When I was in CA I used a potting mix designed for succulents and fed my guys Tomatoe Fertilizer plus they summered on an east facing patio and they grew huge & flowered wonderfully in small terra cotta pots. I sold them all in 2002 after bilateral mastectomies made it impossible to lift them and care for them as I had before..I was busy taking care of myself...now retired & moved to Idaho, I have started my collection again with starts from a gardening club I belong to...my question is: I am using a mix from a local nursery called "Black Gold" & have them in terra cotta pots again in wonderful east light with added grow lighting during the winter, soak the pots with fertilizer added to water, and have no heat in the room they grow in. Why are my pots coated with a white blush even as I scrub it off every watering....is it salt? only water when pots feel light & tops are dry down 1 inch to my finger and the soil on top of the pot has no deposits....do you use your own mixture for potting soil or are you buying commercial stuff? any help would be appreciated.
What am I doing wrong?
Depsi...are you anywhere near SandPoint?
SandyC - where are you? Sandy grows great hoyas, is building a greenhouse and is a great help...you might contact her.
I would say the white blush is from fertilizer salts...but then...I grow everything in plastic pots because they are lighter, cheaper, don't break, are consistent when it comes to absorbsion of water(NON) and when repotting I won't rip the tiny roots off that tend to cling so tightly to the clay pots. If you are soaking your pots in the fert...then no matter how much you wipe them down, the salts are going to leech out of the clay.
How cold does it get in the unheated room you grow your plants in? Some of the warmer loving hoyas may freak out....the cool ones would probably love it! if it can stay about 50 deg. or a little less at night.
Sounds like you are on the right track. I sound like a know-it-all, but I am not at all...just a fellow traveller. I don't use clay so I can't speak with any expertise....
welcome to our busy and curious little group...
Carol
I have fertilizer salts around the drain holes of some of my plastic pots. Would this indicate I am feeding too much or is it normal?
Have been worried about it for awhile. Should I repot and change soil on the affected ones?
Dave accuses me of not feeding them enough. They all look healthy but I'm not getting many blooms, atleast not on the plants that haven't ever bloomed for me. Lately I stopped using the time release Osmocote as I think it did more harm than good. Now I alternate waterings, plain water + superthrive, next time water with Dynagrow Bloom booster. Sometimes I substitute Hormex for the Superthrive.
Watcha think?
I stopped using Osmocote too. I don't know why some nursery folk think that is such great stuff. My plants all went into no grow mode when I had it in there. As I changed potting mix & eliminated it, they have all done much better.
I didn't fertilize at all during the winter other than a bit of superthrive now & then especially on newly potted up plants. Then this spring I did the Messenger spray once & fertilized a couple of times with a bloom booster kind. I also started spraying them all with Eleanors. Now that summer is here I have been using a general fertilizer (Peters 20-20-20) on them when I water with the container (mainly the ones in the house). The ones outside get a hose spray most of the time. About once every 2 or 3 weeks I go around & fertilize them too with the general stuff.
I get those salts on the inside of the pot too after a long time. When it builds up badly & looks too crusty & the dirt starts looking old, I usually repot (when I have time) & give them some fresh soil. One could just flush them with fresh water from time to time to make sure it doesn't build up in the soil.
Everybody does things a bit differently & when they have time to "play plants".
Marcy
Thank you all for responding.....Carol, I am about 100 miles from Sandpoint but would love to hear Sandy's thoughts and perhaps when we have finished building our barn and can start to travel I could visit her greenhouse....what a treat that would be for me......and I have used Osmocote in everything inside & outside & haven't noticed anything alarming....I use Miracle Grow Tomatoe Fertilizer on my Hoya's...but sounds like you pro's are devoted to this SuperThrive....am not familiar with it.....it just surprises me in that growing my new Hoyas only since Feb at the very longest time, they would have salt buildup on the outside of the pots.....with my big guys that I used to have, they were everyone in self-watering pots that Rubbermaid used to sell and which are no longer available....they were a two part pot with a wick and just grew everything unbelievable.....my Christmas & Easter cactus just grew huge as well as all my hoyas....when I sold everything, I sent them along with the pots....dumb, dumb, dumb.....I think I will repot into plastic but would really appreciate any suggestions on the soil mixture you are all finding success with....Deb
I think that all fertilizers leave salt residues....I know Miracle Grow does big time. I stopped using Osmocote for reasons previously stated in other emails...and I now use about 1/2 portion Nutricote 13-13-13 good for 1 year. I also use DynaGrow everytime I water and use it about 1/8 strength...the plants are taking off. I foliarly use Messenger now...and use Eleanors when I pot up the rooted cuttings and when I put the rooted ones in their area (Alphabetical) in the GH. I have stopped using Superthrive because the Hormex is exactly the same PLUS the added rooting hormone...only one bottle instead of 2 to chase around!
I am using recycled pots, mostly because there are tons of nurseries around here and the prices of pots are going UP all the time because everything has to be shipped over here. Also because we have limited Land Fill space and I believe in recycling/freecycling. Lots of the pots have salt residue on the bottoms, which comes off easily with vinegar and water...and if it doesn't come off, nothing will take it off. Bob even tried Hydrochloric acid!!!
Depsi do you let your water sit for 24 hours before watering or do you use water directly from the faucet?
Blessings,
Awanda
Awanda (since I'm new to this and it's probably been addressed in the past, I apologize but I must say I love your NAME....Fanny Flagg is an absolute delight)
No, I have not thought of letting the water sit to dissapate the minerals....we have a water softener since we are on a well (potassium rather than salt) which in the past was very favorable for my plants....if this continues after I start with the fertilizers you have suggested I will repot next spring into plastic with new soil. the strange thing is that I have some succulents in terra cotta pots with the same watering schedule and there is no salt bloom on them. When I was a kid I would go to my Grandmother's in Klamath Falls OR and she had this wonderful plant pinned all around her window with the most beautiful blossoms that smelled heavenly. It took me until I was in my 40's to find out what that plant was and I have been trying to grow these guys ever since. It was heartbreaking when I had to sell my guys especially my Kerrii & my MultiFlora but at that time didn't know where my health was taking me....my joy has been to have these friends back in our new home again here in Idaho...Plus this home has 5 huge east facing windows!!!!! Life is grand....Deb
I have found that most tropical plants are really turned off by flouride (floride...huh?) and the chlorine...they will flash off if left out.
Have you ever had your well water analyzed for mineral content? The university extension services will do it for a nominal fee. Well water is usually pretty good.... have you tried using the well water without the softener?????
Carol, Very good suggestions....I can water from the outside hoses...we get a report on our well yearly but I've never paid any attention to what it actually contains other than the water is good quality for use...tomorrow I will look over the last report...again, thank you all for taking the time to help me. Deb
A comment about Osmocote: a big vireya grower here told me the story of a Florida grower who lost his entire nursery (or a great portion thereof) from a bad batch of Osmocote...release times are not consistent...he sued and won. Now...this could be urban legend....but few folks here use it.
Carol