Repotting sansevieria into a 111 gritty mix
snakeinapot
6 years ago
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woodnative
6 years agosnakeinapot
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Al's Gritty Mix and Sansevieria questions
Comments (18)Hi Longaeva, I will let AL respond as far as using Leca as a subsitute for Turface. But i will say that it is important to keep all of the ingredients when making the Gritty Mix close to the same size as possible. I have seen some Hydroton Balls at the Hydroponic stores and they were to large. Hopefully he will be back to answer your question. I did want to respond and say that if you are having a hard time finding Turface, check for any John Deere Tractor Stores near you and ask if they carry the Turface All Sport or the MVP. They might be able to order it for you. If that doesn't work, then i would search for your local Parks and Rec. Ask the person who is in charge of maintance of the baseball fields and they may be able to point you in the right direction. If there are baseball fields around your area, then someone will know about Turface. They use this to help keep moisture under control on the fields. Just a thought... Hope this helps.. Take care, Laura...See MoreFicus Lyrata Re-Repot into Al’s gritty mix???
Comments (13)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...See MoreGritty mix (1:1:1) and watering
Comments (24)WT You are right. I understand that it takes a while for ppl to really 'get it'. First, such unusual mix...than water just runs out...And some of the ingredients that many of us didn't even know that existed, and never knew that they will do such good job as a potting medium. And some re difficult to source! That is the reason, IMO, that posts like it should be read few times. At first, I thought it was completely different post since reading it 2nd time, I found many 'new' things there - yet there were there all the time. It is the concept to understand, and that may - or may not - take time. Also understand what the properties of each ingredient are, how they hold/retain any water and how much, how it is gradually released to the plant. ewwmayo mentioned experiment with turface: ..."Try watering a transparent plastic cup of gritty mix - it's easy to miss spots and under water"...He did lots of research, lots of measurements (that most likely won't do - I don't, just read his results he generously shared). He is using gritty mix, and his plants are really great. Unless one can see it, it may be difficult to understand. I didn't - I was overwatering succulents in first gritty mix I made: didn't know then that turface could hold lots of water (as much as it could have dry patches). So I read Al's post again (and probably asked some 'annoying' questions :), until I got it. I think that litterbuggy summarized it very well here (about watering): ..."wetting the whole surface, wetting the whole surface of the pot, going on to water the rest of his plants, then going back to water each gritty pot again. That makes sense if your think about it: the water drains through the pot too fast to get the turface and bark thoroughly wet in one shot, so it would have to take a few rounds of watering to do the job"... (that is written in Al's posts, and it is kind of a guide to watering). It is very frustrating not to be able to get results we expect, after going thru the steps of making the mix. One of the important things to remember may be that 'receipt' for making either of the mixes could be and should be, if necessary, adjusted to suit the particular situation. That could be done if one understands the concept....See MoreDoes Gritty 1:1:1 mix work for a Container Rose Bush?
Comments (13)I want to find an optimum soil for roses as well. Mine are in clay and just never really thrived in recent years. That said, I agree with @gardengal48 that gritty mix is not an optimum soil for roses. I think of gritty as being a fast draining soil that dries out rapidly. It is a good match to succulents and cactus because those plant types are very good at sucking out a lot of moisture from a relatively dry soil. Most cactus and succulents will thrive in a soil that gets right to the point of drying out, at which point you water and the cycle of rapid water uptake and rapid drying repeats. I think of roses as a plant that likes a fast draining soil that stays moist between waterings. I think of rhododendrons as being something similar, albeit rhododendrons and azaleas like an acidic soil. I guess everyone is going to recommend 511 mix, but my hesitation in trying 511 has always been that I truly hate peat moss. Aside from not being a sustainable resource, it is very hard to get it to absorb moisture once it dries, and it tends to clump in soil and make a mess that requires repotting. With rhododendrons, I have tested with a 100% fir bark soil, and believe it or not I tested with 50% fir bark and 50% Turface. The 50/50 fir bark/Turface has proven to be an amazing acidic soil for rhododendrons. I have sister plants planted in each soil and the ones in the Turface blend have dense healthy looking leaves. I am not recommending this soil for roses or even for rhododendrons. I don't have enough experience with it yet. I am just passing along some experiments I have been doing....See Morerobinswfl
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