florida, as you described, with no care, in canals, and I see how they can be considered pests.

The family of Aroids is really interesting. Some are very delicate and hard to grow, others sure could qualify as "weeds."

Awfully purty though...

Lisa
bencelest
18 years ago
Laaz:
I "think" taro roots and elephant ears are two different varieties. Taro roots has a bulb in the center of the roots that is very edible and costs more than a dollar a pound here.
I would like to grow taro plants as an experement but I don't know how. I think it wants to grow in mud.

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