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'Hard Soil' Mix for Cacti & Succulents
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Posted by nyccoconut 6 (My Page) on Sun, Nov 22, 09 at 13:29
| Hello!
I recently purchased a cactus dish garden from 1800 flowers to use the different cacti and succulents to plant.
They were growing in a "hard soil" as described on the website: http://ww12.1800flowers.com/product.do?baseCode=1828&dataset=10293&cm_cid=d10293
It was similar to a very, very hard clay and I had to break it off of the plants very carefully.
Has anyone ever heard of this? I've searched for soil mixes on the web and only find your typical potting soils.
Thought this hard mix would be ideal for shipping holiday gifts to friends.
Thank you! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: 'Hard Soil' Mix for Cacti & Succulents
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| A hard mix as you describe sound like a disaster in the making. Most succulents are shipped bare root. A proper mix is about 75% inorganic materials with a particle size in the 1/8 to 3/8 inch range. Pumice, perlite, gravel, etc all make good ingredients. No sand. It compacts into cement. Crushed redwood bark is good for the organic component. What you want is a loose, porous, free draining mix. Succulents do not like having wet feet for very long. Sometimes soil is glued in place. This may be why your mix was described as 'hard'. That dish garden is very expensive considering that you could buy all of those plants for a few dollars each. It is not intended to last very long. Brad |
RE: 'Hard Soil' Mix for Cacti & Succulents
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| It is great for the grower, but not for the plants. It is a convience thing but for whom? They need a fast draining soil, and holes for the water to drain out. if you go back a few pages you will see that all of us have been preaching this, go back a few years and you will see the same. The roots need air, or they can die as well as we can without it. Air has the oxygen that they need to process their food. They give back clean oxygen during the day. That is why we are able to breath, and why you see advertisments all over to go green, to clean our air and get earth in balance again. I don't want to sound off like a biology class, but you asked and I responded the best way that I can. Norma |
RE: 'Hard Soil' Mix for Cacti & Succulents
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| I have always grown my cacti and succulents in the proper medium, but am looking for convenience in shipping. This mix was intentionally cement-like. I broke the pot and had to use a knife and screwdriver to break apart the mixture. Norma, I didn't ask about plant respiration; the benefits of the hard soil mix; or the ethics of plant husbandry, I've been keeping plants since I was a child... If you read my initial post, you'll see I was only asking if the hard soil mix is available commercially. |
RE: 'Hard Soil' Mix for Cacti & Succulents
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| Mr./ Mrs. Coconut Maybe it was just that - clay. Clay has extremely fine particles. If I was looking to mix up a batch of hard soil to be used strictly for shipping plants and protecting roots, I would probably play around with mixing some basic paver sand together with cement. There probably is some proportion that creates the properties you are looking for. x |
RE: 'Hard Soil' Mix for Cacti & Succulents
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| Buying live plants from a florist is like buying a pet from the butcher's shop! >;-) |
RE: 'Hard Soil' Mix for Cacti & Succulents
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| Words to live by...! ;) Josh |
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