What soil does Kentias like outdoors in pots?

[Palmfarmer]

The soil in my Potted Kentia has turned to humus at this point and it worries me It can cause root rot. 
so what kind of mix does a kentia love? I was thinking of using a lot of stone, sand, volcanic rocks along 1/3 of organic materials. Good idea? 

[Harry’s Palms]

23 hours ago, Palmfarmer said:

The soil in my Potted Kentia has turned to humus at this point and it worries me It can cause root rot. 
so what kind of mix does a kentia love? I was thinking of using a lot of stone, sand, volcanic rocks along 1/3 of organic materials. Good idea? 

I have seen large Kentia in sand and they seemed happy. I would use a sandy loam potting soil with vermiculite. I usually put a 2” layer of pebbles at the bottom of the pot . The pot should have adequate drainage as Kentia like a good supply of water . I had three in one pot for years and they got so big in filtered shade that they broke the ceramic pot! I never did anything with them because they looked so happy. The root ball was just jammed in so tight I decided to give them to my neighbor because I already had a few in the ground and he always admired the “weepy palms”. Harry

[happypalms]

Almost a succulent mix with some coco coir mixed in pine bark river sand the lighter the mix the more free draining meaning more watering 

[Palmfarmer]

On 4/2/2024 at 8:56 PM, happypalms said:

Almost a succulent mix with some coco coir mixed in pine bark river sand the lighter the mix the more free draining meaning more watering 

Yes I am a bit paranoid about using too much organic matter due to root rot. Is

1 peat 1 compost and 1/2 perlite a mix that is safe if I water correctly? 
I heard some lecture about compost in pots and they said that compost will release co2 as it breaks down further making root rot likely to occur.

Does that sound like wrong information? 

[RichardHemsley]

Mine is in a mix of 60% standard potting compost 30% coco fibre and 10% perlite (roughly) and it's one of my fastest growing palms.  It gets full sun in the morning and part shade in the afternoon,  has a good soaking every other day at the moment, and seems very happy with life!

[happypalms]

8 hours ago, Palmfarmer said:

Yes I am a bit paranoid about using too much organic matter due to root rot. Is

1 peat 1 compost and 1/2 perlite a mix that is safe if I water correctly? 
I heard some lecture about compost in pots and they said that compost will release co2 as it breaks down further making root rot likely to occur.

Does that sound like wrong information? 

Your mix sounds pretty good to much organic compost blocks the oxygen level and can get stagnant creating water problems well rotted broken down compost is fine just not to much it really does depend a indoor plant is a little different than a outdoor container plant to much compost indoors is not good at all as you said if you water correctly it’s not a problem outdoors palms like a free draining mix there may be the odd exception when you pot up a plant and water it watch how fast it drains that’s a good indicator of your soil mix and by how heavy the mix is when saturated the faster the drainage the better look at a anthurium soil mix super fast drainage palms a bit slower draining ore damage done overwatering than underwatering trial and error can be avoided simply by understanding your soil mix 

[Palmfarmer]

4 hours ago, happypalms said:

Your mix sounds pretty good to much organic compost blocks the oxygen level and can get stagnant creating water problems well rotted broken down compost is fine just not to much it really does depend a indoor plant is a little different than a outdoor container plant to much compost indoors is not good at all as you said if you water correctly it’s not a problem outdoors palms like a free draining mix there may be the odd exception when you pot up a plant and water it watch how fast it drains that’s a good indicator of your soil mix and by how heavy the mix is when saturated the faster the drainage the better look at a anthurium soil mix super fast drainage palms a bit slower draining ore damage done overwatering than underwatering trial and error can be avoided simply by understanding your soil mix 

The mix drains medium to fast pace and is fluffy and lose even when watered. I guess it is safe to assume to root is out of the Picture with that blend.