turface only?

[Ross]

I know but I had a pretty good group of Serissa cuttings and knew how sensative they were, wanted to run the test for a 'resonable' amount of time and I did know some of the outcome anyway. They wanted a 'different' filler article (2 pages or about 800 words) and I was bored.

If you can only water once a day, like in your experiment, then 100% turface is probably not going to work for you, unless you live in Seattle. It works for me in Dallas, but I have to water heavily at least twice a day and I add certain components for different plants like peat for azaleas. My little serissa has grown well in pure turface for two seasons now.

 

[subnet_rx]

I made a mistake using 50% Turface/50% Pine Bark as well. I can only water once per day. Last year, in grow pots, it worked out for me because the plants had extensive root systems. After root pruning and putting into bonsai pots this year, everything in the turface mix is dying from stress. In the plants that I reduced it to 30% (just because I was starting to run out of mix), 30% Perlite, and 40% organic, they are surviving well.

 

[bonsaimeister]

After root pruning and putting into bonsai pots this year, everything in the turface mix is dying from stress.

Are you implying that is due to you not being able to keep up with the watering or for other reasons, or both?

 

[head_cutter]

oh my god guys

I know...I know...I know.

The POINT was to give them a little filler article to use whenever...I KNEW what was going to happen given the conditions. I WASN'T trying to explain how to prep and launch the space shuttle.

I am now living in Vietnam, standard 'soil mix' here is sand. There is no Turface...no Haydite...no turkey grit...damned sure no Pine bark. I found a hillside about 25 miles out of town where there is coarse sand, I go there with 2 buckets hanging on my motorbike and bring some back, I also have to go to a place where road paving is in progerss and get what amounts to crushed Basalt and bring some of it home. The quarry won't sell anything less than a truckload.
They don't understand selling less than that amount.

In a 50/50 mix of that my trees do very well, most have improved growth after repotting.
Fertilizer is also a little problem here...imagine going 'scouting' for a few old cow pies to bring home and allow to cure?

The flip side is that the collected material, in most nurseries, is very cheap by your standards. My last accusition, water Jasmine (6' X 48" buttress) was under $60 USD, of course it wouldn't fit on my moto so I had to have it delivered.

It was so big and butt-ugly I had to do it.

Bob

 

[Klytus]

Another picture with more bike would be good.

 

[Rick Moquin]

I made a mistake using 50% Turface/50% Pine Bark as well. I can only water once per day. Last year, in grow pots, it worked out for me because the plants had extensive root systems. After root pruning and putting into bonsai pots this year, everything in the turface mix is dying from stress. In the plants that I reduced it to 30% (just because I was starting to run out of mix), 30% Perlite, and 40% organic, they are surviving well.

???????? me thinks there are mitigating factors that are/were overlooked.

 

[head_cutter]

klytus

Ha Ha...it's only a 100cc Honda, basic transportation here. I think the WJ outweighs it by a little.

Bob

 

[subnet_rx]

Are you implying that is due to you not being able to keep up with the watering or for other reasons, or both?

It's due to me not being able to keep up with the watering. I've slip-potted some into a jungle growth potting mix with about 50% turface in mid-summer and they seem to be doing better. They start to wilt within 36 hours as opposed to 18 with the Turface mix. They hold up now for about the same amount of time as the trees I have still in nursery potting soil. Last year, I watered twice a day and used the Turface mix. It worked good, although I noticed some shoddy root development in some, but couldn't directly attribute that to Turface. This year, I can't water everything I have twice a day, and the trees are suffering because I put them in a mix that required that.

 

[flor1]

I've been using a mix of 50% Turface and 50% Miricale Gro it seems after 24 hrs my soil is still damp in the opinion of those here is that average or should I be adjusting my percentages or changing something. As a side note I am located in N Georgia. Thanks for any input or suggestions.

 

[head_cutter]

Damp, moist--ok, wet, sitting in water--not ok. A lot of this depends on every factor; the mix, how well the pot drains, weather, where it's sitting and on and on. If the tree looks healthy it's probably doing ok, if you're worried about it water less and see what happens.

I'm in a position of growing everything (tropicals) in a coarse sand/Basalt chip mix here. The soil stays a little damp but not wet, everything is growing in about 70-80% shade and gets watered twice a day (100+ degree heat) misted a lot as well. I make a habit of using a chopstick to agitate the soil on a regular basis, push it in till it hits the bottom of the pot and wiggling it in a circle until it creates a hole--like you do when you're settling it in after re-potting.

The mix is more open than you would think (but wouldn't recommend it for anywhere but here). When I water the pots drain very well.

Bob

 

[Vance Wood]

Damp, moist--ok, wet, sitting in water--not ok. A lot of this depends on every factor; the mix, how well the pot drains, weather, where it's sitting and on and on. If the tree looks healthy it's probably doing ok, if you're worried about it water less and see what happens.

I'm in a position of growing everything (tropicals) in a coarse sand/Basalt chip mix here. The soil stays a little damp but not wet, everything is growing in about 70-80% shade and gets watered twice a day (100+ degree heat) misted a lot as well. I make a habit of using a chopstick to agitate the soil on a regular basis, push it in till it hits the bottom of the pot and wiggling it in a circle until it creates a hole--like you do when you're settling it in after re-potting.

The mix is more open than you would think (but wouldn't recommend it for anywhere but here). When I water the pots drain very well.

Bob

If it drains well you have aeration. If you have aeration you are not likely to contract root rot.