I am hoping that everyone can share what works for them in particular on this thread. Each of us does at least one thing well. Please share what you know.......I am also hoping that people like Keyring and Goldleaf will jump in with all their experience.
I will start it off with a question. My strep leaves are not as thick and pretty green as Cedarnest's are. She told me she was using Schultz 10-50-? all the on her gessies. What about everyone else...........
Culture of Gesneraids
Gail
it could be several things,your mix,the fert,the lights,
I use promix and perlite,and a little vermiculite ,with some charcoal, i use a pinch of
food every time I water,but I do forget sometimes if im in a hurry,
my mix is
perlight 7 6 inch pots of it
pro mix 4 pots (6 inch
2 pots per lite (6 inch
about 1 pot of charcoal
keep it light Im told and I wick everything and have community trays for quick watering
when I moved into this place it looked like most were on their death beds
now tons are waking up and blooming
and grow strong thick leaves
JIM
ps the sinns and violets get the same mix too,
I have never used charcoal.............could you enlighten me as to the benefits of adding charcoal to my already mixed Volkman's wicking mix. (I am using it and liking it and still have a lot of left to use). Would I benefit from adding charcoal to this mix?????
I dont know for sure if theres any real benefits but im told it sweetens the soil,
i can say my plants seem to be doing better with it in there,however I have no
proof its a miracle agent
just hope it is
JIM
Hi All;
My mix is soiless,i use 2 pts' pearlite, 1 pt. vermiculite & 1 pt. spag moss & a hand full of charcol.my plants run 12 to 14 hrs, a day. my room never reaches 80 degrees.i am pretty happy with all my plants, but i still would like my sinns to bloom a little more often & with more blooms. I do fertlize every watering.
mrsbonnie
i have to agree with jim, but i also use it.
bonnie
Bonnie.............I am going to go get what Nancy (Cedarnest uses and she does have blooms)..........that is that Schultz with urea in the nitrogen and is a 10-50- ? bloom booster liquid.......
I say if the charcoal in your soil mix is producing nice plants for you, Jim, then why not use it? Anyone growing 200 streps must be doing something right! Many say it is helpful. I have tried adding some to my wick mix in the past but haven't used it for several years. In my conditions and with my well water, this mix works and I use it on violets, episcias, kohlerias, really everything I wick water.
1 part good quality peat based soil like ProMix, Jiffy Mix, Fafard, etc.
2+ parts super coarse Perlite
1 part coarse vermiculite
I get the Schundler brand Perlite and Vermiculite that comes in the huge 20 lb. bags
I use shultz 10-52-10 bloom plus powder.. but there is *no urea* in the nitrogen..been using it for the past 4 months and have noticed a big improvement in all the av's and gessies..also I grow streps in the coolest room in the house..lol..I found out the hard way they don't like heat..
I just love reading what everyone else does..always looking for new ideas...
I like using a fan too
Cedarnest...do you use the Schultz 10-52-10 on all your plants on a regular basis?
And, I do know what you mean about streps and heat. My plant room gets so warm. The episcias thrived in there.
Hi Goldleaf..I have been watering with a weak mix of it every other time I water..so far so good..oh mercy..I have given up on episcias..lol..I can never keep them happy : (
i use a 20 20 20 on mine and once in a while use a bloom booster,im afraid if you use
bloom booster too much you can get something called fertilizer lock up,
that means after a while your plants cant asorb the fert,every once in a while ill use
some epson salts,to flush things and to help green up plants
JIM
another thing you can do to get bigger lusher streps (and violets is foliar feed)
but thats a whole different subject,
Jim if you don't mind my asking...where in the world do you get 20-20-20? ..I have never been able to find that ratio in the stores..oh my gosh I am getting some really great info off this thread..thanks Gail for starting it : )
you should be able to get it at a local store,if not,I can get it here,and send you some
im sure we could work out something,i believe shultzs and peters make it,
my local nursery carries it,wont be a problem to get you soon
JIM
Thanks Jim..I am going to do some checking this weekend in the city..if I can't find it I will definitely take you up on your offer..Thank You!
Lowes , home depot ,walmart carries it,try your local nurserys too,some one has it
jlmk
JIM
I am new to streps so excuse my ignorance.
I feed my gessies with Schultz 8-14-8 African Violet Plus at every watering.
Once a week i spray my leaf cuttings that have now developed ears and leaves, with some superthrive.
I use growmix with fungicide and some perlite for potting up. I can also use the AV potting compost from lowes of HD.
So you alternate fertilizer then, Nancy?
I wanted to tell you guys that I got a couple streps in the mail the other day and thought they looked a little anemic. Sort of a sickly color. I decided to foliar feed them and what a difference it made. I misted the tops and the undersides of the leaves. I grabbed some 20-20-20 and mixed @ the rate of 1/4 teaspoon per gallon H20. I knew that would be weak and cause no harm. Let me tell you, it improved them so much and the color is so much better. Must have been what they needed. In times past, I have treated streps to a mist of weak fish emusion solution also once in a while and they seemed to like it.
I read all of your posts, and I realize how much I don't know! I don't even know what soil mix I use . . . I'm still working on the bag Gail got for me during her visit in July! She'll know what I use, though!!! Most things do seem happy.
I am going to try my hand at foliar feeding this weekend. . . I think it may help some of my sadder looking babies . . .
Gail was also telling me earlier today about a bloom booster from shultz, I think - 10-54-10 - that would be good to use. I am making a shopping list for this weekend!
And I just used the last of my fish emulsion on my gourd vines the other day, so I will also need to get more of that! Good thing it's starting to go on sale at Walmart!
I basically do the same as everyone else. I keep my streps on the bottom shelves where it's cooler......have several small 6" fans for circulation. Lights on 12 hrs. a day. Pro-Mix with giant perlite and giant vermiculite added.
I feed 'Better-Gro' Orchid Fertilizer. It is 20-14-13 with no urea.....specially formulated for foliar feeding and contains lots of minerals too. I wick water and feed my Streps 1/2 tsp. per gallon and my violets 1/4 tsp. Streps seem to be hungry little buggers so I give them more. LOL I've used this for about 4 years with pretty good results.
hey all;
since we are talking about foliar feeding, i use ultra growth, it's a high frequency organic plant food that i think works wonderful. go to there web site, it tells you all about it, plants that would never bloom before have bloomed for me.it's a little pricy, but i think it's well worth it. they are out of canada.one small bottle last a long time.i do carry it if someone needs to get some.i think there web site is ultragrowth.ca
bonnie
bonnies right works real good,
JIM
Nichole...................go very easy on that Schutlz with the high second number in the 50's........and dilute it...............it words for Nancy but she has a totally different climate than we do..........very cold weather she is in...................I may try that orchid bloom like av-ocd-girl is using, too............
You are using a Sunshine number 5 mix that Ken in Boerne uses...........he adds lots perlite to it............
Hi,
how often do you guys foliar feed? do you do it on top of the normal feeding? all year round?
I think my buddy thad does it once a week,and he does it in addition to normal fertilizing
and he does it all year,im not nearly that dedicated,all though from time to time ill
do it,
i do like switching my fertizers,I have a really good friend that says you dont like to eat the same thing all the time ,why would your plants?she switches around and she grows the most awesome plants,people in her club always says it her show ,shes wins most of it all the time,figure if it works for her,it will do good for me
Spidey....I only foliar feed cuttings, plantlets, and sickly looking plants. I don't bother foliar feeding my whole collection. I just like using the same fertilizer for everything. I used to have a whole shelf of different stuff, but I found something that works well for me in my conditions and stick to it. Plus it is easily available at Lowe's. Rox
Jim, does your friend Thad show his plants? Cause I do foliar feed when I'm getting geared up for a show......which I haven't done in years. But the national is coming to Raleigh, NC in 2010, so ya never know......LOL
He does show and he foliar feeds year round
he figures why not grow everything like its a show plant
JIM
Soil: I'm still playing with mine. I don't wick at the moment, though I'm getting enough plants it's looking more attractive.
Pro Mix Ultimate Container-4 parts
Perlite-1 part
Vermiculite-1 part
charcoal-about 1/4 part--this is a new addition that I'm trying given the advice here. :)
I use lights on 12 hour timers. My episcias are warmer than my streps, they like it that way. I use fans as well, but they're only on when the lights are on.
Fertilizer: I use Flower Tone plus urea (for nitrogen) if it's for foliage plants. I use one teaspoon of fertilizer per gallon, whenever I water. I use one drop of SuperThrive per gallon, too.
Foliar feeding: I'm scared now! I used one drop per gallon of SuperThrive, and got some orangey edges on leaves. Maybe I overdid it, but I'm just using plain old water now, and it seems to be resolving.
dont use superthrive,just a dilute solution of fertilzer,also that might be too much charcoal
I use a sweater box to make my soil and dont really need a ton ,just take your hands
and put them together and make a good scoop,thats really all you need
JIM
Thank you, Jim. 1/4 part might be more than I use, I use a pound deli container for a scooper, and I put just a bit in it. As I look at it, it might be more like 1/16 of a part. I mix mine in a small rubbermaid tub, too :)
Ok I will ask the stupid question :-( Where do you buy charcoal? I use VF-11 on all my plants and so far not that much of a big diffrence... I use to use Pete's 20-20-20 ... I may go back to the 20-20-20 and I also feed every time I water.. at a much lower dose. So another question. Do we feed our plants in the winter also? I also use AV soil and then add perlite to it and then plant my plants...
Thanks,
Susan
I get mine at a nursery,and i feed mine all year round
I feed every time I water year around. I cannot imagine with my humidity if I used a mix with 3 parts of soil-less mix to only 1 part perlite and 1 part vermiculite............that is a heavy mix for sure. I use a drop of Super Thrive every time I water (I also add the fertilizer every time)
For those of you that make your own mix . . . do you test the ph levels on what you mix?
I didn't..........but I know I have very alkaline water so I let my water for my plants sit all night every night in gallon bottles on the kitchen counter..........it solved the problem..............
I tested the ph on my soil mix and water - using the 'slurry' method this time. Looks like my ph is on the acidic side. I think now that when I get home, I will do the same, but with water directly from the tap. 'Cause I've been doing what you do, Gail - filling the jugs and letting them sit all night (or all day).
I just use water from the tap (which is city water) but I never just use it out of the tap...........always gallon milk jugs on the counter all the time ..lol
Well, I'll test it when I get home, and see what the difference is.
I really should add that on both methods of testing the ph in the soil, the results came out about 5.5. So, I'm just curious about what difference it may make.
This message was edited Nov 10, 2008 5:30 PM