AV Soil-less Mix

15 years ago

Hello to everyone from another "newbie!" I'm not exactly "new" to AV's but it's been 20+ years since I've grown my last one and I wasn't going into it as a hobby. So many new things, information and the internet! I've been in the background ("lurking" sounds wrong somehow:) reading past posts back to the '80s. I don't want to ask questions that have already been answered 50 times 3 pages earlier. My only real question is about vermiculite. I read one post that mentioned using large granular vermiculite. The person that posted the question could only find small granular (almost like large grained sand, which is all I could find) vermiculite and how it clumped up and others mentioned it doing the same thing. I know the standard mix is 1-1-1, so would I use less vermiculite and if so what ratio would anyone here suggest?

Thank you very much,

Darrin

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Comments (5)

irina_co
15 years ago
Darrin -

vermiculite holds water - it is the purpose of it in a mix. Probably if it tries to clump - you need to mix it really well with other components of your soil - and I would try to reduce the amount a bit and add more perlite instead of it. 1 : 1.2 : 0.8?

It is not an exact science - and best growers usually play a bit with the proportion depending on the house humidity and type of the plant - I am thinking "other" gesneriads.

I.
MetroSTL_AVLVR
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi Irina,
Thank you for the advice. I did go a little heavier on the perlite than I did the vermiculite and all seems to be going well so far. I received my first 6 AV's (actually 7 including the free one which was nice) from Bluebird a week ago and every one seems happy in their Oyama pots. Trying not to kill them with kindness!! :)

Darrin
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irina_co
15 years ago
Oyama pots need more perlite than 1:1:1. Until your plants grow big and strong - keep the watering on a low side - do not fill the bottoms to the highest mark and let the soil dry a bit before adding more. Not to the crisp, but until the pot starts to feel light. After the plants catch up - you do not need to be that vigilant - they will suck the water faster. Usually Bluebird plants are quite mature - they do not send little babies.

Keep us posted - and we are waiting for the pic of your first blooms.

I
MetroSTL_AVLVR
Original Author
15 years ago
Irina,
I did go heavier on the Perlite than I did on the AV mix and vermiculite (trying to remember as much as I could from what I've read here) and followed the directions that came with the Oyama pots. The directions said to fill the outer pot to the top line on the first watering and then to the bottom line every time after that. I've felt the top of the soil and it feels damp but not overly wet or soggy so everything seems to be on track. I found out from my local water co. that my water PH is 7.7-8.0, so I've been using distilled water and ordered a PH tester until it gets here. Correct me if I'm wrong but I've read that white vinegar can be used to bring the PH down...?

Thanks again,
Darrin
irina_co
15 years ago
Darrin -

you are on your way to success!

Irina