Is there any way to add more sand to your palm's soil without repotting?

[PalmX]

I'd like to add more sand to the soil to help with drainage,. Is there a way to do so without disturbing the roots too much?

If not, is it worth repotting now or should I just wait until I repot after the growing season? There's nothing wrong with the palms, I'd just like to water more frequently.
 
Thanks,

Tim

Edited June 22, 2020 by PalmX

[sonoranfans]

If its root bound just go for a bigger size pot and use perlite to fill it out, perlite is better than sand for drainage.  If its not root bound and the soil is water logged, I dont think there is a way to evenly distribute sand in the soil to improve drainage without removing the soil and then ammending it.  If you take it to bare root just be careful when you rinse the soil away gently and then hold it upright in the pot while you pour dry ammended soil around the roots, then wet it to settle the soil around the roots.

[PalmX]

40 minutes ago, sonoranfans said:

If its root bound just go for a bigger size pot and use perlite to fill it out, perlite is better than sand for drainage.  If its not root bound and the soil is water logged, I dont think there is a way to evenly distribute sand in the soil to improve drainage without removing the soil and then ammending it.  If you take it to bare root just be careful when you rinse the soil away gently and then hold it upright in the pot while you pour dry ammended soil around the roots, then wet it to settle the soil around the roots.

Is perlite really better than sand? I hate perlite. It's so light and just floats to the top. I feel like sand stays a more homogenous mixture in the soil. 

[Silas_Sancona]

6 minutes ago, PalmX said:

Is perlite really better than sand? I hate perlite. It's so light and just floats to the top. I feel like sand stays a more homogenous mixture in the soil. 

Perlite is awful, plain and simple.. Trust your instinct, don't even bother with it..

If you are intent on repotting atm, look into incorporating something like Turface MVP ( Available in 50lb bags, from any Landscape/ Turf / Irrigation Supply Company ) into your soil mix instead.. Doesn't get worked out of a soil mix ( like Perlite does, every time.. ) and will help both loosen your soil mix, and provide proper water retention / Soil aeration.

Sand can be variable.. Too fine a grain size and it can cause more issues than adding it can solve ( fine grained sand often = Little or no pore space, which doesn't allow good flow of Oxygen through the soil.. Combined with a tendency to retain too much moisture, lots of it in a soil mix can increase potential fungal/ root rot issues. Larger grained sand, ....something like Chicken Grit will work better for what you're looking for option-wise..

You might also check out the thread regarding Ground Coconut Coir ( Husk )  Excellent and recommended replacement for Peat moss in soil mixes.

Hope this helps..

[palmsOrl]

I actually just did this tonight with a tree fern as a comprimise to add some better peat-rich mix without the trauma of repotting the whole thing again.  After all, it is doing so well.  I scooped out the top two inches of potting soil and replaced it with my tree fern mix.

In your situation, as recommended above, I would just carefully repot, removing the current soil mix from the roots very gently and replacing it with a better draining mix including sand and/or Perlite and/or Vermiculite.

[Darold Petty]

I have used pumice for many years, although this mineral product may be difficult to find in the southeast.

[Silas_Sancona]

Just now, Darold Petty said:

I have used pumice for many years, although this mineral product may be difficult to find in the southeast.

Next to impossible to find in FL.. Would drive from Bradenton to N.E. Tampa just to find small bags.. Used Growstones as a substitute which the place i'd go to ( In Tampa ) offered in 50lb bags.. Unfortunately, Appears the company went out of business.  Have been hearing Pumice itself may become harder to come by, at least locally sourced material.

[Umbrae]

I use a fair amount of perlite in my mix but never have issues with it floating

[sonoranfans]

Perlite has two advantages, its light weight and low surface area help drive water down through the water column.  Sand has too much surface area and is heavy.  Peat has tons of surface are and attracts water so it dries very slowly.  the slower your dry cycle the more difficult it will be to hit it just right with the watering cycle without using a probe.  Perlite is also compressible so it prevents soil compaction and it doesnt degrade into nothing like organic matter over time.  So organic matter in clay will disappear and the soil will recompact over time  I have used it in ground only in areas with questionable drainage including my 25'+ sabal causiarum(9+ yrs from 4" pot) both in the pot and in the ground.  If you mix after wetting, perlite doesn't separate significantly upon further wetting as long as you dont use a high hose flow rate.  I tend to put a little more in the bottom of the pot to ensure that the soil water gradient isn't too high top to bottom.  I have a container ranch with palm and cactus soil plus about 10% perlite including about 30 palms.  High drainage means more frequent watering, but since I use controlled release fertilizer every wetting leads to more nutrients being released, they dont wash away as with the "slow release" fertiliers.  I think the area you live in will be a part of the best watering and soil mix equation, "no one size fits all" applies here.  When I lived in arizona, it was local palm talkers that knew how to grow, both in pots and in the ground.  Same is true for florida, floridians who have grown here have the best experience.  i expect that Socal and Norcal will also have different requirements/experiences.  There may be other products that allow for a better engineered soil than a cactus/perlite mix, but I have had great results.

[palmsOrl]

I like what sonoranfans has said above.  I will probably try using more Vermiculite (or possibly Perlite or both if I ever decide to go that route) toward the bottom of the pots in general.

I actually cannot put my finger on why I have come to prefer Vermiculite as of late, but when I do I will post a detailed response as to the reasons why.

I do not mind watering as needed and this can be anything from twice per day in hot, dry mid-summer weather to every third week or fourth week (even less in some cases) for dormant plants in large pots in shady conditions during wet winter weather.

My mix is now for Orlando grown plants as follows by general category:

Cyrtostachys mix: 10% sand, 10% Vermiculite, 30% potting soil, 50% peat.

Tree fern (and most other ferns) mix: 15% sand, 15% Vermiculite, 20% potting soil, 50% peat.

General/Common palm mix: 20% sand, 20% Vermiculite, 40% potting soil, 20% peat.

Most rainforest palms: 20% sand, 20% Vermiculite, 20% potting soil, 40% peat.

Alkaline soil preferring palms and Cocos: 25% sand, 25% Vermiculite, 25% potting soil, 25% peat.

Houseplant general mix: 20% sand, 20% Vermiculite, 30% potting soil, 30% peat.

Cactus/Succulent/Caudiciform mix: 30% sand, 30% Vermiculite, 30% potting soil, 10% peat.

Several of these are only theoretical to me (have not actually been mixed and used yet), and are subject to tweaking, as am I.

That very last part was just a joke! 

[sonoranfans]

vermiculite holds lots of water, perlite does not hold much, so plan that into soil formulation and drainage.  https://homeguides.sfgate.com/vermiculite-vs-perlite-49660.html#:~:text=Water Retention,aeration for the plant roots.&text=Because it is porous it,vermiculite and improves soil aeration.

[palmsOrl]

Duly noted sonoranfans.  For that reason, I may use some or all Perlite on my cacti, succulents, caudiciforms and maybe Cocos and more xeric species.

On the other side of the spectrum I have a large Ficus bonsai that needed repotting asap and I was short on cash so I was going to just try 100% Perlite but on a whim went with 100% Vermicite.  This was done about three months ago and the tree has done quite well in the relatively moisture retentive vermiculite soil.  I think 100% Perlite would have been a disaster.

One edit I wanted to make to my last post where I listed the different soil mix recipes is to note that I would use a limestone-based sand for alkaline preferring palms and other plants (but not for Cocos).

[Jerry@TreeZoo]

I consider vermiculite a short term crop soil additive.  It is not stable long term and sludges out but is fine in short term crops like flowers or annuals.

[Umbrae]

sabal bermudana In my general purpose mix . one 3.8 cubic foot bag of peat moss, whatever BWI or local warehouse has usually Berger , 4 bags of pine bark soil conditioner , 2 cubic foot each and 4 bags of pine bark mulch 3 cubic foot bags and whole bag of perlite 4 cubic feet , and 14 pounds of osmocote. no sand , no vermiculite , no pumice, 

[Umbrae]

mixer cranks out a batch in about 8 minutes start to finish 

[Umbrae]

I get this brand from BWI, but local place has Mexican brand which is a little larger pieces 

[Umbrae]