Peat and perlite, 50-50 mix.

Janie

Nancy you need to be more specific. I use many mixes depending what I doing. Al

Al, I guess I usually am looking at starting pieces of shrubs and also coleus. Nancy

for propagation.. i like straight perlite.. little white volcanic balls.. that gave me the best result with conifers.... ken

For cuttings perlite is OK. I used to add about 20% peat for most cuttings to retain a little more water. Now I am using a mix I make with 50% fir bark fines and 50% Play Ball a product made from diatomaceous earth. In the few months I have been using this the results have been impressive. Al

Hi Al,

Where do you buy Play Ball? The closet retailer I saw listed was in Oregon. Have you tried 50/50 bark fines and Turface for rooting cuttings?

I was in Calistoga recently...what a nice town!

Thanks. Wobur

I would have to drive to Fairfield for Turface and Play Ball is available in Napa. The company selling it locally is named Horizon, they may be a chain of multiple stores. The Oregon source should have been able to give you sales sites in your area. Thats how I found Horizon. Al

Thanks, Al. I will do some more research or wait until the next time I am in the Napa area. I haven't had good luck with cuttings lately so it's time to try something new. Wobur

I'm in Fairfield CA, and I've always found diatomaceous earth at my local Kragens', sold as an oil absorbent. I use equal parts peat, bark, and diatomaceous earth as my soil for all of my plants, indoor and out, and they seem to do well. I'm sure there's a way to improve my mix, but I'm too lazy to experiment any further. :-p

Hope that helps someone! :-)

~ Jenn