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houstonpat

Cybister potting medium?

houstonpat
14 years ago

I'm trying 'Chico' again this year. My other small 'Chicos' are barely growing. It's my understanding that Chico is a selection of Cybister, and is an evergreeen native of Bolivia. Can someone, that has had success growing and reblooming Chico or cybister, give me some tips on growing them? Many thanks

Patrick

Comments (15)

  • ryan820
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Patrick--

    I don't know much about these bulbs myself but I have a suggestion-- take it or leave it. But I've been experimenting with "semi" hydroponics-- where a plant is in a pot full of hydroton or similar and a reservoir of water at the bottom only. I've had great success in growing phal orchids, african violets and now hippeastrum bulbs. Though i've not done this myself, I do have online garden friends who grow everything to include succulents and cacti in such a manner. Perhaps its worth a try with these cybisters?

    Ryan

  • jodik_gw
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    While I'm not finding much information on the actual soil types preferred by cybisters, I'd hesitate a guess that they like a porous, aerated soil much like the Papillio.

    I have a couple of the cybister types, and they seem happy in their mostly inorganic mix of pine bark, perlite and granite chips.

    To be honest, I'm working on getting all my bulbs potted into this mixture. I've been having too much trouble with the regular bagged potting soils, or any medium that has very fine particles and collapses quickly due to decomp.

    I'm taking a bonsai/orchid approach to growing my bulbs. I'm really tired of the disappointment of rot and fungi.

    Not sure if that helps you, Pat... but I really think you're on to something with your methods for growing Papillio. The bark I use is smaller than orchid bark. I've been using ReptiBark, a pine reptile bedding, and the pieces are about dime size and smaller... perfect fit with perlite and granite chips.

  • e36yellowm3
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Patrick, I have a Chico which has been miserable for about 8 months. I call it my Chico rock because it just sits there doing nothing - with a total of 3 leaves. I had it in regular potting soil and put it out for the summer - the few more leaves it had at the time frazzled up. After reading up on the mountainous area it's a native of, I changed it to rocky cactus mix and brought it in, and it's just sitting there. I've got some hydroton headed my way soon and I'm going to give that a try as Ryan outlined above. I'm going to be interested to hear about anyone else's Chico experiences.

    Good news though... the papilios that I have are loving the orchid mix! Nice call on that one! Alana

  • beachplant
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Pat, I stuck mine out in the garden 2 years ago after it bloomed. It bloomed last month I think it was. It's in an area that gets some morning sun and afternoon shade. Since the house burned this May I didn't get anything fertilized all summer so was surprised it bloomed. The bulb has worked it's way a little deeper so without lifting it I can't tell you if it's grown or not.
    Tally HO!
    PS, I'm in Galveston

  • kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My Chico developed rot in the center, but I was able to salvage it by cutting it in quarters and putting in baggies with vermiculite. That was in June this year. I have 2 good sized bulbs and more on the way. It never bloomed last year even though I bought it from RC...I just think the variety is picky.
    K

  • kaboehm (zone 9a, TX USA)
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Pat, your message reminded me that I needed to go tend my Chico "Chunks"...and the 2 biggest are looking good. I just repotted them from vermiculite to my potting mix and the roots are tremendous on these 2 "chunks". The 2 that are taking their time are starting to send out roots. 1 of these slower chunks has 3 bulbs (the smallest is the size of a pea, while the largest is thumbnail size) and the 4th chunk is sending out roots, but no really bulb yet, although there's some disorganized mess in between layers of bulb and it looks like it could organize into a bulb.

    K

  • houstonpat
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks much for all the input. My first Chico rotted in the center due to too cold storage. Twin scaled the remains. That's how I got the small ones. On this one I believe I'll briefly soak it in systemic pesticide, soak the roots in rooting compound, then plant as a Worsleya. Large Clay pot, excellent drainage single bottom layer coarse rock, then a round section of window screen, a few inches of Phosphate and Ironite enriched potting mix,then a half inch layer of sand. Place bulb in middle, then surround bulb with an orchid like mix blended with granite gravel, placing neck at ground level, capping with about an inch of straight, coarse granite gravel. ~Full sun.

  • jodik_gw
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I have a question about layering mediums like that... doesn't doing so create perched water tables, which would inhibit proper draining?

  • houstonpat
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, that's sort of the idea. I also put the clay pots on either a pair of boards or bricks to improve air circulation through the drain hole. The layer below the bulb is fairly moisture retentive but the bulb is situated a little above that layer. The coarse mix at the top and the coarse rock at the bottom tend to promote air circulation, by my thinking. Also, I have started adding a bit of granular systemic fungicide to the upper mix in an attempt to head off rot. I always water from the top. I have found that ants like my potting mix so I keep an eye out and treat with something like Orthene.
    BTW the papilios that were apparently attacked by narcissis bulb fly have made a full recovery. I stripped the bulbs down and submerged them in liquid Sevin, including spraying into the top of the bulb in the spring.

  • jodik_gw
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I would guess that in your particular climate, that would work. It would be a disaster for me! Since I grow exclusively indoors, one layer of medium throughout the pot is essential. I'm continuously surprised at the amount of moisture that remains around the root ball, long after I've watered.

    Keeping the medium consistent throughout the whole pot helps with drainage, of course, but it also keeps excess moisture from getting hung up somewhere within the pot. And even though my indoor environment seems to be very dry, and we run two ceiling fans at all times for air circulation, the root ball area still hangs onto enough moisture that I have to be careful not to water too soon.

    Ah yes... Sevin. We use that occasionally in the gardens, only when we have an infestation of bugs that we can't get rid of otherwise. It's powerful stuff! I'm glad it worked for your Papillios! Those bulbs you grow down there are really something! I love the mounted bulbs, and I also love that moss basket!

    I've been trying to locate small moss baskets here, but everything I find is too big. I wonder if the smaller Vanda orchid baskets would work good? I really want to experiment with growing a couple of bulbs in a wire or wooden basket with orchid medium.

    Well... this just shows you how a different climate and different growing environment will change the methods you can successfully use. It's a good lesson.

  • mariava7
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "Cup in a Pot" would help give additional air circulation around the basal plate area. Get a plastic/styrofoam cup, poke holes on the top and sides, make some slits on the lip, place inside pot (inverted), sit your bulb on it, plant away!!!

  • holantina
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Well, i don't have a "Chico", but do have a "Tango". Two months ago i repotted it into a mix of potting soil and orchid bark (around 50-50) and i'm sure it is feeling MUCH better in this lighter growing medium. I have been trying to find granite chips, without success. Then i tried to locate lava stone chips and found three sellers in Belgium. So i think i'm going soon for a short trip to our neighboor country :-). But for now, i used what i could find and my experience proves, together with many other's, that hippeastrums in general really can benefit from a lighter kind of soil. One that is good draining and doesn't become water-logged or compact. I am experimenting right now with several mix proportions using potting soil, orchid bark, perlite and seramis (just a bit of the latter, around 10 %))
    By the way, i've been planting all new bulbs in a mix of regular potting soil with bark and perlite (this was before i found seramis, which i now ad, just a little bit of it) I'm thrilled i have not seen a single fungus gnat. I used to have them in the past and hated it! Of course, i'm watering sparingly these days, but i know that i have less problems with fungus gnats due to the more suitable growing mix.

  • jodik_gw
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Not to deter anyone, but be very careful about using lava rock... it tends to hold onto a lot of moisture. Your best bet is to do a little research on the different types of materials used in hydroponics, semi-hydroponics, and bonsai growing. Not all rock types are equal. Some will absorb more moisture, and others less.

    And just to be sure the concept is understood, adding large particles to tiny ones doesn't really help in the long run... the tiny ones quickly fill in the spaces between the larger ones, which defeats the whole purpose... aeration.

    The concept is to keep the particle size relatively uniform, or as uniform as possible. From my reading and experience, a good size is approximately from dime to BB size, keeping larger and tinier particles out of the equation. Some materials may need to be broken down into smaller pieces, and some may need to be screened out to avoid the dust and smaller particles. But by keeping a uniform size to your medium particles, you're promoting better and faster drainage, and more even moistening of the medium.

    Fungus gnats like a wet organic environment, so by watering more sparingly, you're not giving them what they like. They go elsewhere.

    Granite chips can be found where poultry supplies are sold for farmers. The little chips are grit fed to poultry for aid in digestion. There are other items that can be substituted, such as turface or some oil dry products... but always be sure that the product you use is inert and doesn't break down.

    All the items used to make this type of medium are discussed over in the Container Gardening Forum, just in case anyone is interested in learning more. It's a fascinating subject!

    It took me almost a year to locate all the right ingredients for my medium. I couldn't find the same brands or the same exact items that were recommended. It took a lot of searching and a lot of reading... and I asked a lot of questions! But I think I have finally found all the ingredients that make the perfect mix for use in my climate and growing environment.

    Improper watering is the number one cause of death and disease in plants. It sounds silly, but learning how to properly water your bulbs can save you a lot of grief, and it's one of the first things a gardener should learn. Even the most high-tech mediums can't save your plants if you constantly "kill them with kindness".

    I'm attaching a link to a great Bonsai website packed full of really good information. Be sure to read the pages on soils, watering... oh, what the heck... read the whole thing! It's a very educational site.

    What I've done is study how plants and mediums and moisture behave together within a container environment, and I've melded together information about bonsai, hydroponics, succulent growing, and bulb growing... and I've come up with a planting and care regimen that works for my environment and the plants I grow. It didn't happen overnight, just like I couldn't find all my medium ingredients right away... but by continuing to research, and asking questions of those who are successful, and learning from my mistakes, I think I'm on the right path in container gardening.

    And since gardening is for sharing, I only hope that something I share will help another gardener to find their own path to successful container gardening.

    Happy Gardening!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Bonsai Basics - Soil, Watering, Etc...

  • holantina
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi Jodi,
    THANKS for the usefull links you have provided on potting mixes. I'm reading this and another you gave some time ago. Really very interesting and educational. Luckily, the perlite and seramis particles are almost equal in size, just one or two mm different. I'm just experimenting now. Thanks for the advise regarding lava chips. I read a few weeks ago they were very useful in providing minerals to plants when used in potting mixes. Here they are available at stores where they sell (sub)tropical palms and container plants that grow naturally in the mediterranean climate.
    I went yesterday to the garden center and they had granite grind there. Little granite stones, intended for using them on top of your garden soil (for instance on a path) so that grass doesn't grow there. Will this be suitable? Anyway , i'll keep on looking for a poultry supplier for farmers. I live in a city and will probably make a better chance to find one going to a few villages in the area. It will probably have another (brand)name, but maybe with some explanation, they will get the idea of what i'm looking for. Do not want to criticize anyone, but sometimes shop personal is very unknowing of the products they are selling. Just to mention one example: i was once looking for a peony (paeonia lactiflora) and the seller showed me what we call here a "tree peony" (paeonia suffruticosa) Can you imagine that one on my tiny garden?

  • jodik_gw
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That's a problem here, too... not very many store clerks are knowledgeable about the plants and other items they sell. They only keep them alive until they're sold... usually!

    The granite chips I'm using are very small... about the size of BBs... smaller than a pea. I'm trying to think of something similar that you could identify with... I can't think of anything. Fish aquarium gravel, perhaps? I will try to post some photos later today, so you can see a size comparison.

    And... thank you... I'm always glad to share any information that I think might help someone else. When you buy these bulbs, the listed directions seem to be written so your bulbs will NOT live very long. Repeat business is how retailers make their money, though, so it's not surprising.

    It's taken me several rotted bulbs and other dead plants to see that what the retail gardening industry pushes at us as potting soil is not that healthy, at all! And I knew there had to be a better way. I'm happy to share what I've learned... in the hopes it can help someone else from dealing with rotten bulbs and dying plants.

    I'm off to take some photos!

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