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Your soil mix, tell us


Monòver

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Lately I've been using Hyponex by Scott's potting soil mixed with a good amount of perlite. Like Nitsua, I made a grave mistake by using no perlite at first and that was disastrous. 

 

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  • 8 months later...
On 1/31/2016, 9:50:08, Pal Meir said:

The three main ingredients of my “standard” soil mix (only!) for small potted palms that require a fast drainage, and one example for a special palm (Syagrus insignis): Pine bark 2-8mm, Seramis® (baked loamy clay), LECA.

56ae1ec1893a5_23IngredientsP1010003.thum

56ae1ec63570d_14SoilSyagrusinsignis.thum

So I was bored & decided to make a similar mix & keep a few Lyto's in containers. It drains very well. I may experiment with a few other palms in this mix.

The Turface was $17 for the 50 lb. bag & the clay pebbles were $26 & the Garden soil was $8

 

1znmkuw.jpg

2zfvi1x.jpg

 

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35 minutes ago, Laaz said:

So I was bored & decided to make a similar mix & keep a few Lyto's in containers. It drains very well. I may experiment with a few other palms in this mix.

The Turface was $17 for the 50 lb. bag & the clay pebbles were $26 & the Garden soil was $8

Todd,

It's funny, I just looked up that thread last night to do the same thing!  I'm having some issues with some seedlings and believe it's a drainage issue.  Didn't think about using the Turface MVP - that seems to be the same stuff as Seramis.  Did you use the same amount of each in your mix?  Looks like you've got plenty of material for filling a BUNCH of containers - palms or otherwise!

Jon

Jon Sunder

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Didn't use a scientific method, just added  things until it looked good. Yes, the Turface is pretty much the same as Seramis.

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for the past few years I have been using a mix made up of wood chips, that have been composted,  perlite, and cocopeat and have had great results 

20150102_095210.jpg

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I have a Kentia growing in a pine bark + turface + chicken grit mix that I use for succulents and ficus’s. It requires more frequent watering/fertilizing, but it has a healthier appearance than my other Kentias in a coconut coir + perlite mix.

All of my other palms are in a potting soil + perlite mix. 

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1 hour ago, cm05 said:

I have a Kentia growing in a pine bark + turface + chicken grit mix that I use for succulents and ficus’s. It requires more frequent watering/fertilizing, but it has a healthier appearance than my other Kentias in a coconut coir + perlite mix.

All of my other palms are in a potting soil + perlite mix. 

That sounds like a mix I've read about in another garden forum several years ago.  I think it's "Al's gritty mix", isn't it?

Jon

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Jon Sunder

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  • 4 months later...

Hello, I finally get some good materials and I made a new mix. I read a lot of tips here about potting mixes and I would say, every person has own mix, because it contains available material in the country. I read also good references about Seramis which is quite expensive, for my palms it would mean more than hundred of liters, so I find instead of it this material:

- Leca with fraction 1-4mm (here it is called ceramsite, liaflor, liapor...), light airy material which can also holds some water

- Coconut fiber (here it is called lignocel)

- Perlite

IMG_20180612_081837_HDR.thumb.jpg.c381ff

Water leaving pot very fastly and the mix holds exact amount of water for several days. It's very airy and light but doesn't contain nutrients (same as pine bark with seramis). Bigger plants will be feeded. Here is how the mix looks:

received_1970436962975823.thumb.jpeg.570

And in pot:

IMG_20180612_081958.thumb.jpg.520e55f391

What do you think about this mix? It is good for seedlings and also big plants? Thank you for your opinions.

 

Happy growing, Vojtech

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm currently using a new mix of 50% coco husk (see pic1) and 50% mix of (1/3 coir, 1/3 perlite, 1/3 very coarse pumice, 2-5mm ).

 

IMG_2011.thumb.jpg.047d481d620a995b4f240

Seems to be giving excellent results for most palms. Coco husk is a natural inhibitor of fungi. Below a small selection of seedlings I currently have growing in this medium.

IMG_2214.thumb.jpg.eec8b108adf6edb3fc107

Pritchardia Pacifica

IMG_2212.thumb.jpg.0a00ec55778f24f707b99

Licuala Grandis

IMG_2213.thumb.jpg.eca29b5e88a27515472ca

Johannesteijsmannia altifrons

 

IMG_2211.thumb.jpg.a765fc30db604279aa83a

Pelagodoxa Henryana

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I’m currently using pro mix hp. Which is peat and perlite. Would adding bark chips be beneficial for my larger potted palms? I see that when I purchase them there chips in the soil. I usually repot and add promix in around the old soil 

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I use a mix of 15% perlite, 15% coarsed sand, 15% pine bark,  15% Lava, 15% pumice, 15% topsoil.  The remaining 10% are tuff, peatmoss aso. For older palms i increase the proportion of top soil. For some habitats i add lime (dolomite).  

20180708_164712_resized_1.jpg

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I use @ Pal Meir mix. 

Seramis - pine bark- crushed leca. It's work very well. The colour is so nice. Thanks Pal Meir. I'm your fan. :D20180705_061702.thumb.jpg.a9eb1430593e25

20180711_205719.jpg

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I used to be a pure generic potting soil for potted plants, but have since switched to pure garden soil. In between those two was an array of mixes of potting and garden soil, but once I planted my sagos and saw the roots in the pure soil I was sold. I just use miracle bro garden soil. 

LOWS 16/17 12F, 17/18 3F, 18/19 7F, 19/20 20F

Palms growing in my garden: Trachycarpus Fortunei, Chamaerops Humilis, Chamaerops Humilis var. Cerifera, Rhapidophyllum Hystrix, Sabal Palmetto 

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  • 4 months later...

Hello, I'm trying new mix. I read a lot of opinions and experiences before I started to buy any part of this mix

IMG_20181211_143758.thumb.jpg.90c9bd27fd

It consist of:

Seramis, pinium bark chips 2-4mm, pumice, lava, perlite, Liapor 1-4mm (=baked clay, ceramsite), zeolite

50% of this mix is Seramis with pinium bark chips 5c0fc9c283624_IMG_20181211_1438092.thumb

I hope my palms will like it, what do you think? Nutrients I'm going to add in watering 

Edited by GrumpyGrower
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  • 5 months later...

Hi, here is update of my potting mix which I was trying since December 2018. I have almost all palms in that mix and many issues are improved now. 

This is my Salacca zalacca (germinated in summer 2016) while I was planting it into the bigger pot. Roots are really healthy5C408BAC-C00F-4DAF-BB18-4D54FBAE5834.thumb.jpeg.7c9f5e52c4348ad8ba15ae5eeae6d6f8.jpeg

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4 hours ago, GrumpyGrower said:

Hi, here is update of my potting mix which I was trying since December 2018. I have almost all palms in that mix and many issues are improved now. 

This is my Salacca zalacca (germinated in summer 2016) while I was planting it into the bigger pot. Roots are really healthy5C408BAC-C00F-4DAF-BB18-4D54FBAE5834.thumb.jpeg.7c9f5e52c4348ad8ba15ae5eeae6d6f8.jpeg

Looks like they like it.  How often do you water in hot/dry temps?

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@tntropics - 60+ In-ground 7A palms - (Sabal) minor(7 large + 27 seedling size, 3 dwarf),  brazoria(1) , birmingham(4), etonia (1) louisiana(5), palmetto (1), riverside (1),  (Trachycarpus) fortunei(7), wagnerianus(1),  Rhapidophyllum hystrix(7),  15' Mule-Butia x Syagrus(1),  Blue Butia capitata(1) +Tons of tropical plants.  Recent Yearly Lows -1F, 12F, 11F, 18F, 16F, 3F, 3F, 6F, 3F, 1F, 16F, 17F, 6F, 8F

 

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36 minutes ago, Allen said:

Looks like they like it.  How often do you water in hot/dry temps?

It dries more from the top and the bottom part keeps wet for longer so I need to water them mainly from the top (by water sprayer). And frequency depends on air humidity also as you said... But now it’s about 2-3x per week and I think it would be every day soon with increasing temperatures. 

I have many palms at parents home and I water them only once a week so they have almost every time water in the box. Some species likes it but basically it’s not a good way how to water them. 

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Sand, Peat, Miracle grow garden soil, perlite, and husks from coconut. For fast draining palms I will add some pine bark from the pitch pines around here.

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I've been looking for Turface MVP here in VT and can't seem to find it except at Amazon in small volumes for big $'s which is the main reason I don't buy Seramis.  But I have "Oil-Dri" which (from their website) is "Floor Absorbent products are 100% natural kiln dried clay and have nothing added to them."  Is this essentially the same thing as the Turface products?  I've had the concern that this kind of thing may create a looser mix, but would hold on to the water making it unavailable to the roots.  Obviously, folks here feel differently about Seramis.  Is it more of a ‘slow release of water’ situation?  I make soil mixes  48 qts at a time & I'd like to substitute some of the Sand for something lighter.  (I have quite a few large pots that have to be moved in & out spring/fall.                                            

Soil Mix QTs       MiracleGro 26qt; Sand 10 qt;  Vermiculite 12qt  = total 48qt (12 gal)

Other Ferts I add - Dolo Lime (3tsp/gal),  Vigoro (1 tsp/gal), potash (0.25 tsp/gal), Ironite 1 tsp/gal  

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Punch your zip into their locator...

Says this is your nearest distributor.

Northern Nurseries
(802) 295-2117
2234 N Hartland Rd
White River Junction, VT 05001
United States
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12 minutes ago, GTClover said:

I've been looking for Turface MVP here in VT and can't seem to find it except at Amazon in small volumes for big $'s which is the main reason I don't buy Seramis.  But I have "Oil-Dri" which (from their website) is "Floor Absorbent products are 100% natural kiln dried clay and have nothing added to them."  Is this essentially the same thing as the Turface products?  I've had the concern that this kind of thing may create a looser mix, but would hold on to the water making it unavailable to the roots.  Obviously, folks here feel differently about Seramis.  Is it more of a ‘slow release of water’ situation?  I make soil mixes  48 qts at a time & I'd like to substitute some of the Sand for something lighter.  (I have quite a few large pots that have to be moved in & out spring/fall.                                            

Soil Mix QTs       MiracleGro 26qt; Sand 10 qt;  Vermiculite 12qt  = total 48qt (12 gal)

Other Ferts I add - Dolo Lime (3tsp/gal),  Vigoro (1 tsp/gal), potash (0.25 tsp/gal), Ironite 1 tsp/gal  

Seramis and Turface are essentially just different names for Calcined Clay.. Considered trialing Oil Dri in the past but don't think it is as durable as turface ( not baked as long / hot, breaks down much easier / faster )

As for it's water holding /distributing capacity, as mentioned, far fewer negative experiences w/ Turface than w/ using Sand or something similar. You also don't have to water near as often, especially indoors, or in cooler areas / cooler times of the year..

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Thanks Laaz, I did do that though.  Unfortunately Northern Nurserys only sells to wholesalers, but I think I will give them a call anyway.  Otherwise I think I will try out the stuff I have & see how much water I can add till it drains vs using sand. Susan

 

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The soil mix for my four Lytocaryum itapebiense (*2016) when repotting them into relatively large 16x16xH12cm plastic containers:

1618890536_PottingMixLitapebienseP1050176.thumb.jpg.77924a50c1233912fad70372ad8910d7.jpg

On the bottom of the pots I added a layer of normal sized LECA:

1393540139_N16042019-05-30P1050180.thumb.jpg.a2c19d6c7db0bf10be61432df015ef0c.jpg

And the surface got covered with finely cut L weddellianum fronds:

1379498913_N16012019-05-30P1050178.thumb.jpg.62bac86097a59ab1c1ee91a23ac18fc8.jpg

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My photos at flickr: flickr.com/photos/palmeir/albums

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Very meticulous looking potted plant like artwork , nice presentation =) 

T J 

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  • 2 weeks later...

It’s funny how things change with experience I was using pro mix hp. And now coco coir. Perlite and clay pebbles 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 12/11/2018 at 3:36 PM, GrumpyGrower said:

Hello, I'm trying new mix. I read a lot of opinions and experiences before I started to buy any part of this mix

IMG_20181211_143758.thumb.jpg.90c9bd27fd

It consist of:

Seramis, pinium bark chips 2-4mm, pumice, lava, perlite, Liapor 1-4mm (=baked clay, ceramsite), zeolite

50% of this mix is Seramis with pinium bark chips 5c0fc9c283624_IMG_20181211_1438092.thumb

I hope my palms will like it, what do you think? Nutrients I'm going to add in watering 

Ok, so I've used lava,zeolite, pumice with coco bark chips in 1:1 ratio. It seems to be great for young palms, seedlings overally. But I have problem with seeds in this mix. I've recently bough areca catechu seeds. They did germinate, but after putting into my mix, they withered fast, even getting a bit of mold on the surface of the seeds. What's the problem? Soil not wet enough?
Should germination be performed in pure coconut? I used to have great results with coco coir, may be the chips are to big to keep moisture ?

Edited by Reynevan
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As an odd question, has anyone used cypress mulch as a part of a potting mix?  I'm doing 99% outdoor potted palms just to grow seedlings up to plantable sizes, and most of my seedlings are fine with a relatively rich mix of generic potting soil, coarse sand and perlite.  A few of them (Brahea, BxJ, JxB, etc) want a much looser and faster draining mix.  I use cypress mulch on my flower beds (pine and hardwood mulch attracts termites) so I have a LOT of that stuff at $25/cubic yard.  Is there any downside to using cypress chunks or fibers in a potting mix?  It seems like it could be an acceptable substitute for coco coir or pine chunks?

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40% potting soil 40% perlite 20% native sand. Desert plants just native soil. 

 

46547358-A8AB-4678-B849-CAD67030C9B5.jpeg

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Wow, you guys all use these crazy soil mixes. I’ve been keeping it simple and it has always worked great for me. It’s fast draining and everything grows great in it. Have germinated a ton of seeds in it and never have lost any to rot. 

I use Scott’s Top Soil. It has sphagnum peat moss and other organic matter in it. All I do is add some perlite to it and that’s it. 

Here’s a pic of my seeding ranch. As you can see everything is green and healthy. Some of the pots are a little too big for the seedings their size but still they grow great with it  

912FABDF-E16F-4365-8DB0-918D78263C33.jpeg

624CBE07-C056-4176-ABDA-FA9EB09B7194.jpeg

Edited by Estlander
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3 hours ago, Estlander said:

Wow, you guys all use these crazy soil mixes. I’ve been keeping it simple and it has always worked great for me. It’s fast draining and everything grows great in it. Have germinated a ton of seeds in it and never have lost any to rot. 

I use Scott’s Top Soil. It has sphagnum peat moss and other organic matter in it. All I do is add some perlite to it and that’s it. 

Here’s a pic of my seeding ranch. As you can see everything is green and healthy. Some of the pots are a little too big for the seedings their size but still they grow great with it  

912FABDF-E16F-4365-8DB0-918D78263C33.jpeg

624CBE07-C056-4176-ABDA-FA9EB09B7194.jpeg

Looks great !! what percentage of perlite do you use ? 

T J 

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8 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Looks great !! what percentage of perlite do you use ? 

I usually use around no more than 1/3 of perlite. 

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8 minutes ago, Estlander said:

I usually use around no more than 1/3 of perlite. 

Definitely seems like its working. I finally got my hands on some turface so im using it at 35% to the rest plain ol kellog garden soil =) 

T J 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update of mentioned mix:

2C1DBC42-E4E1-4F80-BEE7-2751727AC54D.thumb.jpeg.51a5c953a9fb2e86826d70cb531b0251.jpeg3F355836-5AE2-43D2-8D86-710D6DF0F977.thumb.jpeg.31326edbabe2f09500b6075366dab412.jpeg

I repotted this Verschaffeltia splendida fronta 2 to 7l pot today. Roots seems to be very healthy, I’m satisfied with this mix

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  • 1 month later...
On 7/2/2016 at 5:08 PM, Pal Meir said:

The ingredients, the mixture, and the proof that the palms love it: :greenthumb::D

5777d86811030_SoilMixLinsigneIMG_877779.

5777d870c7123_N14012016-06-30IMG_877374.

Pal, does it have to be any specific pine bark? I've found a nice looking pine bark at local gardening center, but it's made out of Pinus Sylvestris , not the mediterraean variety or Fir. Does it make any difference?

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1 hour ago, Reynevan said:

Pal, does it have to be any specific pine bark? I've found a nice looking pine bark at local gardening center, but it's made out of Pinus Sylvestris , not the mediterraean variety or Fir. Does it make any difference?

The mediterranean pine bark is much better, but at present I too can’t find that any more at our gardening centres or even in the internet, :bemused: so I am using also the bark of our German pines … However, it is still much better than the usual »palm soil«.

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My photos at flickr: flickr.com/photos/palmeir/albums

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1 minute ago, Pal Meir said:

The mediterranean pine bark is much better, but at present I too can’t find that any more at our gardening centres or even in the internet, :bemused: so I am using also the bark of our German pines … However, it is still much better than the usual »palm soil«.

Alright, same pines in Poland so I'll  give it a try.

 

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  • 1 month later...
On 7/12/2018 at 8:33 AM, cisco said:

I use @ Pal Meir mix. 

Seramis - pine bark- crushed leca. It's work very well. The colour is so nice. Thanks Pal Meir. I'm your fan. :D20180705_061702.thumb.jpg.a9eb1430593e25

20180711_205719.jpg

WHat is the grade of this pine bark?

Edited by Reynevan
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