I use fine aquarium rocks as a topping. Because it’s to sharp and heavy gnats can’t go trough. You can see them hovering above unable to enter the soil! You shall not pass🧙🏻♂️
I use decorative sand used for aquarium too. I just started a few weeks ago and I agree with you. I found gnats trying to get in but just walking around, could not do anything so it is good. Hope this will stop them but your comment makes me hopeful :)
Jordy de vries Gnats can definitely crawl through gravel. It wouldn’t stop them at all. That’s why you see them hopping around on top. Gnats don’t fly well and often spend their entire lives sitting on top of your soil. The rocks will also trap moisture and may cause mould growth on your soil or keep it too damp and cause root rot.
Rena Signorino this is true. I thought I was doing a great thing by putting on some of my plants. It traps the moisture onto the soil and causes almost a mildew-like growth.
@@stacy8457 Thanks for that, I will keep an eye on it :) Can just ask how it looks like? Does the mold/mildew grows on the top of the sand? How long did it take to happen? What was your soil mix?
Medium grain sand works like magic for preventing gnats. As long as the grain isn't super fine sand also really helps with aeration and is a great moisture indicator when using light colored sand since the sand will darken when it's moist, and will dry out and lighten in color as the potting mix dries out. I cover the top 1-1½" of every pot with a natural tan colored sterile medium coarse sand, water from the bottom until the sand turns darker, use a small bamboo support rod to poke a few holes in the soil around the plant to allow more oxygen to the roots, and water every time with water I soak mosquito bits in overnight then strain out, then adjust the water's pH accordingly. (Mosquito bits will make the water more acidic.) This routine got I'd of a gnat infestation in 3 days and I haven't seen a single gnat in my plants or my house since. (it's been almost 3 years now.)
chemist with PhD here. Nope. The activated charcoal is essentially a Brita filter. It will adsorb ALL cations initially (calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium as well as heavier metals you might get in your water) but once it saturates that's it. And it doesn't take long to saturate it. Think how big Brita filter actually is and how short it lasts. So the only use of activated charcoal I see is to filter your water, in the soil it will became useless very quickly and will also grab magnesium and potassium you're feeding your plants.
For anyone who has trouble finding all these materials, this basically works out to 2/3 chunky material and 1/3 of "dirt". I've been growing many plants in equal parts of bark, potting mix, and perlite and it's the same composition and it works great! I'll be sure to get some coir and charcoal though to give your mix a try! Cheers
I live in Australia where it's pretty much always crazy hot (25-40 degrees Celcius on an average day), but humidity can vary from 35%-90% every week. As such, I end up watering my aroids anywhere from 3 times per week to once per fortnight, and they certainly don't appreciate the inconsistency. I recently started mixing sphagnum moss (roughly 30%) with a super airy potting mix which has been super helpful, as the moss has managed to keep the moisture levels stable through the crazy humidity changes without making the mix too wet.
One thing someone taught me that I’ve loved for holding back the gnats. Is topping with black lava rock. Gnats hate it, it holds in moisture, it actually also keeps roots warm and it looks lovely :)
I think twenty five percent will hold in too much moisture,,plus your wood chips is too very chunky,smaller.I rather use Happy frog, add little bit orchid bark,ten percent perlite. I have no problem with mine.
Could you please make more videos for other types of mixes? I have two calatheas and two pothos who would love a soil change to something better suited for them. Or would this mix work for those plants as well??
Diatomaceous earth is a good top dressing too if you have gnats infestation. It kills the adult gnats. To kill the larvae, it’s good to use mosquito bits or something similar u have in the UK. I also use yellow sticky traps too.
Usually I do equal parts coco coir, pearlite, charcoal & bark and a dash of worm castings (like a quarter or half cup). Pretty darn close! I am an over waterer as well and I was losing my large leaf philodendrons when I first started buying them. (RIP black cardinal and several others :D ) When I talked to some people more well versed in plant keeping and they shared this mix with me it literally turned my luck around with my aroids. Haven't lost a single one since I ditched potting mix. If I don't have coco coir, I do use the Black Gold brand potting mix which I do find to be high quality.
@@celeste.430 I'm thinking 3-6 months, only because purchased potting mixtures contains fertilizer that are slow release for around that amount of time. But definitely check out Nurseries for plant help if u get none in the comments that you feel u can trust.
I watched this yesterday and ordered some aroid mix today. While I was repotting i noticed all the bundles of tiny roots. I am so glad I watched this video. Thank you.
With anthuriums ( showy flowering types) in Trinidad where I'm from, many ppl including the professionals use big portions of dried coconut shells to pot them, or just plant them in the open, in the same medium, under diffused sunlight, it works beautifully.
Thanks for this mix. I'm a fellow overwaterer... you are not alone. But I had no idea that my pottingsoil makes my overwatering tendency worse by holding on to too much. Please keep doing what you're doing, as this plantkiller needs all the help she can get 💚🌱
Thanks for another great and useful video! I'm reluctant to put spagnum moss close to the stems, but I think a moisture "locking" top layer is good for the roots - they will use more of the pot volume and not just the bottom part. This is what the bonsai people do when they place moss on top of their (extremely shallow) pots.
Just discovered this channel - it's great - like Mr. Sheffield with better hair. Perfect balance of humor and smart, well-paced advice. I was just about to transplant several monsteras so this came in the nick of time.
Highly recommend mosquito bits for a fungus gnat problem. I soak them for a day in my watering can and water my plants with it. I’ve noticed my gnat problem has gone down significantly ☺️
@@tellwel3767 Mosquito Bits is the name of a granular product used to kill gnats in plants. You can sprinkle it on top and water it in, or use the watering method above.
Activated charcoal's impurity drawing capacity only lasts for about 2 weeks, after which you'd have to replace the activated charcoal in your mix. This is because it draws impurities until each charcoal particle is full, but it doesn't let go of the impurities, so once it's full, it's time for new charcoal.
that's not entirely true. First of all, it will saturate with any cation available so it will also grab Mg and K you're feeding your plants not only impurities. That might come handy later, it will start releasing them back if you stop feeding so it could be treated as slow release fertilizer, but only if you're sure you don't have any other problematic impurities. Second, the capacity will depend on how impure your water is so if you're using distilled water it will last much longer. Third, if you switch from tap to distilled water or any water that is less saturated the cations will desorb back. Not fully of course, that requires re-activating, but a lot of loosely bound impurities will re-adsorb into soil. That's why you should never drink water from a Brita filter that's been used for too long, it will start releasing everything back when the concentration inside the filter is much higher than in your water. Essentially, just skip charcoal in your soil and use it to filter your water, it will clean the calcium or heavy metals that are the biggest problems (it doesn't adsorb fluoride though).
Commercial orchid mixes are also good substitutes for folks who can't make mixes. Depending on the quality, you can add a little potting soil to increase moisture. But I want to try this mix, it looks amazing!!!
I use terra cotta pots, so my mix is more like 40% potting soil, 20% sphagnum, and 40% bark. I use worm castings and osmocote for fertilizer. I do this because the terra cotta really sucks the moisture out, even with 50-60% humidity in my home. I also check up on the mix after a few weeks and will adjust it for plants that need more/less moisture.
I know you don't keep many calathea anymore, but I would greatly appreciate a similar video about potting medium for them. My makoyana is happy as can be, but I just can't figure out what on earth my fussy medallion wants. The soil is the only thing that can possibly be wrong at this point; it gets several hours of medium indirect light every day, humidity in my apartment is between 65 and 70, I have fans on 24/7 for air circulation, temp is never below 67(farenheit), and is usually several degrees higher. I water with room temp filtered water as soon as my moisture meter touches the bottom of the 'moist' section. Halp?
I live in a tropical climate but my medallion keeps frying as well. He used to be in my office with low light, but the temperature tends to rise by noon and afternoon. I now placed him together with my other plants that get a south facing window with indirect light. He is also elevated below my monstera, for the shade, and placed a pebble tray under the pot. Frying seems to have stopped, but still no new leaves. My zebrina, on the other hand, who's placed on a similar location, already has 2 new growths this week. I don't know what to do with medallion anymore, either. Oh, and my ratttlesnake seems to be going on a similar direction.
@@knethmorgan it's a bit bizarre, because it's right next to my makoyana, and they both push out new leaves regularly, but they just immediately begin frying on the medallion, and mako is absolutely loving life literally 3 inches away. I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.
Kenneth Morgan Sometimes I feel that calatheas does whatever a calathea does. My Medallion has a ton of leaves, same as my makoyana but my zebrina is dying.
Try watering less until you get the soil situation sorted out! I water mine when they're borderline dry. Your high humidity will accommodate for that, trust me.
I was having that problem... until I try low light 💡 and it make a big difference. I live in Utah where is hot 🥵 and dry. And I don’t turn on the AC unless is 99 F outside all my blinds and windows are open. And because I love ❤️ Calatheas so much! I have in my basement and my bedroom. The ones in the bedroom... I but a fan in low because is to hot. So, I have to water them almost every 2 days because they get very dry quick. But in my basement maybe every 5 to 6 days. And the ones in my bedroom are more happy 😃. Btw. I don’t used humidifier just have volcanic rock in the bottom pot dish. So when whatever water comes out.. it won’t be touching my pot and helps with humidity. That is what I do during the SUMMER TIME! I moved to medium light 💡 in winter ❄️ which is almos for 9 months in Utah 😅 and I never put them in the basement in winter, because is to cold for the calatheas. They survived the heat. But not the cold 🥶
I Kaylee! I live in Pensacola Florida and my tried and true potting medium here is coco coir (I say it like you do!), perlite, vermiculite and worm castings. I have great humidity and warmth here and my plants are thriving beautifully! I only have to water once a month! After watching your video, I may definitely add a bit of activated charcoal! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
Activated charcoal has a PH of 12-13 (!) and does soak up toxins, however it also soak up nutrients (it can’t actually tell the difference between the two) and will only have the effect of “cleaning” for about 2-4 weeks. So would I recommend it? Not really no. Btw, this is all information from soil scientist Gardening in Canada and founded in scientific research and articles.
In my experience, if you have cats you might be interested to know, the orchid bark as a top dresser also deters my cat from digging the soil - well, mostly :) And I also noticed it helps with gnats (does not rid entirely but definitely reduced the amount I saw flying around).
@@venicemitchell1407 🙈🙈 Oh cats.... Well I placed some only in the big pots because that's where my cats went digging - to do their business essentially... 🙈 But I'm sure that it would work in smaller pots too. Other people use the leca (clay) balls as a top dresser also, or pebbles/rocks large enough so that you cat does not throw them around... As for the propagation, you might have to just place them out of reach 🤷🏽♀️ Good luck! :)
You are a godsend!!! I googled this for weeks before getting my verrucosum and couldn’t find any good info. I ended up putting it in sphagnum so this will come in handy in a couple of week!
I just repotted my monstera this week after putting off repotting it for so long because it’s getting huge. I have it in a large clay pot with 3 parts potting soil. 1 part perlite and 1 part orchid bark. I couldn’t find much consistent info on a good monstera mixture so I took info from different places and combined it. I should have waited until this video dropped. Also used that mix for my rhaphidophora tetrasperma . I really hope they manage lol
Love this video! Absolutely is so helpful.Could you please do a video on the actual amount of water you should typically give a plant rather then how often to water a plant.I would truly appreciate.Thank you.
Just a word about the activated charcoal if it hasn't been mentioned yet (not about to read nearly 400 comments,) but while activated charcoal has been heated to the point where it's a lot more porous than regular charcoal, there's still only so much it can hold. For the price difference, it doesn't end up being worth it in the end. If impurities are the main reason for choosing activated charcoal, it's better long term to just use a more purer source of water from the get go since people are unlikely to pick out the activated charcoal bits in order to replace them (even aquarium activated charcoal/carbon filters need replacing for this exact reason.)
One thing that helps when you over water is to put soil moist crystals in your mix you don't need very much it also holds water in suspension if you are a neglectful waterer. I know Lowes here in America sells it Home Depot does not. I know on Amazon the other day I saw a Miracle Grow produces a crystal that you can mix in with your soil mix. But I do not recommend Miracle-Gro potting soil with some oyster control in it it stinks. And I haven't used the Miracle-Gro Moisture crystals that comes separately so I can't recommend any product except soil moist. I added to all my soil mixtures
I will do the mixture that you are explaining right now. I will just do some twists with the ingredients that i don’t have at the moment….thanks for the info
Need more potting mixes!!! I had no idea how detrimental using improper potting mix can be. I need guidance! Not enough UA-camrs are talking about this. And also how to aerate if your mix is too thick. Thank you Kaylee Ellen
Presented step-by-step simply very well. Reliable and genuine in your personality. I'm gonna follow the organic soil media you have suggested...thank you so much for that beautiful explanation....Om Shanti 🕉
I use a mixture of peat moss, coco fiber, charcoal, bark, sphagnum moss, sand, perlite, and sometimes tree fern fiber. I use different ratios depending on the plant.
I tend to go with similar mix, but do use some sphagnum moss with the smaller plants. My hint is to look for cymbidium potting mix, that is somewhat similar to this mix of perlite, coir, potting soil and orchid bark. If I'm out of coir, I substitute it with garden compost mix (no fertiliser or very low quantity in it): in Finland it contains peat, sand and compost. Cheap ones even less fertilisers. In case of missing perlite: fine aquarium sand or coarse sand. My sister uses coarse sand/small stones, leca and normal house plant compost. I tend to feed mine with the orchids, so getting cal mags, orchid fertiliser, Epsom salt and a flush when ever the orchids get those. I burned one of my calathea due to house plant fertiliser and won't be using that ever again.
Just for the economics of it, I use Lump Charcoal. It's sold by the bag for grilling, but is pure hardwood with no additives or chemicals. The only downside is that it's fairly big chunks so you have to pull out the safety goggles and big hammer and smash it up a bit. I'm increasingly seeing Lava Sand, which is just fine grade crushed lava rocks, so experimenting with that some now. Also, I just love using plain paving sand, it's easily available and adds to drainage. I find just adding a spot of sand and small gravel just helps everything. I find it annoying that it seems in the state big box stores increasingly sell plants that are potted in 100% Coir, which really doesn't work that well in the home. I love like you were saying having a chunkier mix, but also good to have a variety of things/sizes in the mix.
Would you ever sell your mix on your website? Some of these are pretty hard to find here and expensive, and I'm just lazy so if there's a way to buy it pre-made I'd definitely do so lol
Lydia Bouchard where do you live? Amazon carries all of them here in the US and much cheaper to mix yourself. If you don’t have amazon look for these ingredients in your local home improvement store
RFW I'm in Canada. There are some on amazon here as well, they are around 20$ for each bag. It's not so bad, I guess I would have a lot, but I also would rather have 1 bag than 5 in my tiny appartment...
@@Tilyd97 I'm in Canada as well and most items on this list are less than $10 on Amazon for regular sized bags. They also have a lot of this stuff at Petsmart for the same amount.
I’ve put my teenage monstera in about 70% orchid bark and pummice. In a too big Lechuza self watering pot. That’s all I had in the house. Well, it works great. Now it’s shooting out double fenestrations.
The activated carbon is an excellent addition that most people don't use activated it shungite in my opinion is definitely better but more expensive the activated carbon you should be able to pick up at any store that sells aquarium supplies. It's used for water filtration but in this case soil filtration which is a very important for happy and healthy plant. Another great video thank you for all the work you do on your Channel.
All of my plants, regardless of what they are, get a mix of *orchid bark *cactus/palm/citrus mix soil *worm castings I cant really give a specific ratio as I mix by the heart...much like how I cook. Usually heavier handed with the cactus mix with enough orchid bark to provide enough drainage without compromising the structure/integrity of the overall mix. Same with the worm castings. I add what I feel would be a good amount keeping in mind that too much can be toxic. All my phils, alocasia and anthurium seem to be happy with this blend. As she said, NEVER use regular potting mix...EVER!
Thank you for the lovely video! I have to admit one thing, I usually don't mix with a spoon but with my hands.. I know there's more chance of contamination but I LOVE to do it! Feels almost therapeutic :)
If you are looking for fine pumice stones, Ikea actually sell it as "Växer, growing media". £3 for 3 litres. I use it in my potting mixtures because I don't want to buy a big 10l bag of perlite and I get a trip to the plant section of Ikea to go pick it up! It's win/win!
I am testing my soil mix cuz I am having root rot issue cuz of overwatering so I generally use 60% pumice and 40% coco coir so that i don’t get root rot issues. I am still experimenting as I am a new house plant parent. Anyways your pottings I really like it I wish I could make it as good as you have.
Kaylee, this is an awesome video. I so appreciate how detailed you are....it helps tremendously! Thank you a ton for this kind of visual help!! Pls keep the expert advice coming!! :)
Ha, I ended up spending 2.5 hours yesterday doing exactly that. I had some philodendron that were very unhappy, I'm hoping this will help! If you do it, check local garden stores, ingredients were way cheaper there than Amazon.
Do you really need to repot? If your plants are growing well and you not having any problems, don't "Fix" it. However, if you know your kids are not in a rich, fast draining medium, select which needs the Good Stuff most.
@@johnjhill3 I was mostly kidding :) my plants are growing alright at the moment, but it's just nice to learn a little more about other people's potting methods, especially when it comes to optimal soil mixes.
Question, those this mix works well in self watering pots, I noticed you use them too in some of your videos, would you make a video on self watering plants?
I love this video . I've been worried sick about my root rot Anthuriums and search for a good soil mix, now i found it. I have all the ingredients, I'll try it out tomorrow. Thank you!!!
I find that even 20% of fine coir drastically increases sogginess of the mix and it stays moist for so long that it can kill a plant. Use less fine coir or use chunky type if you can.
Hello! Kaylee Ellen, thankyou so much for sharing your coveted soil mix for airoids.it was very useful.you are very knowledgeable.and I love the way you give the feasible reason . I love your videos.
Thank you for this video! Given the semi-epiphytic habit for growth of many aroids,this mix looks perfect,coco coir is also eco friendly(or that is what most people state) in comparison with peat,I personally find though that it's not as long lasting as peat moss,maybe because it holds more salts and that deforms its structure.
I’m so in love with the way you explain why you do the things you do. Thank you so much because I have a couple of aroids that need some attention but wanted to find the right mix and this seems to be the one. I have subscribed and I’m looking forward towards more insightful videos. Cheers
awesome video! It's funny I pot mine the same way but instead of coir and worm castings I use soil with worm castings and it works quite well usually! I'm also opposite of you where I neglect them with water so the soil definitely helps me out LOL I've also found that when my Anthuriums aren't producing leaves, I put them in a net basket in sphagnum moss and it gets them to push out leaves like no tomorrow!
What great tips. The ingredients make total sense. I will indeed try this mixture. However, finding worm castings has been a challenge but I will try to find them at my favorite local nursery. They are bought out so quickly. Thanks for this wonderfully thorough video.
I usually use 90% potting mix and 10% fine sand. The moist mix makes it able for me to leave my plants for 2 weeks and not be all the way dead. Since I live in 2 houses they are more often then not alone for a week. This also makes overwatering not a problem since I'm not there XD
Sorry guys I royally screwed up - my percentages don't add up to 100%. I think I need to take a break more often :/ Use a ratio of 5:4:5:2:2
Hey, its fine fam. We can all see the hard work that you put into the video. But thanks for the update
It's like the pink congo's genetic mix: it doesn't fkng add up.
That is alright. I really appreciate all the advice that you give and the effort you put into it.
Hey, that 10% is top dressing girl. So, you were right, ok. 😘
10% compost. There bam you’re good girl don’t worry about it.
“Hi my name is Luke and I am an overwaterer”
Lol
Same. Switched to Coco. Issues gone
The biologist who wrote the whole paragraph without writing poop needs a raise.
Must've taken them a week
Probs one of those snooty chemist
I use fine aquarium rocks as a topping. Because it’s to sharp and heavy gnats can’t go trough. You can see them hovering above unable to enter the soil! You shall not pass🧙🏻♂️
I use decorative sand used for aquarium too. I just started a few weeks ago and I agree with you. I found gnats trying to get in but just walking around, could not do anything so it is good. Hope this will stop them but your comment makes me hopeful :)
Jordy de vries Gnats can definitely crawl through gravel. It wouldn’t stop them at all. That’s why you see them hopping around on top. Gnats don’t fly well and often spend their entire lives sitting on top of your soil. The rocks will also trap moisture and may cause mould growth on your soil or keep it too damp and cause root rot.
Rena Signorino this is true. I thought I was doing a great thing by putting on some of my plants. It traps the moisture onto the soil and causes almost a mildew-like growth.
@@stacy8457 Thanks for that, I will keep an eye on it :)
Can just ask how it looks like? Does the mold/mildew grows on the top of the sand? How long did it take to happen? What was your soil mix?
Medium grain sand works like magic for preventing gnats. As long as the grain isn't super fine sand also really helps with aeration and is a great moisture indicator when using light colored sand since the sand will darken when it's moist, and will dry out and lighten in color as the potting mix dries out. I cover the top 1-1½" of every pot with a natural tan colored sterile medium coarse sand, water from the bottom until the sand turns darker, use a small bamboo support rod to poke a few holes in the soil around the plant to allow more oxygen to the roots, and water every time with water I soak mosquito bits in overnight then strain out, then adjust the water's pH accordingly. (Mosquito bits will make the water more acidic.) This routine got I'd of a gnat infestation in 3 days and I haven't seen a single gnat in my plants or my house since. (it's been almost 3 years now.)
chemist with PhD here. Nope. The activated charcoal is essentially a Brita filter. It will adsorb ALL cations initially (calcium, potassium, magnesium, sodium as well as heavier metals you might get in your water) but once it saturates that's it. And it doesn't take long to saturate it. Think how big Brita filter actually is and how short it lasts. So the only use of activated charcoal I see is to filter your water, in the soil it will became useless very quickly and will also grab magnesium and potassium you're feeding your plants.
For anyone who has trouble finding all these materials, this basically works out to 2/3 chunky material and 1/3 of "dirt". I've been growing many plants in equal parts of bark, potting mix, and perlite and it's the same composition and it works great! I'll be sure to get some coir and charcoal though to give your mix a try! Cheers
What’s the best alternative for worm casting?
@@jokhamohamed9136 I've never used worm castings so I can't really say, but equal parts of bark, potting soil, and perlite works great for aroids
Wow this was quick! 5:4:5:2:2
Is the same as 27.7%, 22%, 27.7%, 11%, 11%
If that helps anyone 😂
Yes thank you! 😉
THANKS! I don't math so good 😅
God Bless you! Thanks a lot :)
I live in Australia where it's pretty much always crazy hot (25-40 degrees Celcius on an average day), but humidity can vary from 35%-90% every week. As such, I end up watering my aroids anywhere from 3 times per week to once per fortnight, and they certainly don't appreciate the inconsistency.
I recently started mixing sphagnum moss (roughly 30%) with a super airy potting mix which has been super helpful, as the moss has managed to keep the moisture levels stable through the crazy humidity changes without making the mix too wet.
One thing someone taught me that I’ve loved for holding back the gnats. Is topping with black lava rock. Gnats hate it, it holds in moisture, it actually also keeps roots warm and it looks lovely :)
Thanks
I think twenty five percent will hold in too much moisture,,plus your wood chips is too very chunky,smaller.I rather use Happy frog, add little bit orchid bark,ten percent perlite.
I have no problem with mine.
Could you please make more videos for other types of mixes? I have two calatheas and two pothos who would love a soil change to something better suited for them. Or would this mix work for those plants as well??
I was going to post the same thing. I would love to see a mix specifically for Calatheas too.
I find the aroid mix I use works for all of my plants. It’s nice and airy so hard to overwater plants
Alison Gangle this mix is great for calatheas and marantas. Mine like it a lot.
pothos are aroids as well. so, you can use this kinda mix for them. :)
well a whole year later not sure if this will help, but for calathea (only) I use 80% peat and 20% perlite or pumice. Mine seem to love it.
Diatomaceous earth is a good top dressing too if you have gnats infestation. It kills the adult gnats. To kill the larvae, it’s good to use mosquito bits or something similar u have in the UK. I also use yellow sticky traps too.
Usually I do equal parts coco coir, pearlite, charcoal & bark and a dash of worm castings (like a quarter or half cup). Pretty darn close! I am an over waterer as well and I was losing my large leaf philodendrons when I first started buying them. (RIP black cardinal and several others :D ) When I talked to some people more well versed in plant keeping and they shared this mix with me it literally turned my luck around with my aroids. Haven't lost a single one since I ditched potting mix. If I don't have coco coir, I do use the Black Gold brand potting mix which I do find to be high quality.
My first time using worm castings, if I use in the potting mix should I hold off on using traditional liquid fertilizer for awhile? How long?
@@celeste.430 I'm thinking 3-6 months, only because purchased potting mixtures contains fertilizer that are slow release for around that amount of time. But definitely check out Nurseries for plant help if u get none in the comments that you feel u can trust.
I watched this yesterday and ordered some aroid mix today. While I was repotting i noticed all the bundles of tiny roots. I am so glad I watched this video. Thank you.
When Kaylee’s emergency soil mixture is your standard 😩
seriously. Glad to be educated haha
I know! My plants are doing great though. 🤷🏻♂️
@@nolaray1062 me too!
With anthuriums ( showy flowering types) in Trinidad where I'm from, many ppl including the professionals use big portions of dried coconut shells to pot them, or just plant them in the open, in the same medium, under diffused sunlight, it works beautifully.
Sooooooo, should I repot all my plants now?!
Thanks for this mix. I'm a fellow overwaterer... you are not alone. But I had no idea that my pottingsoil makes my overwatering tendency worse by holding on to too much. Please keep doing what you're doing, as this plantkiller needs all the help she can get 💚🌱
I'm sure I'm not the only one that added that up and came up to a 90% ingredients!
Good Video Kaylee! After a long time back I started watching you
honestly the best part of my week
Thanks for another great and useful video! I'm reluctant to put spagnum moss close to the stems, but I think a moisture "locking" top layer is good for the roots - they will use more of the pot volume and not just the bottom part. This is what the bonsai people do when they place moss on top of their (extremely shallow) pots.
Just discovered this channel - it's great - like Mr. Sheffield with better hair. Perfect balance of humor and smart, well-paced advice. I was just about to transplant several monsteras so this came in the nick of time.
This is such a good vid!! Not seen one that talks about the whys of soil in such depth.
Highly recommend mosquito bits for a fungus gnat problem. I soak them for a day in my watering can and water my plants with it. I’ve noticed my gnat problem has gone down significantly ☺️
What do you mean with mosquito bits? What do you soak in water?
@@tellwel3767 Mosquito Bits is the name of a granular product used to kill gnats in plants. You can sprinkle it on top and water it in, or use the watering method above.
pajamagirl123 Clear. Thank you for respons😁
I put it in tea leaf balls and leave it in the large watering can overnight. No more yellow fungus gnat traps!
Activated charcoal's impurity drawing capacity only lasts for about 2 weeks, after which you'd have to replace the activated charcoal in your mix. This is because it draws impurities until each charcoal particle is full, but it doesn't let go of the impurities, so once it's full, it's time for new charcoal.
that's not entirely true. First of all, it will saturate with any cation available so it will also grab Mg and K you're feeding your plants not only impurities. That might come handy later, it will start releasing them back if you stop feeding so it could be treated as slow release fertilizer, but only if you're sure you don't have any other problematic impurities. Second, the capacity will depend on how impure your water is so if you're using distilled water it will last much longer. Third, if you switch from tap to distilled water or any water that is less saturated the cations will desorb back. Not fully of course, that requires re-activating, but a lot of loosely bound impurities will re-adsorb into soil. That's why you should never drink water from a Brita filter that's been used for too long, it will start releasing everything back when the concentration inside the filter is much higher than in your water. Essentially, just skip charcoal in your soil and use it to filter your water, it will clean the calcium or heavy metals that are the biggest problems (it doesn't adsorb fluoride though).
@@horace6851 so the Amazonian indians were wrong to use biochar for milennia?
@@alanoleary2278 to use for what? Context in this case is everything.
Commercial orchid mixes are also good substitutes for folks who can't make mixes. Depending on the quality, you can add a little potting soil to increase moisture. But I want to try this mix, it looks amazing!!!
I use terra cotta pots, so my mix is more like 40% potting soil, 20% sphagnum, and 40% bark. I use worm castings and osmocote for fertilizer. I do this because the terra cotta really sucks the moisture out, even with 50-60% humidity in my home. I also check up on the mix after a few weeks and will adjust it for plants that need more/less moisture.
I know you don't keep many calathea anymore, but I would greatly appreciate a similar video about potting medium for them. My makoyana is happy as can be, but I just can't figure out what on earth my fussy medallion wants. The soil is the only thing that can possibly be wrong at this point; it gets several hours of medium indirect light every day, humidity in my apartment is between 65 and 70, I have fans on 24/7 for air circulation, temp is never below 67(farenheit), and is usually several degrees higher. I water with room temp filtered water as soon as my moisture meter touches the bottom of the 'moist' section. Halp?
I live in a tropical climate but my medallion keeps frying as well. He used to be in my office with low light, but the temperature tends to rise by noon and afternoon. I now placed him together with my other plants that get a south facing window with indirect light. He is also elevated below my monstera, for the shade, and placed a pebble tray under the pot. Frying seems to have stopped, but still no new leaves. My zebrina, on the other hand, who's placed on a similar location, already has 2 new growths this week. I don't know what to do with medallion anymore, either. Oh, and my ratttlesnake seems to be going on a similar direction.
@@knethmorgan it's a bit bizarre, because it's right next to my makoyana, and they both push out new leaves regularly, but they just immediately begin frying on the medallion, and mako is absolutely loving life literally 3 inches away. I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.
Kenneth Morgan Sometimes I feel that calatheas does whatever a calathea does. My Medallion has a ton of leaves, same as my makoyana but my zebrina is dying.
Try watering less until you get the soil situation sorted out! I water mine when they're borderline dry. Your high humidity will accommodate for that, trust me.
I was having that problem... until I try low light 💡 and it make a big difference. I live in Utah where is hot 🥵 and dry. And I don’t turn on the AC unless is 99 F outside all my blinds and windows are open. And because I love ❤️ Calatheas so much! I have in my basement and my bedroom. The ones in the bedroom... I but a fan in low because is to hot. So, I have to water them almost every 2 days because they get very dry quick. But in my basement maybe every 5 to 6 days. And the ones in my bedroom are more happy 😃. Btw. I don’t used humidifier just have volcanic rock in the bottom pot dish. So when whatever water comes out.. it won’t be touching my pot and helps with humidity. That is what I do during the SUMMER TIME! I moved to medium light 💡 in winter ❄️ which is almos for 9 months in Utah 😅 and I never put them in the basement in winter, because is to cold for the calatheas. They survived the heat. But not the cold 🥶
I've been using Seramis instead of perlite and I'm really happy with the results.
Are you in Europe? I think Seramis is hard to find in N. America.
Is seramis similar to leca / hydroton? Could that be substituted?
I Kaylee! I live in Pensacola Florida and my tried and true potting medium here is coco coir (I say it like you do!), perlite, vermiculite and worm castings. I have great humidity and warmth here and my plants are thriving beautifully! I only have to water once a month! After watching your video, I may definitely add a bit of activated charcoal! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
Hi!
Kaylee Ellen thankyou so much for sharing your recipe for potting mix for aroids.
Activated charcoal has a PH of 12-13 (!) and does soak up toxins, however it also soak up nutrients (it can’t actually tell the difference between the two) and will only have the effect of “cleaning” for about 2-4 weeks. So would I recommend it? Not really no. Btw, this is all information from soil scientist Gardening in Canada and founded in scientific research and articles.
Your mix looks so fresh and fluffy🤗
In my experience, if you have cats you might be interested to know, the orchid bark as a top dresser also deters my cat from digging the soil - well, mostly :) And I also noticed it helps with gnats (does not rid entirely but definitely reduced the amount I saw flying around).
For all ur plants? Mines has just started to digging in my small pots and lifting plant out of glass jars that I'm propagating.
@@venicemitchell1407 🙈🙈 Oh cats.... Well I placed some only in the big pots because that's where my cats went digging - to do their business essentially... 🙈 But I'm sure that it would work in smaller pots too. Other people use the leca (clay) balls as a top dresser also, or pebbles/rocks large enough so that you cat does not throw them around... As for the propagation, you might have to just place them out of reach 🤷🏽♀️ Good luck! :)
You are a godsend!!! I googled this for weeks before getting my verrucosum and couldn’t find any good info. I ended up putting it in sphagnum so this will come in handy in a couple of week!
I just need to say U are my fawourite plant person to watch and follow! Ty
For those having hard time finding perlite, you can find that in shops which specialize in hydroponic equipment.
I just repotted my monstera this week after putting off repotting it for so long because it’s getting huge. I have it in a large clay pot with 3 parts potting soil. 1 part perlite and 1 part orchid bark. I couldn’t find much consistent info on a good monstera mixture so I took info from different places and combined it. I should have waited until this video dropped. Also used that mix for my rhaphidophora tetrasperma . I really hope they manage lol
lemme say something. activaed charcol is a filter... ya, but it is also a minaeral manget. So it also filters the good stuff for your plant out
really good advice, I just realised that I've repotted my monstera in the wrong soil!
Love this video! Absolutely is so helpful.Could you please do a video on the actual amount of water you should typically give a plant rather then how often to water a plant.I would truly appreciate.Thank you.
Just a word about the activated charcoal if it hasn't been mentioned yet (not about to read nearly 400 comments,) but while activated charcoal has been heated to the point where it's a lot more porous than regular charcoal, there's still only so much it can hold. For the price difference, it doesn't end up being worth it in the end. If impurities are the main reason for choosing activated charcoal, it's better long term to just use a more purer source of water from the get go since people are unlikely to pick out the activated charcoal bits in order to replace them (even aquarium activated charcoal/carbon filters need replacing for this exact reason.)
I prefer pumice and lava rock to perlite, and thankfully it's cheap/easy to obtain here in Singapore. Thanks for the tip!
My basic aroid mix 6 parts of cocochips, 2 parts pumice, 2 parts decomposted acacia leaves, from Negros Island, Philippines.
Thank you! I’m repotting my aroids plants in “your” soil mix!
One thing that helps when you over water is to put soil moist crystals in your mix you don't need very much it also holds water in suspension if you are a neglectful waterer. I know Lowes here in America sells it Home Depot does not. I know on Amazon the other day I saw a Miracle Grow produces a crystal that you can mix in with your soil mix. But I do not recommend Miracle-Gro potting soil with some oyster control in it it stinks. And I haven't used the Miracle-Gro Moisture crystals that comes separately so I can't recommend any product except soil moist. I added to all my soil mixtures
The missing 10%was easy to figure out. Love and care ❤
I will do the mixture that you are explaining right now. I will just do some twists with the ingredients that i don’t have at the moment….thanks for the info
Best information about growing media- so grateful for this xx
Need more potting mixes!!! I had no idea how detrimental using improper potting mix can be. I need guidance! Not enough UA-camrs are talking about this. And also how to aerate if your mix is too thick. Thank you Kaylee Ellen
So turns out I use the exact same ingredients just at slightly different proportions! I knew I was onto something here!
Presented step-by-step simply very well. Reliable and genuine in your personality. I'm gonna follow the organic soil media you have suggested...thank you so much for that beautiful explanation....Om Shanti 🕉
I use a mixture of peat moss, coco fiber, charcoal, bark, sphagnum moss, sand, perlite, and sometimes tree fern fiber. I use different ratios depending on the plant.
Do you go over your soil mix for your queen anthurium in another video?! I want to be prepared for when I get mine!
I actually use those ingredients. I was using pumice but it was costly so I substituted with chicken grit. Way cheaper.
Cool. I just bought a giant bag of grit.
Hey Kaylee, make a video on Philodendron trailing plants like Micans, Brazil, Lime Green ETC please
I tend to go with similar mix, but do use some sphagnum moss with the smaller plants. My hint is to look for cymbidium potting mix, that is somewhat similar to this mix of perlite, coir, potting soil and orchid bark. If I'm out of coir, I substitute it with garden compost mix (no fertiliser or very low quantity in it): in Finland it contains peat, sand and compost. Cheap ones even less fertilisers.
In case of missing perlite: fine aquarium sand or coarse sand.
My sister uses coarse sand/small stones, leca and normal house plant compost.
I tend to feed mine with the orchids, so getting cal mags, orchid fertiliser, Epsom salt and a flush when ever the orchids get those. I burned one of my calathea due to house plant fertiliser and won't be using that ever again.
Just for the economics of it, I use Lump Charcoal. It's sold by the bag for grilling, but is pure hardwood with no additives or chemicals. The only downside is that it's fairly big chunks so you have to pull out the safety goggles and big hammer and smash it up a bit. I'm increasingly seeing Lava Sand, which is just fine grade crushed lava rocks, so experimenting with that some now. Also, I just love using plain paving sand, it's easily available and adds to drainage. I find just adding a spot of sand and small gravel just helps everything. I find it annoying that it seems in the state big box stores increasingly sell plants that are potted in 100% Coir, which really doesn't work that well in the home. I love like you were saying having a chunkier mix, but also good to have a variety of things/sizes in the mix.
Would you ever sell your mix on your website? Some of these are pretty hard to find here and expensive, and I'm just lazy so if there's a way to buy it pre-made I'd definitely do so lol
Lydia Bouchard where do you live? Amazon carries all of them here in the US and much cheaper to mix yourself. If you don’t have amazon look for these ingredients in your local home improvement store
RFW I'm in Canada. There are some on amazon here as well, they are around 20$ for each bag. It's not so bad, I guess I would have a lot, but I also would rather have 1 bag than 5 in my tiny appartment...
@@Tilyd97 I'm in Canada as well and most items on this list are less than $10 on Amazon for regular sized bags. They also have a lot of this stuff at Petsmart for the same amount.
@@hillarymaee Pumice is the tough one to find..
Both coco and pumice are available at Ikea :)
It would also be helpful if people left what part of the world they are using their mixes in!
Thank you ...I was totally in the dark ...I, like others love my plants. So now I will let the light Shine throw....Thanks
wow I love your mixture
Hey just wanted to add if you want pumice you can use chicken grit that you can get a a co op it’s the same thing
I’ve put my teenage monstera in about 70% orchid bark and pummice.
In a too big Lechuza self watering pot.
That’s all I had in the house.
Well, it works great.
Now it’s shooting out double fenestrations.
The activated carbon is an excellent addition that most people don't use activated it shungite in my opinion is definitely better but more expensive the activated carbon you should be able to pick up at any store that sells aquarium supplies. It's used for water filtration but in this case soil filtration which is a very important for happy and healthy plant. Another great video thank you for all the work you do on your Channel.
All of my plants, regardless of what they are, get a mix of
*orchid bark
*cactus/palm/citrus mix soil
*worm castings
I cant really give a specific ratio as I mix by the heart...much like how I cook. Usually heavier handed with the cactus mix with enough orchid bark to provide enough drainage without compromising the structure/integrity of the overall mix. Same with the worm castings. I add what I feel would be a good amount keeping in mind that too much can be toxic. All my phils, alocasia and anthurium seem to be happy with this blend.
As she said, NEVER use regular potting mix...EVER!
Why toxic?
@7:30 and after that put it in a pre heated oven at 200 degrees?
Thank you for the lovely video! I have to admit one thing, I usually don't mix with a spoon but with my hands.. I know there's more chance of contamination but I LOVE to do it! Feels almost therapeutic :)
Hi Kaylee a new fan here and honestly i love plants. I am new in this plant collection world just during the pandemic
If you are looking for fine pumice stones, Ikea actually sell it as "Växer, growing media". £3 for 3 litres. I use it in my potting mixtures because I don't want to buy a big 10l bag of perlite and I get a trip to the plant section of Ikea to go pick it up! It's win/win!
I am testing my soil mix cuz I am having root rot issue cuz of overwatering so I generally use 60% pumice and 40% coco coir so that i don’t get root rot issues.
I am still experimenting as I am a new house plant parent.
Anyways your pottings I really like it I wish I could make it as good as you have.
Kaylee, this is an awesome video. I so appreciate how detailed you are....it helps tremendously! Thank you a ton for this kind of visual help!! Pls keep the expert advice coming!! :)
Omg how do I not repot alll of my plants now?!
Ha, I ended up spending 2.5 hours yesterday doing exactly that. I had some philodendron that were very unhappy, I'm hoping this will help!
If you do it, check local garden stores, ingredients were way cheaper there than Amazon.
Do you really need to repot? If your plants are growing well and you not having any problems, don't "Fix" it. However, if you know your kids are not in a rich, fast draining medium, select which needs the Good Stuff most.
@@johnjhill3 I was mostly kidding :) my plants are growing alright at the moment, but it's just nice to learn a little more about other people's potting methods, especially when it comes to optimal soil mixes.
Question, those this mix works well in self watering pots, I noticed you use them too in some of your videos, would you make a video on self watering plants?
Please do a soil make for Calathea
Nice video about soil mix.. I'm from Philippines..
Thank you for this very detailed video! Can you please please make a video for a general soil mix for calathea?🌿😍
An important note is that activated charcoal doesn't just absorb bad impurities. It can also absorb beneficial nutrients.
I love this video . I've been worried sick about my root rot Anthuriums and search for a good soil mix, now i found it. I have all the ingredients, I'll try it out tomorrow. Thank you!!!
Came over from GardenAnswer referral & subscribed!
Mothers Earth potting mix is 50% perlite already and it also has worm castings already. just in case anyone wanted this option
I've just repotted a bunch of my aroids using this mix and now I can't use my moisture probe lol. This mix is chunky indeed!
AroId mIx is good....however my monstera deliciosa just isn't anchoring.... Keeps tilting....ANY ADVICE...??
Found coir at my local WalMart, they call it Organic Expanding Soil but if you read label it is 100% coir.
I actually use 50% potting soil, 20% pumice and 30% orchid bark....they do okay...but also I don't have so many rare ones
I find that even 20% of fine coir drastically increases sogginess of the mix and it stays moist for so long that it can kill a plant. Use less fine coir or use chunky type if you can.
Hello!
Kaylee Ellen, thankyou so much for sharing your coveted soil mix for airoids.it was very useful.you are very knowledgeable.and I love the way you give the feasible reason .
I love your videos.
Thank you. Very clear explanation snd information.
what did i see in the corner. adansonii variegated. did any one seen. looks amazing small cutting i am getting a large one soon.
Can relate, I am an overwaterer too 🙂. Thankyou for sharing, very helpful suggestions. ❤️
Good info thank you. The reasoning is very helpful.
Thank you for this video!
Given the semi-epiphytic habit for growth of many aroids,this mix looks perfect,coco coir is also eco friendly(or that is what most people state) in comparison with peat,I personally find though that it's not as long lasting as peat moss,maybe because it holds more salts and that deforms its structure.
Wash coco before use with cal mag. It will last a very long time. U gotta get all that salt out first. Then give it a charge
I’m so in love with the way you explain why you do the things you do. Thank you so much because I have a couple of aroids that need some attention but wanted to find the right mix and this seems to be the one. I have subscribed and I’m looking forward towards more insightful videos. Cheers
awesome video! It's funny I pot mine the same way but instead of coir and worm castings I use soil with worm castings and it works quite well usually! I'm also opposite of you where I neglect them with water so the soil definitely helps me out LOL I've also found that when my Anthuriums aren't producing leaves, I put them in a net basket in sphagnum moss and it gets them to push out leaves like no tomorrow!
Can you explain what you mean by a SM net basket please?
What great tips. The ingredients make total sense. I will indeed try this mixture. However, finding worm castings has been a challenge but I will try to find them at my favorite local nursery. They are bought out so quickly. Thanks for this wonderfully thorough video.
the 3 people that disliked this make perlite for a living
they live inside a volcano spewing smol white rocks
I usually use 90% potting mix and 10% fine sand. The moist mix makes it able for me to leave my plants for 2 weeks and not be all the way dead. Since I live in 2 houses they are more often then not alone for a week. This also makes overwatering not a problem since I'm not there XD
I add come clay pebbles just to add a bit more chunkiness
Thank you! Very informative! I will be getting my 2nd 1 leaf Monstera Albo cutting. 1st had a root rot. Im sure this will be very helpful!