The soil plants are sold in is not usually a very good long term choice. It's made with the bottom line in mind, and the greenhouse providers interest in the well-being of the plant ends at getting the plant to market in a healthy state. Soils based primarily on fine ingredients, like peat, coir, compost, composted forest products, sand ..... are what bring a high % of forum participants here looking for help, and what keeps a fair number of growers helping people learn how to deal with the effects of poor soils or, better yet, how to avoid the effects of poor soils by building soils you don't have to fight for control of your plant's vitality.

If you're interested, I'll help you learn more.

Al

lowes gets a lot of tropical plants from wholesale nurseries, most of which are in FL. the plants are often bottom wicked+misted and coir peat is the medium of choice: it is much lighter then reg peat, it drains faster then peat and does not compact when wet, so allows for root aeration better then reg peat. it feels very different to touch, with little bits and sort of pleasantly grainy. if you can get a close-up of your soil it would help to determine if it's coir peat.

Coir is rarely the medium of choice. Usually, professional growers limit coir to 10% or less of the o/a volume because coir has inherent issues that require extra effort to work around.

Something more I wrote several years ago about peat vs coir:

Peat vs. Coir

Sphagnum peat and coir have nearly identical water retention curves. They both retain about 90-95% of their volume in water at saturation and release it over approximately the same curve until they both lock water up so tightly it's unavailable for plant uptake at about 30-33% saturation. Coir actually has less loft than sphagnum peat, and therefore, less aeration. Because of this propensity, coir should be used in mixes at lower %s than peat. Because of the tendency to compact, in the greenhouse industry, coir is primarily used in containers in sub-irrigation (bottom-watering) situations. Many sources produce coir that is high in soluble salts, so this can also be an issue.

Using coir as the primary component of container media virtually eliminates lime or dolomitic lime as a possible Ca source because of coir's high pH (6+). Gypsum should be used as a Ca source, which eliminates coir's low S content. All coir products are very high in K, very low in Ca, and have a potentially high Mn content, which can interfere with the uptake of Fe. Several studies have also shown that the significant presence of phenolic allelochemicals in fresh coir can be very problematic for a high % of plants, causing poor growth and reduced yields.

I haven't tested coir thoroughly, but I have done some testing of CHCs (coconut husk chips) with some loose controls in place. After very thoroughly leaching and rinsing the chips, I made a 5:1:1 soil of pine bark:peat:perlite (which I know to be very productive) and a 5:1:1 mix of CHCs:peat:perlite. I planted 6 cuttings of snapdragon and 6 cuttings of Coleus (each from the same plant to help reduce genetic influences) in containers (same size/shape) of the different soils. I added dolomitic lime to the bark soil and gypsum to the CHC soil. After the cuttings struck, I eliminated all but the three strongest in each of the 4 containers. I watered each container with a weak solution of MG 12-4-8 with STEM added at each watering, and watered on an 'as needed basis', not on a schedule. The only difference in the fertilizer regimen was the fact that I included a small amount of MgSO4 (Epsom salts) to provide MG (the dolomitic lime in the bark soil contained the MG, while the gypsum (CaSO4) in the CHC soil did not. This difference was necessary because or the high pH of CHCs and coir.) for the CHC soil.

The results were startling. In both cases, the cuttings grown in the CHC's exhibited I just find it very difficult for a solid case to be made (besides "It works for me") for the use of coir or CHC's. They're more expensive and more difficult to use effectively. The fact that some believe peat is in short supply (no where near true, btw) is easily offset by the effect of the carbon footprint of coir in its trek to the US from Sri Lanka or other exotic locales.
That's the view from here. YMMV

Al F.

Coir Study

OP's question was:
What kind of soil do houseplants come planted it? -
not what is the best medium or what should i use or...
"Coir is rarely the medium of choice" - is a very general and incorrect answer at that. it depends for whom, where and what type of growing.
it is used extensively in hydro-culture and sub-irrigation.

Nothing wrong with the semi hydrophonic growing method as long as it follows the same principles. When the plant is ready to grow add water

The bottom line is, the OP wasn't asking about sub-irrigation, and coir has a lot of inherent issues peat doesn't have. If a grower doesn't have a good understanding of those issues and proactively work to resolve coir's shortcomings, you can count on the fact that Mother Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

Al

every medium has inherent issues. many professional growers are replacing peat with coir peat - which is why it is now found in a lot of newly bought plant pots. and i explained why, which is how sub-irrigation/hydro came into play. that's what nurseries do.
i think everybody should do their own research on the internet and educate themselves on the issue. and then experiment what works best for them.

Depends on the plants as well. I use coir chunks as the water retentive material in my orchid potting mixes. Ground up coir cut with quartz sand or perlite has been a fine media for many of my carnivorous plants. My cacti/succs do not get any peat or coir.

Al, why does a high pH cause issues with Ca from lime or dolomite?

The pH of peat usually hits in the low 4s, so dolomitic lime, which raises pH is a suitable source for Ca and Mg. Dolomite is not a suitable source of Ca/Mg for coir and its pre-lime 6+ pH (already higher than the ideal range for container culture even before liming) because the high pH of coir causes many elements to combine and form insoluble precipitants (iron, phorphorous, copper, boron, zinc, and manganese all become increasingly unavailable as pH rises).

Coir has less loft than peat, compacts very easily if watered from above, has very high K content and the pH issues, all of which can be limiting if not specifically addressed. P makes it sound like commercial growers are moving to coir and using semi-hydro production en masse, but that's not the case. There IS continued experimentation, mainly using coir as a fraction of soils used for semi-hydro production, but for the most part no one is waving goodbye to their peat supplier so they can embrace a more expensive product that's more difficult to use effectively.

Al

To bring things back around for the OP in simple terms - most plants in "fluffy" soil that you get at big box stores are in either peat moss or coco-peat or a combination of the two.

This media works well for short periods of time in controlled greenhouse environments, which is why its used. In the average home situation, this media is difficult to properly water, and breaks down/compacts quickly. You probably want to look into alternatives for normal household use - check out the Container Gardening forum for more information, in particular read about "5-1-1" and "gritty mix".

See the link at the bottom of this post in particular, but beware its somewhat long (though very worthwhile).

Here is a link that might be useful: all about soil for use in containers

Some plants in the euro market (especially some woody Dracaenas) come in a very high coir-mix. With multistem plants this can be a pain if you are immediately removing them from their growing pot, as the rootball more or less falls apart.

In actual fact I've just asked my compost supplier to increase the coir content of my compost, as it was too soily and water-retentive (and damn heavy!).

Seems to be a success.

I've seen this stuff in one plant I got, a "plant of steel" from Costa Farms. It was completely unlike the 'other' peat that's usually in potting mix. I really liked it, even though I was scared the whole time, because it took about 2 months to dry. The plant was a Sansevieria, which should have been extremely offended if it wasn't airy enough while in my cold house during winter.

Petruska and I had a convo about it, and I decided that not only was it not something I could find locally, the cost of switching my plants to it would be too high for me.

Like Jon said, it just fell away from the plant when unpotted/repotted in the spring. I loved that most of all. Such a pleasant departure from the usual bought plant that has the other kind of peat in such a solid ball around the roots that the only way to get rid of it is to remove all of the roots. This coirpeat is particles of a uniform size that don't seem to compact, at least not in the same amount of time as other bought potted plants (already compacted when bought.) The individual particles felt like little sponges that I could smush them with my fingers, and they popped back into their original shape/size.

If the plant hadn't been a Sans, which I wanted to put in a bigger pot ASAP so it could make more pups with more space, it might still be in that stuff. So my experience with it was only for a few months, but it was a pleasant one. I tried to save that stuff to try another plant in it, but it got knocked over.

I'm left wondering if there are diff kinds of coir/coirpeat?

Does anyone know what it is and where i can get more of it?

==>>>

my answer is a bit different ... being a business grad ...

any given grower.. uses the cheapest product they can.. for the plant they are growing .. in the greenhouse system they own, including how they water ... to best accomplish their goal ... that being profit ...

your house is not a greenhouse... so i dont understand.. why you want.. nor need.. the exact product they are using ... nor would i use the common miracle grow stuff ...

through a process of learning.. you will learn.. what is the best media for your house.. and the plants you are growing ...

on some level.. you are presuming that their media is best for the plant.. no matter where the plant is ... and i am suggesting that is not the way to do it ... on outdoor plants.. with my sand... i bare root all my plants.. as the divergence between a high peat media.. and the sand.. will cause a lot of plants to die .. so i get rid of it ... the same would be true .. for houseplants ...

find a media you like... and repot all your plants... into one media .... [except for such divergent plants as cacti, etc] ... this will simplify your watering.. and many other variables... the biggest nightmare you can end up with.. is 100 plants.. in 100 different medias ... its a nightmare to water them all .. because each media .. each size pot.. dries differently ...

so you dont need a professional greenhouse media... you need a consistent media .. to make your life easier .... IMHO ....

ken

There are 3 choices a grower can make when deciding on a medium. Choose a medium the grower likes, choose a medium the PLANT likes (because more often than not the two are mutually exclusive), or he can compromise. You can't assume that a grower will choose what's best for the plant unless he understands what's best for the plant, and in a very high % of cases, he doesn't. If a grower decides on compromise, an excellent case can be made that the the minimum standard for a container medium should be something you can water correctly w/o having to deal with the effects of a soil that remains saturated for extended periods. If you can't water correctly, how close your plants CAN come to reaching their genetic potential is determined by how BAD your soil is and how proficient the grower is at mitigating the soil's inherent limitations; where, in a soil you CAN water correctly it's determined by how GOOD the soil is.

Al

of course, it is important to understand the differences in var.media.
but to just dismiss 'coir peat' (they call it 'coir dust' in many studies) because it needs a diff formulated fertilizer with more Ca initially and/or adjusted for required PH levels is kinda excessive.
plants that love peat and highly acidic mediums do not grow well in coir peat, but still SOME addition to the mix may be very beneficial.
just because some media is better suited for newbie growers is not good enough an argument.
it's like using only familiar vegetables for a salad, 'cause they are easy to get and you're used to them.
and it is also wrong to insist that unless you dedicate your life-style to plant's growth potential, you shouldn't bother.
i can also make an argument that sub-irrigation is very economical in terms of water/nutrient consumption - which can be a very serious argument in drought areas. there's plant growth potential and then there is stark reality. some people might HAVE to use water very carefully, 'cause it's mandated by regulations.
and as it happens coir is just fantastic for sub-irrigation/self-watering containers, but bark, as a main ingredient in the mix, is not, as it does not wick.
and then there is an argument of nutrient leaching:
eg in fl due to N and P leaching into ground water there is a state wide initiative (AND moratoriums and fines county by county) on usage of hi N ferts. only 1:1:1 ratio is allowed and only sale fertilizers with zero P is allowed to home-owners, unless they can prove with soil analysis that their soils are P deficient.
since a lot of people grow and even irrigate their tropical houseplant containers outdoors in summer periods they need to be aware of these kinds of restrictions.
so insistence on generic 'good for anybody everywhere' will not do anymore.

here's a quote comparing coir 'peat' to peat:
The following qualities of coir dust recommend its use as a peat substitute:
1) high water holding capacity equal or superior to sphagnum peat, 2) excellent drainage, equal to or better than sphagnum peat,

3. absence of weeds and pathogens,
   4) greater physical resiliency (withstands compression of baling better) than sphagnum peat,
   5) renewable resource; no ecological drawbacks to its use,
   6) decomposes more slowly than sedge or sphagnum peat,
   7) acceptable pH, cation exchange capacity and electrical conductivity,
   and 8) easier wetability than peat.
   http://flrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Hort/Environmental/Media_Nutrition/COIR%20potential.htm

and since OP asked about nursery mediums that plants come in and the majority of tropical houseplants ARE grown in fl i want to note the following fact:
extra Ca required for coir is not an issue in FL: due to the fact that water is very alkaline and contains higher Ca (lime soils) - so coir is just about perfect for Fl nurseries ;).
since home-growers water elsewhere might be hard, most likely, extra Ca supplement WILL be needed. But from the studies that i read, soaking coir products with Ca supplement just once initially overnite or giving 10% extra Ca supplement for the 1st month is sufficient to overcome the drawback. it's not that diff from soaking bark overnite or acquiring special fert for gritty/bark mixes.
as far Ca supplements go it's necessary to use gypsum for coir, not lime...
http://www.greenhousegrower.com/crop-inputs/media/tips-for-best-use-of-coir/
another study of greenhouse media:
http://ag.arizona.edu/ceac/sites/ag.arizona.edu.ceac/files/Comparing%20Media%201996%2097.pdf
and here is a very interesting study of var. ratios in mixes for var. plants of peat vs coir and their effect.
http://www.hriresearch.org/docs/publications/JEH/JEH_1996/JEH_1996_14_4/JEH%2014-4-187-190.pdf

Where you consistently pick and choose what perspective seems to best serve your intent at that moment, I consistently look at things from the perspective of what's best for the plant and what methods provide the grower with the highest rate of return for their efforts with the greatest ease. Where there is extra effort involved, as in making your own soils, I'm careful to make sure the grower understands there is extra effort, but most of the work involved is in initializing the process.

My post above is almost a month old, and was a reply to the post above mine. I'm not sure why you're so intent on perpetuating intercourse on this topic.

Al

it's a free forum - i feel like talking on the subject that interests me and might also interest others, not you necessarily.

Good point. Rock on.

Al

gee, thanks...
quote:
Where you( (me that is, petrushka) consistently pick and choose what perspective seems to best serve your intent at that moment...

my-my .. that's very judgmental!

i don't see any change of perspective on my part. it remains the same: each gardener is entitled to choose the best medium that suits his/her circumstances.
my circumstances are dictated by my long absences due to the love of travel, i found a way to still grow healthy plants without anybody's help (wicked/sub-irrigated or on ceramic spikes).

your recommendations do not suit me. coir and/or peat is critical for my growing method. i clearly have an interest in discussing it further. some of what nurseries do is very relevant to me, so i am talking about it and reading about it and posting occasional links for others.
that's a personal choice that is independent of external factors, like health or climate(drought) or state (regulation: water/fertilizers).
i simply pointed out ADDITIONAL reasons why some of your recommendations might not suit everybody.
that does not constitute 'picking and choosing whatever best serves me' in the least.

but this discussion is NOT about your or my choices of medium.
the OP wanted to talk about the medium that plants come in and why.
i don't see him/her around, but that's an interesting subject and i see no reason why we can't explore it further.
so, i posted some more links, the one with experiments of various ratios of peat/coir/perlite is very interesting.
you're not the only reader of these forums. i do not have to gear my responses to you.
you stated your point of view and answered some questions - it does not mean that it's the end-of-discussion and posts.
even if it's a month later.
i post when i post, when i find smth interesting. very simple.

Just for the record, sub-irrigation and semi-hydro are not the same thing.

I haven't added peat or coir to anything in a few years but you've posted some interesting links.

Also since this was mentioned, While it is true that peat is not the endangered resource that many people believe it to be, It is also true that the environmental damage incurred during the harvesting (Strip mining) is devastating to the bogs and wildlife in the areas where it is done. In Ireland I saw places where peat had been harvested more than a century ago that were still just long trenches in the ground. Sphagnum just doesn't grow fast enough to be considered a renewable resource.

Coir harvesting, processing and shipping in bulk, it can be argued, brings benefits to economically depressed areas in so-called third world countries, It creates incentives to preserve natural areas and maintain indigenous agricultural practices. It also takes what otherwise would've been a waste product (coconut husks) into a usable one. There was a time when most coir was washed in seawater but that usually isn't done anymore. Yeah, it also is not a perfect product but there are certainly some good points to using it.

This post was edited by dellis326 on Sun, Oct 5, 14 at 0:01

dellis:
...sub-irrigation and semi-hydro are not the same thing

agreed. but there are some cross-over confusing areas.
i actually had a conversation with a knowledgeable poster who said that there is no such thing as semi-hydro per se, it's all considered hydro. but in popular parlance semi-hydro refers to wicking water up the substrate using wicks or special aggregate like what lechuza system is using (lechuza uses clay aggregate on the bottom and reg soilless mix on top). it only works when the mix contains a good amt of peat/coir peat and is a soilless mix. though orchid growers use it with much more bark and a good amt of long-fiber sphag and scoria perhaps and orchids grow thick roots right thru and into the bottom 1-2" of water in the reservoir. and they also call it semi-hydro.
the pure hydro would use rock-wool, perlite, scoria or coir chips as a wicking substrate and water levels would be much higher and/or flooded intermittently. bark is not used in pure hydro.

while sub-irrigation uses a special substrate composition, usually containing considerable amts of peat/perlite and some bark and wicking up water from the reservoir by osmosis (mix itself acts like a wick). like raybo or earthboxes or no-wick self-watering containers or trough systems that are becoming quite popular with outdoor container gardeners.
i think using wicking mats is more similar to wicks, however since the wick is not inside the soil, and the soil itself absorbs the water and wicks it up - that is considered is sub-irrigation (or am i wrong?).
i use both methods: wicks and wicking mats. though wicking mats much less and only on occasion.
royal hort soc in britain has converted from peat to coir (and uses coir peat/chips for all its plants in the conservatory for close to 10 years now). they are also advocating in europe for conversion to coir. They are criticized by some. But nevertheless RHS is a highly regarded institution and i would not dismiss their recommendation lightly.

Personally, I really dislike coir and peat as soil additives. I brought a Zamioculcas zamiifolia also from costas farm and I was not impressed by how terribly long it took for the soil to dry. What I tend to do is take my own garden compost, sieve out overly big chunks, sterilize it, and mix 50 percent compost, 50 percent perlite in a bucket, and that is my soil mix for most plants(for cacti and succulents, I add more perlite) This has worked very well for me. I urge new growers to notice how long it takes for the mix to dry, and water accordingly. Ajust your watering depending how long your specific plant in its specific area to dry.

Let's not forget that conversion to coir is driven far more by political correctness than it is by coir's (and CHC's) attributes. Commercial and institutional growers who DO use coir, also have the wherewithal to cope with its shortcomings. If the individual grower wants to use a coir-based soil rather than a peat or bark-based soil, they either learn to deal with coir's problems or accept the limitations. I don't use coir because the effort to deal with it's limitations is much bother for no return.

I think advocates for the individual use of coir should offer clear ways to deal with coir's high K content, a pH too high to allow the use of lime as a Ca/Mg source, coir's proclivity for compaction when watering from the top (keeping in mind that watering from the bottom ensures a build-up of dissolved solids in media, unless you do water from the top occasionally to flush the medium, which in turn causes compaction), and coir's tendency to act allelopathically toward many commonly grown plants (there is no 'fixing' that by other than avoiding its use in combination with these plants - and it will be frustrating finding out what they are).

This isn't a "Chicken Little" response to this particular thread. It's a summary of the shortcomings associated with the use of coir, none of which are inherent in peat. Individual growers won't find value in coir as a significant fraction of container media unless its advocates offer clear instruction that allows the individual grower to avoid the inherent potential limitations regularly associated with coir.

Al

if you looked at mix ratio pdf i posted - the conclusion is that coir can be used instead of peat and actually performs better for a lot of plants - nothing to do with political correctness.

all mediums have shortcomings that need to be coped with: if taken 100% by themselves. clearly a mix of sorts performs better.

personally i do not use coir as a total substitute for peat, i use half peat half coir peat in a mix that is roughly 35%'peaty' 35% perlite 21%fine orchid bark. i had no problems with the plants that i grow that i listed above (most of them in this mix and on wicks) - using reg fertilizers, not special coir fertilizers.

here's a quote from an interesting post i found:
I have concluded that coir is by far the best all-around organic potting medium that I have ever encountered. Succulents that have performed superbly in media consisting of from 30% to 100% coir include: Adenium, Pachypodium, Plumeria, Aloe, Agave, Sansevieria, Trichocereus, Mammillaria, Stapeliads, Caralluma, Bursera, Boswellia, Fouquieria, Haworthia, terrestrial and epiphytic bromeliads, terrestrial orchids, and some Euphorbia (I have only a few). Nonsucculents have done excellently too, such as citrus, figs, peaches, blackberries, melons, tomatoes, corn, Asclepias, Hibiscus, and many bulbs including Gladiolus, Lachanalia, Scadoxus, Hippeastrum, and Boophone. I have been using 2/3 to pure coir for tropicals, including tropical succulents such as adeniums. For more xerophytic species I use 25-30% coir, with the rest being perlite and/ or pumice. The only plants that have not done well are some extreme xerophytes such as Mohave Desert cacti, Ariocarpus, many mesembs, and Caralluma socotrana. But I have never had much success with these plants in any medium.
(see link at the bottom for more).

- 'avoiding its use in combination with these plants'
i totally agree with that. any extremely acid and humus loving plant probably should not be grown in it. i do not use it with begonias or african violets (only peat mixes for them).

the list of plants that prefer highly acidic soils with large amts of humus (peat as subs) can be easily found, it's not arcane knowledge.

-'pH too high to allow the use of lime as a Ca/Mg source'
gypsum is recommended instead of lime, as i already mentioned.
and that is mostly as initial treatment of the mix (same as lime usage).

i'll get a link that explains in detail what happens with calcium in coir, just not today - it's a bit involved; but not more involved then what happens with N in bark ;).

there are readily available fertilizers that are formulated for use with coir: they are usually sold by sites selling coir. some coir is already sold pre-treated with calcium (after that no extra supplementation is necessary for the same batch).
again, in the above study the same fertilizer was used for both peat and coir. the studies i found indicate only initial 1st month 10% extra Ca req. after that you can switch to a reg. fertilizer.
clearly coir is very popular for hydroculture: and the fertilizers are not hard to get. hydro-forum has plenty of info and recommendations.

i do not consider it my responsibility to find fertilizers for posters: they have to exercise a bit of initiative after all. i am not here to baby-sit everybody. that is to say, there is no rule that says unless i fully educate ev. interested and provide ind. guidance i should not be even talking about the subject!

-coir's proclivity for compaction when watering from the top

please, provide at least sev links on the subject for reference.
i have not come across anything supporting this statement.
preferably as compared with peat. most research that i see indicates that even coir dust (=coir peat) compacts less then peat.
it also decomposes slower then peat.

-'keeping in mind that watering from the bottom ensures a build-up of dissolved solids in media, unless you do water from the top occasionally to flush the medium'
i'll get a link to a study i found recently: on top vs sub-irrigation in coir/peat. it stated the following: coir is often used in sub-irrigation which results in most roots developing at the bottom, not the surface of the mix, as with top watering. minor salt-build-up on top therefore does not cause a problem and can be easily resolved with occasional top-watering with pure water. not copious flushing that bark regularly needs, just a reg watering. so can't see a problem .

-'unless its advocates offer clear instruction that allows the individual grower to avoid the inherent potential limitations regularly associated with coir'

there are plenty of reg limitations of gritty and bark-based 5-1-1 and lots of pics of dried up plants on this forum, despite all the individual instruction given ;).
here's my view: each grower NEEDS to experiment. I am experimenting - so far with no adverse effects AT ALL. but i don't grow ALL the possible plants either.
but if there's an interest, i can surely discuss in more detail what and how i grow (but not in this thread).

perhaps some new growers prefer clear instruction. it does not mean that unless i provide this clear instruction i cannot discuss the coir topic.

-'Individual growers won't find value in coir as a significant fraction of container media '

fantastic generalization, al! so you are speaking with confidence for the rest of readers :). guess what, i don't buy it.
but i myself only used it as a fraction together with peat: about 17-20% of the mix.
i never suggested 100% coir for home-grower either. i don't even think anybody these days grows anything in 100% peat for that matter.

and do i need to provide a dissertation on the subject with clear references, if i want my post to be considered 'useful for readers'? - that would disqualify 99% of posts here :).

and so i feel free to continue looking for links AND posting them for others.

of course, i actually want to discuss it with other growers, those who tried it and when and how and with what. for me it's not a theoretical issue. and if it's complex (which i think it's not) - it certainly won't deter me from looking into it.

in any case, i even read that coir chips are better'n bark! would you believe it! a statement like that just riveted me on the spot! what can be more intriguing then that!?!:)))))

Here is a link that might be useful: tucson cactus soc coir praise

One thing I'd like to throw into the discussion is that I have yet to see pics of/read a story about, a plant being killed by overwatering in a pot of this stuff. If Costa Farms can send thousands of Sansevierias out into the hands of mostly newbies* in this stuff and they're stayin' alive, I think that's a good thing. One of the most notoriously killed-by-"overwatering" plants of all time. The anecdote is always similar, "This stuff's taking forever to dry, but my plant looks great and is growing pups."

I'm still quite interested, though nearly too ignorant of the complexity of the info to be allowed in here. The bouncer was looking the other way... Even if parts of it are flying overhead, the passion, and interest in even the smallest details, are really cool, from everyone.

I could understand it if my interest level allowed, I just don't care about this calcium thing, it's too boring because all I can do is read about it, none of this stuff around to try. And my eyes always glaze over when the subject turns to any kind of hydroponics. But I'm glad this detailed discussion is here, for myself in the future, and for those who currently understand all of it. Those able to find and experiment with coirpeat (or hydro) will probably latch onto what's being said a lot more readily since it actually applies to what they are doing. Should I find myself in such position, I'm sure I'll come back to read those parts at least 1 more time.

I think most plant hobbyists are not of a scientific background, and behave reactionarily, without any preconceived notions/expectations, and only investigate the science aspects if there's a problem. "Why did it happen like that?" It's human nature to have difficulty paying attention/comprehending, when the subject doesn't feel relevant, even if it is.

At this point, after reading most of it only once, is it dumb to ask if using a respected, balanced/complete fertilizer on something approaching a regular basis is enough to combat possible negative effects for some plants? Or is the point that some plants would simply not be able to grow well in coirpeat? Or is the point that an increase of something in particular (calcium?) at a higher amount than what a fertilizer can provide is probably necessary for some plants?

* (mostly newbies) admittedly an assumption, but based on reading these forums (GW and other sites) for so many years, and watching/reading the amazing glut of blissful ignorance, thousands of comments, on some extremely busy FB plant groups over the past year.

as a comparison:
all the talk about bark, constant liquid feed, necessity to flush often, availability of good bark, extra N needed for uncomposted bark, lime treatments, etc is not too complicated?
but all coir talk is complicated?
that's perhaps due to the fact that you've been reading about bark for years, but coir talk is fairly new to you and hence all info is new.
it's not easy to find a good pop-intro. most informative articles are on hydroponics sites, 'cause they are the people that have the most experience with coir at this point. try to overcome the glassing of the eyes ;) at the mention of hydro.
i am also not very interested in all the detail, but often glancing at summary/discussion paragraph of the study is informative enough.

here's a pretty easy intro that touches upon some very important terminology: CEC..
here's quote:
Until the cation exchange capacity(CEC) of the growing media is filled, the growing media may hold positively charged nutrient ions, most notably calcium, in reserve, making them less available to plants. However, the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the coir media is quickly filled, and actually assists calcium absorption in the crop cycle. To ensure optimum availability of all nutrients, supply additional calcium during the first week of growth or during the hydrating process of the coconut coir.
end quote
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you can actually buy coir that has been pre-treated with calcium, so you don't have to do anything. or soak with gypsom overnite: bark needs to be soaked initially for wettability and lime has to be added to the bark mix. so that's very comparable 'initial extra work' for coir.
so after that reg fertilizers can be used (the var ratios of mixes using coir/peat link that i posted used same 3:1:2 fert for all mixes)
...
quote again for those too bothered to read links:

Coir fiber will not compact over the course of the crop as with peat. ...With coir fiber there is little if any compaction of the growing media over the cropping cycle due to the higher content of lignins and cellulose found in the physically coarser fibers. In container grown crops, little compaction is evident. Plants receive optimal water to air ratios over the course of the entire crop, not just the first few weeks.
...
The coir fiber will retain airspace throughout the growing media, and the excess moisture will pool at the bottom, where it may wick up through the growing media, as coir tends to have excellent capillary movement for moisture and nutrients.
..
In Holland, coir has been used to grow long term crops such as roses for periods longer than 10 years! The cation exchange capacity of the coir fiber also helps to reduce the incidence of salt burn, as it offers some buffering against positively charged ions such as sodium.

Here is a link that might be useful: non-tech post about coir but with substance

Dude, snippy & snarky... really? I would never talk to you like that. My failure to understand some kind of humor? IDK. If this is your 'tude about something, that's a bummer, not a mind set to which I can relate in regard to plants. Right, I don't want to read articles about plants as crops, and despite your demeaning comments, don't consider that a failure on my part. It's my hobby, I'll approach it at my own discretion, in my own way. Articles about professional production don't and won't interest me, but TY for responding & sharing info. Smile, friend!

wow, purple, you reaction is totally uncalled for.
guess, i inadvertently pressed some button. you asked for simpler info, i took time finding and providing it.
i got some more very good stuff on fertilizers from NC state - but dealing with your attitude is not what i come here for. and i lost the desire to answer your questions. just like that.

-quote: you describing your state of mind:
And my eyes always glaze over when the subject turns to any kind of hydroponics.
me, saying practically the same back:
-try to overcome the glassing of the eyes ;) at the mention of hydro.
you - chuckling, me-chuckling back.

don't see anything at all that can be interpreted as snarky and/or condescending. but obviously, we come from very diff environments (me, from famously rude, to the point, in your face NYC - people consider me direct and even blunt at times, but never rude; condescending i certainly CAN be, when i think it's called for).

quote:
-not a mind set to which I can relate in regard to plants. Right, I don't want to read articles about plants as crops, and despite your demeaning comments, don't consider that a failure on my part. It's my hobby
end quote.

don't have the faintest what mind-set you are referring to.
it's a hobby for me too among several, very time-consuming ones. you're not the only one reading this thread; i am mostly answering al's posts - which necessary requires tech references. if you're not interested, feel free to skip as they say.

again, the post was a direct reply to your request for more easily digestible info.