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kwie2011

How fast does your grit drain?

kwie2011
9 years ago

Anyone using any type of grit mix without added soil?
How fast does it drain?
Does water run out of the bottom immediately when you pour it in the top, or does it take a few seconds or minutes or what?
What percentage of the water do you think your grit retains, and how often do you have to water?
Anyone using pumice alone? Turface?

I'm trying to get an idea of how my mix's water retention compares to others.

Comments (11)

  • nomen_nudum
    9 years ago

    Pumice drains quickly if you flush water through a pot but retaines an amount of moisture for a wide range of times.
    The time an all pumice soil retaines moisture depends on a few variables such as day by day climate, type of pot , size of pot, location of pot.

    With pot size and type on the forfront I can easily say this:
    Side by side locations of some pots in same day by day climate conditions I can water the smaller high fired pot every three days and the cheap ceramic chineese 6 inch and the any size terra cottas on the same day but this also varies by the type of plant as well.

    Example that cacti from New mexico arid land is also a full sun cacti perched in the middle of everything else, it wont need any water on that third day or the next or the next
    Don't under estimate your eyes most any plant is not on anybodies schedule it has it's own.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    Also depends upon how well-established the roots of the plant/s are, and how you water. If you use a bonsai watering can with fine-nozzle/break and slowly water, the mix will absorb more moisture. It is very important to slowly and thoroughly water the *entire* surface of the potting mix.

    Josh

  • deva33 Z8 Atlanta
    9 years ago

    I use Al's gritty mix and it drains in about 1-3 seconds. I also have a coffee filter at the bottom to keep the mix from falling out so that can make it take a little longer to completely drain.

  • kwie2011
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    My mix drains pretty much immediately. I'd say closer to 1 second than to 3. I'm wondering whether the medium is retaining enough water.

    My succulents are all small, and all recently replanted, so none have established root systems yet.

    I'm experimenting with a mix of 2:1 pumice to granite. I use a regular watering can so not to wet the leaves, especially rosettes, for fear of rot. I don't think a bonsai watering can would work well for my small pots.

    I pick up each one, hold it over a tub, and pour about a quart of water across the whole surface. Then I pour the water back into the can and do the next one (too expensive to waste). In a day or 2, I do it again.

    I don't know whether I should be worried about them being underwatered or overwatered. I can't relax and enjoy them for fear of one or the other all the time. I'm feeling a little crazy.

    Any opinions from those more experienced with soilless growing media? If it's any help, I have jades, Sans, Echeveria, Aeonium, Sempervivum, Graptopetalum, Kalanchoe, Sedum, Anacampseros and some hybrids. They currently get about 4 hours of direct sun daily, another hour or two of dappled sun, and the rest light shade. Highs in the low 90s, lows in the 60s. In a week or so, I'll be able to put them in a much sunnier southern exposure (trees and hills block southern sun where I am now), and I'm actually a little concerned they'll burn.

    Opinions, please.

    Thanks

  • nomen_nudum
    9 years ago

    The best experianced candidate is the plant that grows in your pot
    You got them to enjoy them, try to relax plants are rather clever, they know what they are doing. We on the other hand..... need water more often than they do.

  • whip1 Zone 5 NE Ohio
    9 years ago

    In Ohio and my plants in mostly full sun, I water every other day when the temps are in the 90s. When it's cooler, I water about every 4-5 days. The one great thing with using gritty mix is over watering isn't an issue if the medium is properly made. We had thunder storms for a week straight, and water got dumped on my plants every night, and the temps have been cooler this year. No issues with rot.

  • nomen_nudum
    9 years ago

    Permuim water does cost but like whip had said rain is free

    Here are some watering suggestions posted on the forum from the experianced ? No top watering, no tap watering, once a week, once a month, once a day, check it with a dowel, let it get scary dry, when in doubt you dont water though the pot with some complex caclus equation to equate to 15 - 20 % of what you put in comes out.

    Rain is free , bottled water is also very nice. asking does the person with 1000 pots use bottled water ?

  • kwie2011
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Whip - that's helpful. Thank you.

    Nomem - I don't have bottled water OR rain. All my water is trucked in - yeah, kinda weird, and expensive, and it's awful water. I'll have tap water when I move though.

    Did you really mean 15% to 20% of the water COMES OUT? I'd be VERY surprised if that much water STAYED IN my pots. Water just pours right through like a sieve.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    Kwie, have you tried putting one of your containers into a bowl or container of water? It will let you know what the mix/container feels like when fully saturated.

    Set a pot into a bowl, then slowly begin watering. Eventually, the water-level will come up over the pot. If the bark or mix begins to "float," lift the pot until there are no air bubbles. Then raise the pot out of the water and let the container drain. When there is no more dripping, give the pot a heft and become familiar with how it feels.

    Josh

  • kwie2011
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I will try that, Josh. Today I measured the water retention. I poured 1 cup through a spider plant in a 4" inch pot that had been watered 2 days ago. Then I poured the water back into the cup and I couldn't tell there was any less water than when I started. Maybe if I waited 4 days it'd be a measurable.

    So far the plants in this mix seem okay, but I don't think it holds enough water. Has any of you grown anything in straight pumice?

  • Ohnie
    9 years ago

    I live near the equator and I've never grown my succulents in straight pumice. I always mix 1 part pumice with 2 parts cactus mix, 1 part regular potting mix, 0.5 part humus and 1 part builders sand.