Spring will be here shortly. I know that means I'll have lots of plumeria that need to be potted up. What is everyone using as potting soil and what are the favorite mixtures? Clair you mentioned that you get bales of mix, were do you get it? I know I'll need lots this season.
Mickey
potting soil
Mickey, I get the 3.8 cubic feet compressed bales of potting soil, which equal about 7-8 regular cubic feet. The brand that I use is Sunshine Mix No. 4. It is the brand sold by my local farm supply store. They get it from Canada by the truckload. Go to your local farm supply store and see what they have to offer. One bale cost me about $23 so it comes to about $3.30 per cubic foot, which is still cheaper than any potting soil that I could get from the big chains. I think Supersoil tends to be the cheapest at the big chains. I think I would switch to Supersoil if I didn't get the Sunshine Mix No. 4, but I like MiracleGro too. The nice thing is that my Farm Supply store delivers so I usually order 4-5 bales at a time, and the guy charges my visa and just drops them in my driveway in a day or two. I've also ordered some other things from them like plastic containers, manure, bark chips, and fertilizer. The one thing that I really like about Sunshine Mix No. 4 is that it is extremely well-draining because it has perlite mixed in already, and I don't have to do any additional mixing. Check your yellow pages for farm supply places in the town closest to you and then call them to see if they would deliver from you if you placed a large order.
i use the 3 cu.ft. bag of sta-green potting soil from lowe's. it was recommended by some of the plumeria gurus in texas who use it straight out the bag. i found it to be too light. i will usually add a locally made cactus mix and some pumice.
dete
Hetty, yes, you are right: it is peaty, but we have such drying winds here that it helps to have a little more moisture in the mix; otherwise, you have to water daily when those drying Santa Ana winds come. That's a good price for Jungle Growth. I am so thankful to have them drop off those bales; otherwise, I would be heading to Home Depot weekly for soil and straining my back all the time. You should definitely see about having it delivered. If you place an order for at least $100 worth of soil, they should deliver to you. You can also buy big bags of perlite and other things through the farm supply store.
I used coconut/cactus mix or coconut/scotts potting soil...
Scotts mixes all their soil with phosphorus, while Miracle Grow mixes all their soil with Nitrogen so it is up to you what you want..
Clare home depot has a soil called Lamberts which will do what you want..
I used to use it down here as a additive since it holds water pretty good..
-=-=-=-=-=-Top Secret-=-=-=-=-=-
One more thing with Home Depot there is a secret i am going to tell you if you do not know already..
Home Depot at least once a week will go around their outside garden and remove damage bags of soil,plants,pots,etc and throw them away or put them on a pallet and tape them up in a big bundle..
Most of them will sell you those damages items if you ask them..
I know this because my friend is one of the managers..
Anyways you can buy a whole pallet of top soil for $10 yes i said TEN BUCKS!
I normally get around 20-30 bags of different kinds of soil..
The only problem is many of the bags are damage but not too bad in most cases..
They cannot sell a bag of soil if it is open even a small opening..
I bring masking tape with me and borrow my neighbors pickup truck and i make my monthly trip to Home Depot
and buy a pallet..
I also get many pots that are useds or slightly damage for free or $1 dollar..
Home Depot every day destroys most of the items people return for whatever reason even plants..
This is to deter theft from their employees but, i think this is nutz and it is no wonder why Home Depot is losing so much money..
Just from my local store my buddy told me they crush $12,000-13,000 dollars in return items or damage goods from just sitting on the shelves..
They do not return anything to the companies that supply them, lol what a great account to have if you are a supplier..
I have gotten 78 orchids last year for a total of $40 dollars and gave many of them to my friends..
I called them ghetto orchids lol because they are the standard ones you see in all the stores..
Here is pic i just took for this post..
This is the left overs from the pallet and Clare the Lamberts is the white and black bag in front off to the left..
The yellow bag is the scotts i use sometimes for planting in ground or when i need to add substance to the mix..
The other stuff is useless so i spread it on my grass or to fill a hole somewhere..
http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/8834/200702140991lh5.jpg
I attended a seminar at Leu Gardens and a list of local brands of potting soil was discussed. Among the worst they have ever tested, according to the Director of Horticulture was Jungle Growth, citing problems not only with inconsistency of the mix from batch to batch (I noted this after using it for a few months), but also the fact that when tested and used it was shown that it contained almost no nutrients, though they say on the bag they do. It turns out----- according to the reports of these well experienced growers, that the actual percentage of fertilizer per bag is almost nothing. Now that I look back, I was using a lot more fertilizer when I used Jungle Growth than I do now.
Miracle-Gro was also cited as not very good, as was Scott's--they tend to pack down and make a hard surface that can be hard to wet as water rolls off it and down the inner sides of the pot--and out the bottom. Also, it stifles root growth as it hardens down.Even adding extra perlite often does not help in the long run. In fact, they recommended using the local mix available at Lukas Nursery, which is a custom blend, containing not only great ratios of bark, perlite, and Canadian peat, but also lots of added nitrogen, phosphorous, pot ash; etc, wetting agent, and micro-nutrients. Florida Potting Soils makes this mix for them. It is worth a drive to get, if you live in Central FL, or, ask around at various nurseries and see if this company--FPS- makes their potting mix they sell, as FL Potting Soils has clients throughout the State, mostly growers and buig nurseries.
Also, those that talk about Cactus Mix aren't telling you that this is mostly a name and 9 out of10 times, it is no different than most other mixes, except for a little more sand. In short, often it is a gimmick that a lot of people fall for and brilliant marketing of the same-ol-same ol.
I stopped using Jungle Growth, Miracle-Gro and the rest 2 years ago and now get my own mix delivered by truck from Florida Potting Soils. I is indeed superior and they make it like you tell them too, also have helpful suggestions based on years of experience. Once again, ask your local NON- Big-Box garden centers if they have their own custom mix they use and sell. Chances are it is from FPS.
My own mix is similar to Lukas', however, I have added a few things. Anyway, I hope this will be helpful to someone in Florida, though I know many people need much less soil than I. You might also try some of the commercial mixes available from grower's supply that come in large bags. BWI Grower's Supply carries some good mixes that can only be gotten from them. They will also sell retail for those without a growers and business license.
Luc at FCN gets a similar soil from some other company--I forget the name,. but it is also pretty good.
Ncasselberryfla - i have heard that about cactus mixes. fortunately, i can buy mine for a local cactus nursery that mixes their own. the owner is a experienced horticulturalist. a scientific paper was even written discussing his cactus mix.
I have been using the red bags of super soil but they have been harder to find. Not all HomeDepots are carring them. We have to go into town to get it. That's no big deal I usely get 4 bags at a time. I still have to add stuff to the mix.
I'm not close to Florida I'm in Arizona. I need a soil that does hold a little water because I don't want to have to water every day in the summer here. The feed stores here only have horse stuff.They don't do any stuff that grows. I'm sure the big nurseries may have bale soil. I'll ask my rose friend. She may know. The catus soil at the dirt store in town, I wouldn't put my own catus in. I will have to check another nursery about their catus soil. I do like the idea of broken bags. I don't mind a palet of them. We have a truck. I love a deal.
It seems that I need to ask around here what is available.
Thanks for the information everyone.
mickey
Brad, did they address any of the other national brands like ProMix or Fafards?
Promix received fairly decent reviews for certain types of plants (they said fers, impatiens, starter plants--etc.., whereas Fafards was one of the good ones I was thinking about when I mentioned the grower's supply places. Fafards has a location here in my area and they have all kinds of mixes. Being a business though, for me, the FPS Co. offers the best as I can choose what I want in it and buy it by the truck load.
On Plumies I would not use Pro-mix---- all we can get here of that is practically all peat moss (Pro-mix BX) and is available only in bales. I made that mistake once a few years ago when I was learning and discovered there wasn't enough perlite in the world to make that stuff work for plumies. LOL
..good info brad.
I use the home depot garbage for my everyday use which is just fine down here..
As you know or may not know from other forums i mix my own soil for my plumies..
All my mixes contain some form of coconut because it has a 50-50 ratio of water and air..
It does not compact but rather drains really fast so i add cactus mix which is made of bark and sand..
The only reason i mix my coco with any other type of soil is because coco is extremely light and the wind will blow over all your plumies..
If you only use coco then you will be watering everyday or twice a day if humidity is low..
Soilbourne disease's is not a issue with coconut..
For my special stuff i use foxfarms soil which is the best your going to get hands down..
The problem it is only for special plants and not feasible to use like you need..
All of the foxfarms stuff has my bat guano and worm castings in it plus the coco..
It is very expensive but i use it for tender plumies from afar..
If you got a few plumies and want what i consider and all hydroponic's freaks the best soil then get some foxfarm.
http://www.foxfarmfertilizer.com/products_soils1.html
For the rest of you that are like Brad which also means me should try what brad suggest..
I been trying to find me a source for my area but it seems many nurseries are selling their land to developers so they can make more malls or condos..
:(
Thanks Brad, Because I use ProMix for everything else, I was using, it amended with lots of perlite, for the plummies but, strangely, in my climate I found that with the added perlite the mixture was drying out too quickly. I have a fairly consistent breeze here which probably accounts for the drying. In windy areas those large leaves rapidly transpire the water. I will try the Fafard's and keep tweaking the mix until I can find that perfect drainage that doesn't dry out completely. Can't have any fried roots now can we???? LOL
Fafard's home office is in the upper part of SC and they do a lot of customized mixes there for the large growers.
Ardesia,
Here in my damp, humid environment and extensive summer rains, I had lots of rot issues with Pro-Mix. Weird how a little climate difference can cause the opposite--dried up roots. LOL Yep--dump the Pro-Mix and get that Fafard. Besides, anyone that offers several mixes for various plants and can even design your own ain't half bad! :0)
Ahh Haa, summer rains! That is the difference. We are hot and muggy but with enough air circulation and rain is pretty rare here during the summer these days. Used to be we would have afternoon showers you could set your watch by, but not anymore.
Very interesting thread. Thanks, guys.
Robert, I don't remember seeing Lamberts here at Home Depot. They do have Scott's, and I've used that before, and it isn't bad at all. I've probably tried all the mixes at Home Depot at one time or another. I'm pretty happy with Sunshine Mix No. 4 made by Sun Gro, and occasionally, I use Sunshine Mix No. 5 for things that need more water retention like my brugs. Besides, it is really nice having it brought to me instead of having to go get it! Here's a link: http://www.sungro.com/products_professional.php
lopaka,
I liked the FoxFarm site, They had some very interesting information on it.
Thanks,
Mickey
No problemo mickey..
Nothing touches foxfarm soils it is the cream of the crop and because it is use big time in the hydroponics world it is process extensively so there are no bad stuff in it..
Clare,
Maybe it is a regional thing..
:(
Brad if your having rot problems bud then mix your soil with coconut..
I am more humid then you and rot is not a issue with coco..
The best thing about coconut brad?
It is not considered soil so if your gonna to resell plumies then you don't need to remove it from the plant if you use 100% coconut..
You know the rules so i could be wrong in that statement what do you think??
I love it because the roots stick to it just like the orchids do and this seems to make them grow faster..
If you add nutrients to the coconut just like your soil then the roots leech from the coconut since the coconut is stuck to it..
Just my 2 cents bud..
I don't know how big your new place is going to be so it may not be feasible to buy such a product..
This message was edited Feb 16, 2007 2:50 AM
Robert, do you have a good supplier for the coconut fiber? I really like mixing that stuff into my potting mediums but so far I have only found it in the Pet stores in those "bricks" and it seems to run about $7 and up for them.
Robert,
I only had these issues with Pro-Mix BX. I love the soil I get now. It also has a brand new organic feature ( I think--not sure--it is derived from iron or magnesium--can't remember what it is called at the moment--doggone it!--LOL) that not only stops rot, but also includes beneficial microrhizae. I am now being forced to buy bulk--I am talking 25 c.y. truck loads. LOL My days of getting soil out of bags are over.
This message was edited Feb 16, 2007 11:43 AM
ardesia,
I saw coco fiber at the hydroponic store here in town.
Mickey
Thanks Mickey, the next time I get to Charleston I'll check with the hydroponics store there.
Does anyone use grit or Turface in their mix?
I thought that there was a chap here from Pennsylvania who used lots of grit in the mix.