Seramis

[DDavid]

Hello to all,

 

Where to buy seramis in the U.S.? Thanks 

David

[JohnAndSancho]

Turface MVP is the US equivalent. $15-20 for a 50lb bag. 

[Zeni]

Look up what Seramis is made from and there are many off brand equivalents. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

All Ewing irrigation stores carry Turface mvp. Just picked up 4 bags for less then 60$ 

T J 

[DDavid]

Just picked up some turface mvp tonight. Thanks for the recommendations!! 

[Than]

I bought Seramis for the first time few days ago as a replacement of perlite. The issue I had with perlite was that due to its white colour I couldn't tell when it was dry and when moist. I thought Seramis would change colour when wet. However, it doesn't. Its shade changes slightly, I still can't be sure. I am not sure if it has any other advantages over perlite. If it doesn't then I'll go back to perlite as it's a lot cheaper.

[Phoenikakias]

6 hours ago, ego said:

I bought Seramis for the first time few days ago as a replacement of perlite. The issue I had with perlite was that due to its white colour I couldn't tell when it was dry and when moist. I thought Seramis would change colour when wet. However, it doesn't. Its shade changes slightly, I still can't be sure. I am not sure if it has any other advantages over perlite. If it doesn't then I'll go back to perlite as it's a lot cheaper.

Go back to perlite a. s.a.p lol. 

[Phoenikakias]

6 hours ago, ego said:

I bought Seramis for the first time few days ago as a replacement of perlite. The issue I had with perlite was that due to its white colour I couldn't tell when it was dry and when moist. I thought Seramis would change colour when wet. However, it doesn't. Its shade changes slightly, I still can't be sure. I am not sure if it has any other advantages over perlite. If it doesn't then I'll go back to perlite as it's a lot cheaper.

This is not the way seramis can be used.

[Than]

1 minute ago, Phoenikakias said:

This is not the way seramis can be used.

How is it supposed to be used?

[Phoenikakias]

5 minutes ago, ego said:

How is it supposed to be used?

As a substitute for soil, not to make soil looser and provide more aeration. To latter purposes we mix seramis with pine bark and cinder. To take an idea, seramis suitable for orchids or succulents is offered only mixed with bark chips or lava respectively. Seramis absorbs more water than both bark and lava!

[Than]

4 minutes ago, Phoenikakias said:

As a substitute for soil, not to make soil looser and provide more aeration. To latter purposes we mix seramis with pine bark and cinder. To take an idea, seramis suitable for orchids or succulents is offered only mixed with bark chips or lava respectively. Seramis absorbs more water than both bark and lava!

So seramis does not help aerate the soil? I thought that being bigger in size than soil particles it will create air pockets.

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

Perlite and Seramis serve 2 different purposes in your soil mix. Seramis adds weight and water retention plus aeration but doesn't allow soil to get mucky. Perlite serves as filler mostly for aeration but as most will say it isnt worth the hassle of the perlite coming to the top. I have never used perlite as an ammendment for my soil so can't say what all it's good for. Either way it doesn't seem to gardner much praise from the PT community@ego

T J 

[Phoenikakias]

 

[Than]

2 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Perlite and Seramis serve 2 different purposes in your soil mix. Seramis adds weight and water retention plus aeration but doesn't allow soil to get mucky. Perlite serves as filler mostly for aeration but as most will say it isnt worth the hassle of the perlite coming to the top. I have never used perlite as an ammendment for my soil so can't say what all it's good for. Either way it doesn't seem to gardner much praise from the PT community@ego

T J 

So it will do the job then. It helps roots stay healthy. Weight is also welcome where I live because strong winds often kick down my pots

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

10 minutes ago, ego said:

So it will do the job then. It helps roots stay healthy. Weight is also welcome where I live because strong winds often kick down my pots

Yes the moisture control plus aeration is the biggest reason so many of us use it for palms in pots. Weight is an added bonus. Definitely don't go over 50% turface for seedlings as I have seen some not care for the over compaction. 

T J 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, ego said:

So seramis does not help aerate the soil? I thought that being bigger in size than soil particles it will create air pockets.

Definitely helps aerate soil mixes, ..use it in everything i grow, for over a decade.. 

That said, it is best when mixed w/ other ingredients such as Pumice, Coco Peat ( Ground Coconut Husk, ..not Peat Moss ) small Lava rock, and/ or " Chet " which is broken down rocks, whose particle size is roughly the same as Seramis  / Calcined Clay. < collect that from local stream beds  but can be bought as Chicken Grit from  Feed supply stores > 

As mentioned, Perlite floats out of soil mixes over time, leaving behind all the dense and decomposing organics / fine sand in the mix to compact in the pot. Not good for roots / getting oxygen circulating down to them.  Haven't touched the stuff in years.


** Should add, anyone still using Pine Bark, instead of chunky Coconut husk in the soil mixes for Orchids / other Epiphyte- type plants?   Many long time growers have abandoned it as a " soil " medium. Coconut Husk holds up much better, and provides natural compounds that can help subdue the presence of pathogenic bacteria / fungi. 

Edited May 12, 2022 by Silas_Sancona
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[Than]

3 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Yes the moisture control plus aeration is the biggest reason so many of us use it for palms in pots. Weight is an added bonus. Definitely don't go over 50% turface for seedlings as I have seen some not care for the over compaction. 

T J 

It isn't a seedling actually, it is a young alocasia macrorrhiza. I used 40% regular market compost, 30% seramis, 20% worm castings and 10% bark chips. How does that sound? Previous mix was 50% compost and 50% perlite and I must say the roots looked super healthy.

[Palmensammler]

Since I use a mixture of Seramis (~30%), pine bark (~25%) and good soil (~ 45%) my palms do better than before in pure soil. Sometimes I also add some lava gravel.

For my potted Yuccas I add gravel and reduce the soil to ~20%.

Takes some time to find the best working mixture.

Eckhard

[Than]

13 minutes ago, Palmensammler said:

Since I use a mixture of Seramis (~30%), pine bark (~25%) and good soil (~ 45%) my palms do better than before in pure soil. Sometimes I also add some lava gravel.

For my potted Yuccas I add gravel and reduce the soil to ~20%.

Takes some time to find the best working mixture.

Eckhard

Sounds like a reasonable recipe indeed! 

[Than]

24 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Definitely helps aerate soil mixes, ..use it in everything i grow, for over a decade.. 

That said, it is best when mixed w/ other ingredients such as Pumice, Coco Peat ( Ground Coconut Husk, ..not Peat Moss ) small Lava rock, and/ or " Chet " which is broken down rocks, whose particle size is roughly the same as Seramis  / Calcined Clay. < collect that from local stream beds  but can be bought as Chicken Grit from  Feed supply stores > 

As mentioned, Perlite floats out of soil mixes over time, leaving behind all the dense and decomposing organics / fine sand in the mix to compact in the pot. Not good for roots / getting oxygen circulating down to them.  Haven't touched the stuff in years.

I'll try not to use it again either. I never liked how light it is, makes it difficult to water, I can never tell when it's dry, it floats.. but yeah it's cheap! 

[Phoenikakias]

55 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Definitely helps aerate soil mixes, ..use it in everything i grow, for over a decade.. 

That said, it is best when mixed w/ other ingredients such as Pumice, Coco Peat ( Ground Coconut Husk, ..not Peat Moss ) small Lava rock, and/ or " Chet " which is broken down rocks, whose particle size is roughly the same as Seramis  / Calcined Clay. < collect that from local stream beds  but can be bought as Chicken Grit from  Feed supply stores > 

As mentioned, Perlite floats out of soil mixes over time, leaving behind all the dense and decomposing organics / fine sand in the mix to compact in the pot. Not good for roots / getting oxygen circulating down to them.  Haven't touched the stuff in years.


** Should add, anyone still using Pine Bark, instead of chunky Coconut husk in the soil mixes for Orchids / other Epiphyte- type plants?   Many long time growers have abandoned it as a " soil " medium. Coconut Husk holds up much better, and provides natural compounds that can help subdue the presence of pathogenic bacteria / fungi. 

I grow a dendrobium in sole pine bark and it does very well.

[Silas_Sancona]

31 minutes ago, ego said:

I'll try not to use it again either. I never liked how light it is, makes it difficult to water, I can never tell when it's dry, it floats.. but yeah it's cheap! 

What's nice about Seramis / Calcined Clay,  Pumice / Lava rock ( if / where available ) and Chicken Grit ( unless you can collect similar - sized grit yourself ) is you can buy a big bag and it will last quite awhile, ..unless you're potting up dozens of things at a time.

Coco Peat is nice too because it usually comes in a compressed block that can be expanded in water. easy to store, and expands out to roughly the equivalent of 2 cubic ft. of bagged stuff..   Couple blocks a couple times a year ..any you'll have plenty.. 

Only thing w/ any coconut husk product is it is best to put through a " Rinse, drain and repeat " process before using it. Some distributors are good about sourcing product that has had a lot of the salt, naturally retained in the Husk, rinsed out. Some aren't so good about that and you can get a block ( of chunky stuff ) that still has a little more salt in it than you'd want. 

I have a 5 gal bucket w/ holes drilled into the bottom edge where i'll process whatever quantity of Coco Peat i'll need, then  soak / allow to expand, and let it drain, ...Then refill the bucket / let drain off again before mixing. I'll usually do this a day before i'm going to pot up stuff..

Another thing w/ both Coco Peat / Husk chunks and Seramis  ..at least here..  is during the part of our summer when humidity is often 20% or lower / Dew Points in the Teens to -0F range, moisture can be drawn from it pretty efficiently ..so i do have to water seedlings /  things in 1 gal / smaller pots a little more often, esp. anything exposed to more sun.  Good thing is, unlike Peat moss, when wetted, Coco peat will wet all the way through, and doesn't shrivel into a nearly impossible to re wet soil mass.

Edited May 12, 2022 by Silas_Sancona
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[JohnAndSancho]

Dumb question re:Turface

 

How much is 50lbs in terms of volume? I've held off buying the big bags because it seems excessive for my needs and I'm so limited on storage space. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

12 minutes ago, JohnAndSancho said:

How much is 50lbs in terms of volume?

Not sure how much volume it is but just imagine a 50# sack of quickrete that's almost exactly what a bag of turface looks like. 

T J 

[JohnAndSancho]

32 minutes ago, OC2Texaspalmlvr said:

Not sure how much volume it is but just imagine a 50# sack of quickrete that's almost exactly what a bag of turface looks like. 

T J 

I read that as "probably a 2 year supply" for me, but tbf I do need to pot a couple more palms up to 7 gallon+ sizes. 

[OC2Texaspalmlvr]

You will be surprised how fast you will go thru it. I keep 1 bag in one of those Home Depot storage bins. Amend soil for seedlings as I go , granted I'm not in an apartment so maybe not as convenient for you haha @JohnAndSancho

T J 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, JohnAndSancho said:

Dumb question re:Turface

 

How much is 50lbs in terms of volume? I've held off buying the big bags because it seems excessive for my needs and I'm so limited on storage space. 

A 50lb bag of MVP is approx: 1.35cuft.. If i had to guess, ( since the bag i just bought sits right next to them ) one bag of MVP would fill ~ roughly ~ 1 1/2 5gal buckets..  Will know for sure once i get a couple more buckets, just for Turface.  Yea you might have it around for awhile, but you'll never regret not having it when you need it.

Edited May 13, 2022 by Silas_Sancona
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[JohnAndSancho]

So now I'm buying a bag tomorrow when I have to go to Conroe. 

[Than]

9 hours ago, Phoenikakias said:

I grow a dendrobium in sole pine bark and it does very well.

I grew one in coconut husk chips which I cut myself. It grew like crazy and bloomed. 

[Phoenikakias]

12 hours ago, ego said:

I grew one in coconut husk chips which I cut myself. It grew like crazy and bloomed. 

Man, only downside of the use of such free draining materials relates to water conservation considerations, against which I have nothing to argue.

[Than]

1 hour ago, Phoenikakias said:

Man, only downside of the use of such free draining materials relates to water conservation considerations, against which I have nothing to argue.

It was in Indonesia, plenty of water