Potting soil and other random questions

I feel the need to repot my plants soon, just to get better soil into them. My Pothos has developed a white mold on the top of the soil, and can we say EWWW NASTY! And upstairs I appear to have the beginning stages of gnat infestation. What exactly should I be looking for as far as potting soil goes? Please bear in mind that I have Peace Lily, Pothos, and English Ivy. I have 3 vases full of newly "rooted" Pothos and will need to be potted soon.

I am really unsure if i should feed the plants in the winter or even repot them. Advice????

I also have a sneaky suspicion I am getting new pots for Christmas from the Hubby! No I didn't peak!!!!!! But he has been commenting on my recent new "obsession".

You should look for a soil made of durable ingredients that will allow the soil to retain both its physical structure and good aeration for as long as it's prudent to go between repots. That's not so easy to find in a commercially prepared soil, but easy to make yourself. If you're interested in knowing more, I can guide you to a couple of links that I'm sure you'll find helpful, or I can answer any questions you might have. Your choice of soil will be the most important decision you'll make when it comes to the long-range vitality and viability of your plants, and can have a significant impact on your efforts:satisfaction quotient.

Most tropicals are best repotted in the month prior to their most robust growth - Jun or early Jul for you. Since the most beneficial nutrient supplementation program depends on the relationship between (primarily) the plant, your watering habits, and the physical characteristics of the soil, anyone offering advice would have to have some knowledge of that relationship or the advice would be little better than a guess. E.g., I fertilize all my container plants with a weak dose of fertilizer every time I water - all winter long. I can do that because I employ healthy watering habits and a very open (free-draining) soil. That practice, though it promotes excellent vitality, wouldn't be appropriate in a peat-based water-retentive soil that doesn't allow you to water correctly for fear of the specter of root rot. The latter soil type is probably why you're dealing with the gnats as well.

Al

Al, I would be interested in learning more about how you prepare your potting mixture. I have just read some of your posts in other threads--I didn't know much about soil before, but felt that the potting soil I bought seemed way too heavy and dense.

I have good research resources at my disposal, so if you're interested in making the same gritty mix that I use for all my long term plantings, I'll help you find the materials. At this time of the year, the bark will be the hardest to find, but there are ways to work around that. Let me know if you're up for it.

In the meantime, have you read this post?

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/796311/

Al

Lowes seems to have orchid bark year round if that is a feasible bark to use.

Orchid bark (unless it is for seedlings) is too big. The chunks are supposed to be very small. Try looking at the pet store for reptile fir bark litter. Sold under various names, I think the most common was repti-bark.

Any one of the bark products on the 8-1/2 x 11 sheet if paper in the picture below would work well. The pine bark products at 3,6, and 9 should be screened through 1/8" hardware cloth for best results, while the 1/8 - 1/4" fir bark at 12 needs no screening. I buy it (fir bark) in 3 cu ft bags for 17$ at a mom & pop orchid operation outside of CHI. If you have any orchid supply operations near you, they would undoubtedly have it in the appropriate size. For small batches, lots of folks are using the product suggested by 3jsmom.

Al

Tapla? Question about water. Do you think that using rain water (I still have boggy peat soils) would cut down on salt buildup on plants that I can't just water freely? I still take them to the sink and flush occasionally and wash the leaves, so they do get flushed some.

I have 75% of the ingredients for your gritty mix, but with Christmas and winter work hours, I just had to quit until we recover :).

Yes - rainwater and snowmelt are pretty much free of dissolved solids and are likely to be mildly acidic, which will help neutralize alkalinity and halt the normal (and undesirable) upward creep in pH as soils age. Most important though, is the fact that they DO have very little in the way of dissolved solids and don't contribute anywhere near as significantly to salt build-up as untreated tap water does, making it's use a useful strategy to keep TDS (total dissolved solids - salts in the soil) in the soil solution under control.

Flushing the soil at regular intervals (at least monthly) is a very good thing when you're forced to water in sips to prevent root rot. That you understand the need to keep the TDS levels within bounds and are taking steps to do that is more than half the battle. Soo many hobby growers have no concept of the effect high TDS levels have on their plant's vitality.

What ingredient for the soil are you lacking? I'm pretty resourceful when it comes to helping people locate what they need. ;o)

I hope you had a lovely Christmas.

Al

The trace minerals added at the beginning, and either dolomitic lime and/or gypsum. I have the main components, the bark, turface, and grit. I've started to use them for other things so they are valuable to have around :). I have screen to use in the pots, I have the plant material to learn on. Its just the powders. I don't get to the farm supply stores too often, but will see what I can find today at Tractor Supply Company.

Send me a D-mail with your address. It's no trouble at all for me to send you some gypsum and a little Micromax, though the Micromax isn't necessary if you're using Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 fertilizer. It has ALL the essential nutrients in very favorable NPK %s AND in a favorable ratio to each other. Where I used to be very happy with a doctored (I added ingredients) MG 24-8-16 or 12-4-8 fertilizer (all are 3:1:2 RATIO fertilizers), I now use FP 9-3-6 almost exclusively for all my plantings - display containers, veggies, houseplants/succulents/cacti, and bonsai).

Al