Peat and cocopeat are quite similar; I would want to know what are the proportions of substrates they use. Could hey give you % of each?

Thank you both!! I'll ask them these questions.

Carol

He actually said he could make any blend I want!!! Yay!!

So this is the best is it?

5 parts bark fines (composted???)

1 part peat moss

1 part perlite.

Anything I should add/change?

Thanks so much!

I sometimes skip the 1 part peat if I use composted or partially composted PBF (usually sold as soil conditioner). It depends how much "fines" are in the SC and the water requirements of the plant.

I grow Salvia Guaranitica for hummingbirds and they like a bit more water. My Lantanna and Cuphea do just fine in the drier mix and I grow Cardinal Lobelia in Miracle Grow Organic with the PBF sifted OUT of the mix and the pot sitting in a 6" tall plastic container full of water.

Gee Rose...Tough to gat a straight answer out of us soil geeks, isn't it!

You'd probably be better off with the composted for a general mix if you don't feel like messing with it further... or you could get the uncomposted PBF and buy a small bag of spaghnum peat moss and mix in a bit for more water retention as needed.

Hope this helpful than confusing.

mblan13 - I'm going to try to buy it already made for me, because I have 60 roses or so that I want to try to get changed over in the next few years. Too expensive to do it all at once. I've stated this on another thread. Don't know why I have 2 threads going on the same subject? But anyway here is the blend they recommend.

20% Peat (spaghnum)

20% ½” minus Pumice (rather then perlite, we stock perlite but the pumice is truly superior in our opinion unless you are trying to keep weight down?) Pumice is also significantly cheaper then Perlite.

60% Fir Fines – ours are ½” minus they will provide a good long lasting media

4kg of Zeolite

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I think I should probably go with what they have, unless you can think of any changes.

Thanks! I really appreciate the help. :)

Carol

Looks good. The only thing I see missing is dolomite.

Yes, I would add dolomitic lime in each pot. Not sure how much.

Thank you so much!!!

Carol

You would add 10-14# dolomite / cuyd. Sphagnum/bark medium

If you are getting a bulk order of medium made up, you are better off having them mix it in. It's better for the pH if it has been sitting mixed for a couple weeks.

Thank you Nil13...that was very helpful...especially since I'm buying by the cuyd. Excellent! I tried this at the end of last year, but I got mixed up and used peat moss instead of sphagnum moss, and I didn't put any lime in. Do you think I should repot those??

Carol

There is often a lot of confusion regarding peat because different parts are harvested for different purposes and called similar things. Peat moss is also called Sphagnum peat. It is the fine brown stuff that usually comes in a huge compressed bale and is widely sold by nurseries. Sphagnum moss is sometimes more accurately called long strand Sphagnum moss. It is the undecomposed top surface of the peat bog. It is used for orchids and hanging baskets. You usually find it in small bags or small compressed bales but it is more of a specialty product. I wouldn't use that for container medium. There is also reed sedge peat which is more decomposed than Sphagnum peat but I rarely use that.

In Canada, virtually all the peat moss sold will be sphagnum peat moss - they are the largest producers of sphagnum peat moss in the world......reed or sedge peat is pretty much unheard of there.

Peat or peat moss is the decomposed remains of some plant type. It has been broken down about as far as it is possible and will remain more or less inert when mixed with ground soil or added to a potting mix. Sphagnum moss is undecomposed plant material, freshly harvested. It is used for decorative purposes, not as a soil amendment or as a component of a potting mix.

Nil13 and Gardengal....so now I'm really confused. I'm not supposed to use sphagnum peat moss? So what am I supposed to use??? :)

Thanks for helping me.

Carol

Yes on the peat moss (any kind will work)........no on sphagnum moss.

I agree it's confusing, especially when they refer to the product as peat moss :-) It's not really moss at all any more and if they were to call it anything other than just peat, it should be sphagnum moss peat (not peat moss)!! What you want to purchase is a very fine, milled/ground, dark brown substance, usually sold in compressed bales as Nil13 described. Not anything that still looks like moss.

Okay...I was confused...I thought that reading on this forum about the 5:1:1 mixture is was spaghnum peat moss. Must have read that wrong. Thank you!!

Carol

At the risk of confusing you further, that IS what is recommended :-)) It is just the term 'sphagnum peat moss' that is confusing.....if they just called it sphagnum peat (leave off the "moss" part) or peat from sphagnum moss, it would be much clearer!!

Okay. Thank you! Sheesh I have been feeling like a moron. :)

Carol

It's not your fault, the terminology is confusing. You want this, sphagnum peat.

You don't want this. Sphagnum moss.

Although I will disagree with gardengal. Sphagnum moss is not just decorative. I use it all the time as a medium to grow epiphytes. It is also incredibly functional when used to line wire hanging baskets. If you have cuttings that have a hard time throwing roots and rot a lot, unpacked chopped long strand is a good option to try. It absorbs a lot of water very very fast. It is currently irreplaceable for that purpose. Coir fiber matting doesn't even come close to having the same properties. But that is irrelevant to the discussion on traditional potting media.

Also, this is why I just refer to Sphagnum or reed peat as "peat" and sphagnum moss as "long strand Sphagnum moss". It seems to make things clearer. Peat is brown. Long strand is tan.

Thank you!!! You and Gardengal are irreplaceable!!! Thank you to the moon and back.

Gardengal - the pictures really help. I was thinking the long strand sphagnum moss was the one I should get.

Carol

I think literally everyone makes this mistake at some point during their horticultural journey. I sure did.

Awww...you're so sweet. :)

Carol

As someone who buys bales of both, goodness that would have been some outrageously expensive potting media. I'm really glad we cleared that up.

For some reason, since my last update, my computer will no longer allow me to down load images from online sources.....or maybe it is just Google that is causing the problem :-) Anyway, I am glad Nil3's photos helped!!

And I didn't mean to dismiss the moss itself as only having decorative properties.....it is just NOT an acceptable potting medium for just about anything (I don't even care for it for orchids or other epis). But I have used it for basket linings and to top dress various things. (I actually prefer the coir liners for baskets but then I don't have to deal with the heat and watering issues that Nil13 does :-))

Nil13 - Yes, you're right...thanks for not letting me fall into the big money pit. :)

gardengal - :)

It's not just the heat and aridity. It's the wind since we are at a valley throat. Our still days here have at least a steady 3mph thermal hill wind and our windy days are steady 30-40mph with gusts at least in the 60mph range.

And gardengal, I use both coir and long strand on my baskets. The coir lasts forever and is super tough. The long strand is like added insulation on the outside.