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Hi, all!! I’m having a lot of trouble with my plants getting root… | Monstera Maniacs | Planta 커뮤니티

Sarahpj08

Hi, all!! I’m having a lot of trouble with my plants getting root rot/soil not drying out fast enough, and I’ve since bought a moisture meter which I think has helped me, but I also would like to make sure I have a good soil mix. I’ve increasingly learned more as I’ve been collecting houseplants for about a year now, and I’ve been adding more and more things to my soil/ using anything other than just the “potting soil” or “indoor houseplant soil”, but I buy plants from people who have clearly been doing this for a long time with very much success and their soil is never similar to mine. I like to make in bulk and keep it in a latching plastic tote. Right now, I do the bag of sphagnum moss, add some coconut coir, I started using orchid bark but ordered bricks of coco chips to do instead because they allow for a bit more adjustment room when potting smaller plants/pots, I do earthworm castings, and vermiculite. It’s still more soil vs chunk ratio, which I can adjust that, but I see some things in peoples soil that I don’t know much about. Like pumice, I’d be interested in learning about and using that. I’d just like to hear what you all mix and what works best for you, and where you get said resources (because everything I have is stuff I can get near me in person, besides the coco chips I had to order off amazon which I started doing just within the last week, but I’m totally open to ordering anything depending on the pricing if it’s decent and/or shipping). And just any other tips you may have about overwatering / soil drying out. TIA!

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  1. Jordan

    I would avoid sphagnum moss in your mix! That could definitely be one of the things leading to root rot, it holds too much moisture. This is what I use in my soilless mix: - coco coir - coco chips - orchid bark - perlite or pumice - charcoal - worm castings I only add vermiculite if it’s for a begonia or something that is thirstier. Of course this is all personal preference!

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    • Sarahpj08

      OH MY gosh, no way!!! Idk why people tell you that’s the best thing to get, then! Just wondering bc I don’t know, what makes coco coir better than using that? Just because the ones I get seem somewhat like the same thing. I mean obviously I know it’s not the same, but it seems the same consistency which would make me think it would be the same as using the sphagnum. Only asking because I want to know all the things!! Thank you for the list, would it be okay to omit the orchid bark and use just a good amount of coco chips instead? As I mentioned, in the post, I like the size of the pieces better than the orchid bark. And, could you let me know where you purchase all listed items, so I know and so that I also know what the correct/reasonable pricing is to pay for it? Thank you so so much!!

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    • Jordan

      Do you mean peat moss instead of sphagnum moss? *this isn’t my photo, but it’s a very good comparison next to each other I’m not completely sure why people say to use coco coir instead of peat moss, you can do more research into it though it seems like there is a lot out there! However, it looks like peat moss holds more moisture than coco coir which could be one of the main reasons, since it could lead to the peat moss condensing more and suffocating the roots as well as leading to root rot since it holds more water.

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    • Jordan

      I think excluding orchid bark would be okay! You might just have to water less because the mix won’t be as fast draining. You can also get small sized orchid bark if you just don’t like the size of the large. There are a couple different sizes available and I definitely don’t like the super large ones either! I get almost all my mix stuff from Amazon! It’s the only place where I can get everything. I will usually just find the best priced/on sale of each item that has good reviews. I get the coco coir and coco chips in bricks like you mentioned and expand them. I also like to use small and large perlite in my mix, but this is extra and you don’t have to use both!

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  2. PrettyLittleThings

    I invested so much on my potting mix, tried different brands and styles, most of them from Amazon. I like Fat Plant's Succulent mix (consisting of coco coir and some perlite), Rosy Succulent Mix, Fox Farm, even Miracle grow. Whatever I use, I add a lot of perlite to it and pumice. Squeezing them to make sure they crumble. Just eyeballing everything. And then, I make sure my pot is not too big for them, for quicker drying. I always have a big bag of pumice iand perlite in stock. Doesn't matter what plant I use it on, that is my mix. Just recent, I bought 3 little newborn begonias. I'm experimenting on just Fat Plant's prep made mix without adding more perlite to it. Using tropical mix is perfect if you like to water your plants frequently, they drain fast and doesn't clogged up. It's just hard to use the moisture meter on them because it doesn't recognize the barks as wet or dry. I hope this helps.

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  3. Yolanda

    Amazon sponsors a soil called repot me which makes soil specifically for every type plant you may have in your collection. Before my fiddle leaf fig went to the graveyard 😏I purchased the soil that was made specifically for the fiddle leaf plants. They also make a standard soil suitable for many types of plants

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  4. PNWPlantJourney

    Like the person above said, too much moss equals too much moisture. That’s probably your rotting issue. Although, they are great for propagation. As for the blend that I use for my plants that like chunky mixes, I use: 30% Bark 15% Perlite 15% Pumice 15% Coir 12.5% Charcoal 12.5% Worm Castings For my other plants that like more moisture such as Prachira Aquatica and Peace Lily, I use: 75% Potting mix 25% Perlite Then, there is cactus and citrus plants where I just use citrus/succulent potting mix.

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    • PNWPlantJourney

      Also, Pumice is just like perlite which allows aeration. Meaning, when you water your plants, water will come out the drainage hole quicker. This allows the root of your plants to breathe. They NEED that room for air circulation in the soil. This brings us back to the root rot issue you’re dealing with. Example: We’ll say these plants inhale oxygen through their root system (The Mouth Of The Plant). If their mouth is always in water, they will suffocate and drown just as humans do. Therefore, to combat that, their soil needs to drain rather well ( For plants that do not like to stay wet for too long).Hope I explained that well enough. Anyways, let’s get back to the topic. The difference between pumice and perlite is that pumice also retains some moisture while aerating. It’s the best of both worlds. Although, beware of how much pumice you add to your mix. After all, it does retain moisture. Hope that helps

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    • Sarahpj08

      Thank you so much! Maybe it being good for propagation is where I got confused. I really appreciate the kind and informative help!

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    • PNWPlantJourney

      No problem. Good luck!

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    • Sarahpj08

      Just waiting on the small orchid bark and transparent pot inserts to come in today and I’ll be getting to started after getting off work at 2:30 today!

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