semi-hydro compared to gritty mix
greentoe357
10 years ago
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rennfl
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agogreentoe357
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Semi-Hydro for Hipps?
Comments (29)Tina I believe if you get the nutrition down to a system for your plants in s/h you'll find they beat out most other plants grown in more traditional mediums. The nutrition is key. Because of the inert nature of the clay, you have to the one provide what the plant needs. Orchids are very easy to grow in s/h because they are not heavy feeders. It has been my experience with hippies that they are not heavy feeders as well, but there is a careful balance to strike. I found that having a quarter strength, balance fertilizer does the trick for me. In the Spring, Summer and Fall when it is safe for me to have the plants outside, I will water them a few days a week with this method but will flush the pots thoroughly with fresh, unfertilized water between each fertilized watering. This will get rid of gases and other nasties that build up as a result of natural processes but most importantly, it'll carry away salts that build up. I see you're in zone 8 so I do caution you on clear pots if you plan on growing outside. Though the water provides some cooling through evaporation, you can cook your roots if the pots are not shaded. My remedy? I cut mylar in long strips that shielded the pots from direct sun-- kept the roots warm but not hot-- worked well. But anything will do-- a board, other plants without clear pots etc. Good luck!...See MoreFlavor comparison- hydro/ aqua vs Al's mixes vs potting mix
Comments (9)Dave, Regarding Pro-Mix -- I recently bought the HP because while I really liked the Eden Valley Blend I tried -- I wanted to try both Happy Frog and Pro-mix since so many rave about both. I've never used the BX. But it was also a rare moment when I was out of bark, so for a few days, I had some of my extra Serrano seedlings in HP plus additional perlite, just to get them out of the seed starter pots. I also potted up a Bougainvillea I had knowing how much water that guzzles up over summer. I always intended to move the peppers but was thinking of keeping the Bougainvillea in the HP. On the Serrano, the first leaves that immediately emerged a day or two later were significantly and a bit alarmingly yellow and all of the cotyledons took on a yellow tint. That compelled me to run out for bark (doesn't pay to be lazy lol) and I took all four seedlings and moved to 5:1:1. One had not sprouted first leaves whereas three had. Interestingly, the last to sprout did sprout green leaves in the 5:1:1. Could be coincidental... The Bougainvillea, which could just be transplant and root pruning shock, was also showing yellow tints after a week (and I had watered once, drenched it through and never watered again as it was still nicely moist), I just moved that to 5:1:1, too. So I am curious -- how different is your BX and how do you use it that it works so ideally? Incidentally, the Pro-Mix HP *IS* the peat portion of the 5:1:1. Everything looks okay and on track at this time as far as I can tell. In the photo below, note the one on the right is the one that sprouted first leaves in the HP, and the other is the one that did so in 5:1:1 a couple days later. Thoughts? And 3.8 cu. ft. is the largest thing I have ever seen, OMG -- I will be using this until 2025!!! (Side note.) Grace...See Morerooting in semi-hydro media
Comments (11)> I prefer rooting in a permanent pot as well due to less disturbing of roots. I just thought of how to reconcile the desire for them to share their rooting hormones (if that even happens and if it's beneficial) with the goal of minimal repotting and root disturbance, as well as not entangling their roots. It can look something like this: Cuttings would be in their individual containers in a hydro medium, but with a layer of water underneath in the tray, through which the hormones can be shared. They can live there indefinitely or can be repotted into your favorite medium once rooted, weakly or very strongly, because it's going to be a while before they get really entangled into a rot mess underneath - and even then the roots inside the pot do not have to be disturbed. Communal pot rooters, do you see any disadvantages with this? I guess this does take more space than communal pots. Even with tiny 2" pots, cuttings are 4" away on average. They can be closer in a communal pot. But if you do not have space for 2" pots, then what are you doing rooting all those cuttings anyway? - this would be my question. > 3. Less need to hover. It takes longer for a communal S/H container to dry out than a 2.5" pot. That's a good point. I'll have to watch out for that if rooting in individual pots - especially if they are not sitting in water. I plan to put them into a container though, and drying out there will be much slower than out in the open. > I will use a bag over the top of an individual potted plant from time to time. Me too, when the plant is taller than my rubbermaid, or if I am out of space in the containers. Bagging is ugly as hell, but it has to be done sometimes, in order for them to get through the winter. Once when I was rooting a bunch of cuttings, I put a dry cleaner's bag over ~ 2/3rds of a tray like in the pic above. It helped, I think. > I've had good results keeping mitrata cuttings alive that way. What is it about mitrata? It looks pretty tough and succulent, but often hear how difficult it is to grow. It's on my wish list, ~20% because I like how leaves are shimmery, spotty and curvy, and ~80% because it's challenging to grow, apparently. Call me a glutton for punishment, I guess. > Not to give another IKEA plug, but my favorite rooting storage bins are these because they are 100% clear. Since you have to buy the lid separate, they are more expensive than when Rubbermaid goes on sale at Target. Rubbermaids come in clear. Not that I am a brand fan of Rubbermaid, not at all. My container is actually some no-name brand, whatever was cheap in the store, but I call it rubbermaid as people call a photocopy a "Xerox" or to search "to google". Mine is non-transparent, unfortunately. It was bought for a different reason, but now I am using it because I figure, the light comes from exactly above, so it's ok. I am probably losing some light intensity, but it's reflected light, so I am sure it's not much. But if I was doing it from scratch, the container would be clear. I do not use lids. I cut a dry cleaner's garment bag to rough size to cover the top and keep that film there with clothes pins. It's easy to change the vent size - just peel the film back more or less. No need to shift the lid, which might block some light or otherwise take space, depending on your grow space configuration. I might check out that IKEA bin though, it looks interesting. > I need to buy some identical communal rooting vessels. Something like these? :-) Clockwise from top: (1) hamburger patty container from my supermarket, (2) and (3) are both salad containers from the same supermarket, (4) and (5) are both (I think) cookie containers from... you guessed it! - my local supermarket. Or one of them may be from Trader Joe's, I think. Although because your vessels are in use permanently, you may want something less ghetto-looking. :-/ Are there Marshall's or TJ Maxx stores close to you, GG? They both have nice inexpensive glass bowls often that you might like to replace that broken bowl you lost. They also have a good selection of glass terrarium looking things, by the way, so they are on my mind as well when I decide to go that way for orchids or hoyas. > The real problem for me has just been that none of my other setups have performed as well as the one that cystiantha is in. So, do you think it's cystiantha that's helping? Or is it something else about that setup, you figure? > I think it's just so mature that there is an established microbe ecosystem in there. Oh, this answers it, perhaps. I wonder if adding something like K-L-N or Hormex to that pool of water in communal semi-hydro rooting pots will help create a root-welcoming environment. My K-L-N is in the mail, and I am going to try, I think. > So, I guess what I'm recommending is that you set up a S/H vessel and you keep it constantly active. Hmm, something to think about for sure. > I haven't tried grow stones. It would be interesting to compare the performance between grow stones, small hydroton, and large hydroton. Then I'll definitely be glad to share some of mine in the package I am mailing you next week! They are light - lighter than hydroton, I think. I have had limited but quite remarkable experience with growstones. There are only 4 species I have now (or had ever had) in it. Of those, 3 have bloomed, which makes for for a 75% blooming rate. That rate is ~10% at most for the rest of my plants, in my normal medium, even though the average age of those plants is older than those in growstones. I have no idea why I am not stampeding to repot everything to growstones, frankly, when looking at these numbers. I should at least try growing (not just rooting) a few more cuttings that way - which makes that growstone tray idea from the top of this post sound even more appealing. Ugh, sorry for a huge post. Gotta learn to be brief. Some day, not now. :-)...See MoreBeginner: Growing Succulents in Semi-Hydro
Comments (4)check out this post on container soils If you have a black thumb, I recommend you give the gritty mix a try for those species. they should all thrive. You can get quite a bit of advice on container media over there on the container forum. The gritty mix is a nice aggregate medium, but some people have a hard time finding all the ingredients. It's the principles in that post that matter. I have used all sorts of aggregate to make different aggregate media and it's possible to make pretty much anything in that size range to work. I like to use pumice, bark, and gravel for some Sanseverias, Echeverias, and jades. For plants that are really picky about water I use gravel and calcined clay. I incorporate some controlled release fertilizer (CRF) and water with a mild fertilizer solution. It's pretty simple and difficult to overwater, though overwatering is not unheard of even with aggregate media....See Morerennfl
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