Al, Nikki lives in an apartment in Long Island City, New York.

Would you suggest she use the 5-1-1 mix for her lyrata rather than 1-1-1? Dave has had such great success switching from heavy peat mixes to 5-1-1 with his benjamina's that I would think that's the way to go with ficus.

I realize that the proper pine bark mulch isn't available everywhere and perhaps this is the issue with Nikki, but thought I'd throw this out there.

Russ

Hello Al,

Many thanks for your reply. I live in NYC zip code 11106 - zone 7b I believe - and it’s been pretty hot here as of late but my AC has been keeping things at a comfortable 70 degrees.

I did not have a clear idea as to how long it takes roots to recover but thought surely after 2 months there should be some sign of new growth. And after much reading of the many posts about the successes of your infamous gritty mix, I felt my ficus lyrata might be struggling in its current situation and I could not bear to have it continue on in the sub-par medium I put it in. So I am extremely relieved & elated to hear that it can tolerate another repot which I will be undertaking by weeks end once all the gritty mix ingredients arrive that I have sourced from amazon (not the most cost effective but city living and lack of car make it necessary).

I think I have some picture framing wire I can secure around the pot and then some cotton kitchen twine to help anchor the plant as your photos illustrate. Once I drill holes in the bottom of the pot I should be able to water it in place by putting a round bucket underneath the metal table it is on which will allow for water to pass through into the bucket and minimize having to carry the pot to the kitchen. It is very heavy now, so I can only image how heavy it will become once the gritty mix comes into play.

Once I repot into the gritty mix, should I keep the plant away from direct sunlight for a week or so, and should I withhold feeding with foliage pro or is that more dependent on whether or not I need to do a little more root pruning?

Thank you again for taking the time to reply to my query. It is beyond appreciated.

Nikki

Hi Russ,

Thanks for suggesting the 5-1-1…I would be interested in knowing if it would be preferable for the ficus lyrata, however, I have read that it does do well in the 1-1-1 and I happen to have the components left over from repotting a janet craig compacta, a snake plant, & a paddle leaf succulent (all 3 are doing quite well), I just did not have enough for this particular ficus re-repot so I have ordered more from amazon (arriving tomorrow) where I’ve been able to source the bark (zoo med repti-bark), surface map & grit (manna pro). Not to mention apartment living has it’s storage limitations.

Nikki

Nikki - if you are looking to put together a 5-1-1 Mix, you ought to be able to find an Agway store somewhere within a close distance. I live in Upstate NY and Agway's Pine Bark Mulch has worked perfectly for the 5-1-1 recipes. Just food for thought!

I like the 5:1:1 and so do my ficus. However, that's not to say you wouldn't achieve great results with the gritty mix.

I choose 5:1:1 because it works for my plants and myself. I repot often enough that breakdown of the pine bark wouldn't be an issue.

I also go on vacation twice a year for a couple weeks each time, I don't trust many people with my plants and I certainly wouldn't trust they'd know how to water with the gritty mix, nor would I want to make them come over that often ha.

Hi, Nikki. Either the 5:1:1 or gritty mix are well suited as a medium to serve as a healthy home for roots. All my woody material goes into the gritty mix at the first reasonable opportunity, so even though it costs more and is more of a bother to make, I use it. Obviously, if I thought the less expensive and easier to make 5:1:1 was better, I would have no need for the gritty mix, but such is not the case. The prime difference between the gritty mix is in how much opportunity they provide for plants to realize their potential and in the fact that if you have a BUNCH of plants, you can water them using only 1 or 2 different schedules - easy to remember. E.g., I have some plants in very small containers that require watering every 3 days in winter - maybe a dozen plants. So, I water those at 2-3 day intervals and all the rest at 4-5 day intervals. I water MOST succulents exactly the same way I water my trees. I much prefer the gritty mix for all my houseplants, succulents, and trees. The only plants I used the 5:1:1 mix for were veggies (tomatoes, cukes, peppers, ........) and all the floral containers I used to build for the gardens & decks, + some of the woody/pretty stuff I grew that had such vigorous root systems they needed repotting annually (brugs, datura, hibiscus, ........).

Either will work far better than the water-retentive media produced by some of the familiar names we often hear (Miracle-Gro and dozens of others), but if you want to work toward coaxing the most out of your plants, the gritty mix makes it easier once you're set up to use it. It is true you'll need to water more frequently, but that's a very GOOD thing from the plant's perspective. You'll need to decide what you think about the watering intervals. Plantings that would normally go 5-7 days between waterings using a well-made 5:1:1 mix would more likely be on a 3-5 day rotation using the gritty mix.

About clay pots - I use them extensively and love them - even with the gritty mix. I simply get much better results (health, growth rate, and appearance) when my plants have the advantage of better gas exchange and need watering every 2-3 days. I don't suggest anyone should or shouldn't work toward building plantings that require shorter intervals between waterings, but the shorter intervals do offer better opportunity for your plants. I'm all about people making choices that serve them best, but in order to do that, it's important they get realistic and accurate information.

Al

Hi Al,

I’ve finally had the opportunity to reply with an update and wanted to thank you again for taking the time to share your knowledge and help explain the process and reasoning behind choosing a particular growing medium. I am always fascinated by the science of things and am looking forward to my ficus lyrata breathing easier.

July 31 was repot day. I gathered all of my 1.1.1 gritty mix supplies, screened & rinsed the turface mvp & manna-pro poultry grit, & proceeded to make a huge mess trying to coax the zoo med repti-bark into smaller pieces using a 3-cup ninja food processor - - neither a quick nor easy endeavor. Some pieces did get smaller but not enough to justify the amount of dust that landed all over my kitchen, so the size of my bark is what it is. I want to stress that a dust mask is imperative for anyone attempting this, especially indoors, and also to note that I did not see any discernible difference in bark size between the larger (24 qt) & smaller (4 qt) bags (see picts below)

Next I bare rooted what I thought was 1 plant and discovered that I have 2 separate plants - - and I did wind up doing some minimal root pruning after rinsing off all the existing soil. After drilling additional drainage holes all the way through the bottom of the attached saucer, I repotted both plants back into the same original glazed pot as I did not have the opportunity to get an all clay pot, nor did I have a 2nd pot available to repot separately so they will continue to be bosom buddies, at least until next year. In the hopes of lessening the weight of the pot and more importantly, the perched water table, I placed 4 small empty plastic water bottles at the bottom of the pot and added a cotton string wick through the main center drainage hole to help keep a check on moisture levels.

One other thing to note is when I originally posted on July 25, there was no visible growth activity - the brown pod (for lack of a better word) felt dry, crispy & empty, but to my surprise, right after the repot, I noticed that there was in deed some growth activity taking place. I only hope I did not jeopardize the emergence of new baby leaves with this root running & repot!

As luck would have it, I have to go out of town for 2 weeks and need to leave explicit instructions for my boyfriend who will be caring for my plants while I am away so I do have a few questions:

~ How long should I keep the plant in the shade or is it ok to keep it in bright light but with NO direct sun? Right now it is behind a UV solar blind and sheer linen curtain which creates a shady environment.

~ When can I introduce it back into some direct sunlight?

~ Should I water everyday until the roots acclimate & re-establish themselves in the gritty mix? What is the best watering schedule for now?

~ When would I start adding foliage pro 9-3-6 to the mix & should it be the production or maintenance amount?

Many thanks to Al and all the other forum members for all the advice. I will update once I am back from my trip with any changes - - hopefully they are all positive ones.

**having trouble positing picts so will try to add in separate post

Reti-Bark

24 qt bag - - 4 qt bag

definitely something wrong posting picts right now...first tried 8, then 4, then 2, then 1 at a time which only worked once. I'll try again later.

~ How long should I keep the plant in the shade or is it ok to keep
it in bright light but with NO direct sun? Right now it is behind a UV
solar blind and sheer linen curtain which creates a shady environment. If iot's indoors, the brightest light you can manage w/o having it in direct sun is best.

~ When can I introduce it back into some direct sunlight? As soon as you're sure it's pushing new growth. That's the signal the roots have recouped and are ready to take on the new challenge of additional top mass.

~ Should I water everyday until the roots acclimate &
re-establish themselves in the gritty mix? What is the best watering
schedule for now? You should have a mental picture of where the roots are located in the pot. Water enough that you can be sure the soil is moist where the roots are. You can place a few pieces of plastic wrap or plastic bags flat on top of the soil for a couple of weeeks if you like. It will slow down water loss from the top several inches of soil and reduce your need to water AND the potential of over-watering (if the mix isn't well screened).

~ When would I start adding foliage pro 9-3-6 to the mix & should it be the production or maintenance amount? You'll probably be seeing new growth about the time you get back. When you do, you can fertilize. If you're flushing the soil when you water, you can use 2 tsp per gallon at every 4th or 5th watering, or 1 tsp per gallon every other or every third watering. Reduce that amount gradually until you're at about half that rate during the winter.

If you're not going to flush the soil regularly, you can fertilize monthly in the summer and bi-monthly in the winter, but do get a good flush in at least every 6 weeks, followed by a fertigation at a proper strength.

Al