Like the look of it...would love to get some to add to other stuff.

Is that the coir that Petrushka's been talking about?
You did say it looks coconut-ish...

Looks like coir, to me! It can be processed in a variety of ways, producing lots of different products.

I don't like it when used as a container medium.

Potassium issue?

I tend to avoid peat and coir. I use sterIlized potting mix and lots of perlite.....

Thanks guys. I think you're probably right: coir. I had to look at a lot of photos to find some like it - it certainly can be made into many products! I think this is likely pure, or nearly pure coir.

Asleep - what do you mean by "potassium issue?".

Rhizo - what don't you like about it in containers?

So far, I'm impressed. I really would like to test some for house plants. I've been experimenting with inorganic gritty mixes similar to Al's, but would like to try other things for some plants.

The Sansevieria 'Moonshine' growing in this stuff is a very happy, healthy plant. Its roots are much more extensive than my Sans in potting soil. I haven't had Sans in grit long enough to see how well the roots take to that. I actually lost two rooting Sans offsets to some kind of rot while in grit, which I don't understand. I'm tempted to try the remaining 2 in this medium because after about 2 months, they still haven't rooted.

It also seems like it would be better than vermiculite for rooting leaves. Vermiculite compacts so easily, and sometimes holds too much water.

Here is the Sans growing in it. Looks pretty happy, no? Next photo is a closeup of the coir in my hand just 15 minutes after soaking it. Brushes right off.

all cacti, aloe, hawortia etc i've bought in the past year came in coir dust (same as coir peat) - i've left them growing in it for sev months, then i cut it with perlite for hawortias. for no reason really, i just had no more coir on hand and had to fill in the pot with smth; so i reused the coir peat it came with and added perlite to it.
but my hybrid aloes are still in it and flowering very well.

kwie2011.
look at the recent thread about 'what soil houseplants come in'. towards the end there's a link i posted to tucson cacti soc - experiments with coir. you can learn a lot there.
i think people who have not tried recent coir and only had experience with it many years back - do not know what they are missing.

Actually it was more than just the high potassium,..

Al(tapla) had this to say about it.

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.*

Others swear by it.

So this leaves me somewhat conflicted. I want to use some to fluff up and aerate my mix but now wonder if it will come at a cost.

*hope siting Al doesn't offend him!

Interesting info guys. I'll trace down that link, petrushka.

I don't think Al would post anything he didn't want cited. I do wonder whether he's actually tried it himself. In his own words, it's best to get info from the people who use it.

The Sans, and all the other plants in Fred Meyer look very good growing in this stuff. Possibly the nursery treats their medium for all the issued Al mentions, but since price and shipping weight determine what medium most nurseries use, I suspect coir wouldn't be expensive to correct. Everything has some issue to contend with. Unless I find it cost prohibitive, I'll experiment a bit, regardless of what I read on the Tucson cacti society page. I'm intrigued...and optimistic. I'll post progress.

Thanks so much for the info.

the calcium problem is easily corrected with initial treatment (which of course the mix it came in already had). it's very time consuming to post studies/quotes etc - so i'll keep posting in the other thread, as i just did.
al does not like to post links - so i find it impossible to track what he finds and where. the quote above is very familiar, i prolly can find the article, in scientific circles links/refs are a must for any discussion/quotations to be taken seriously.
and most issues at hand are just beginning to be studied: so knowing when the study was done (year) is critical, as some are outdated and/or done on specific plants only and might not apply to other plants.
the other study that i did not post yet, but read thru was specifically about sprouts vs plugs vs more mature plants in coir mix.
basically, mature plants have no problem with extra K - they can absorb it and they LOVE it. the issue is with sprouts only, as they can't take nutrients fast. and not with all at that. some do fine.
ironically, it seems the industry is converting from peat-pellets to coir-peat-pellets for sprouting seeds. so that seems counter-intuitive IF extra K was a serious problem.

@teengardener - I have never seen a potting mix that didn't have at least some peat or coir (or both) in it. Even the ones based on bark still usually have SOME peat in them. I'm sure there's some extra-special specialty stuff out there for extra special specialty plants, but I don't know what it is.

What are you using for potting mix?

I like peat. I avoid coir because it can be so unpredictable. Also, its really expensive here anyway.

I hate perlite and can't generally get it in a coarse enough grade anyway. I used to use a LOT of vermiculite in my seed starting mixes but, again, hard to get it in a coarse enough grade these days.

Today I potted up a ginger start in 1:1:1 peat, pine fines and pumice.

I am trying a couple of new seed starting mixes as well.

But for container growing and houseplants I am moving to a peat-pumice blend, with or without bark depending on what I'm growing. More pumice and coarser pine fines for some things that will be in the same pot for a long time; less pumice for container growing outside. 1:1 peat-and very fine pine fines (of one ilk or the other) for seed starting.

Last weekend I went out and just bought about 6 bags of different stuff trying to find something that will work for potting soil (pine fines).

One bag is way to coarse, even though it was labeled "small pine bark mulch".

One bag was almost entirely pieces that are really too small for potting mix per se, but that I think will work fine as part of a seed starting mix.

One bag I already knew was too small for potting mix, but its a very fine, very consistent grade of pine bark that I want to use in seedling mix (compare to the other and see which works better).

Then I bought a small bag of vermiculite - the fine grade - for covering very small seed.

And then there is one bag of stuff I got at Lowe's that looks like I can use it for longer term potting mixes. It seems to be mostly right there in the under 1/2" particle size range.

Is that 6? Nope, only 5. Either I forgot something or I only got 5 bags of "stuff" after all.

So now I have some things to work with in my quest to replace my preferred seed starting mix that needed vermiculite, and maybe something I'll be happy enough with for containers and houseplants as well. I don't really like most of the prebagged potting mixes for that.

We'll see what works out.

@ the OP - At any rate - I'd be concerned about leaving a houseplant for too very long in anything it was potted up in by a commercial grower. They just want the plant to look good long enough to sell it to you. There's no guarantee, and likely just the opposite, that the plant will continue to do well in that over the long haul. I'd be thinking about what I want to repot it into at least by the time spring rolls around.

â¢Posted by zensojourner
I hate perlite and can't generally get it in a coarse enough grade anyway

If you have just been hitting BBSs and local nurseries that's not terribly surprising. I suggest Googling for an orchid show within driving distance as some vendors will carry various supplies like that. You could also order from Roberts Flower Supply linked below. (Btw, they are an older couple and rather "old school" with regards to ordering. They don't have the now typical "shopping cart". Instead you can call in or email your order to them.)

â¢Posted by zensojourner
I'd be concerned about leaving a houseplant for too very long in anything it was potted up in by a commercial grower. They just want the plant to look good long enough to sell it to you. There's no guarantee, and likely just the opposite, that the plant will continue to do well in that over the long haul.

Part of the issue is that professional nurseries use whatever media works best for them. While this is entirely sensible and practical, the problem lies in the fact that the conditions in the average home are nothing like that in the greenhouse. So the media that worked so very well for them, may be completely unsuitable you or I in the home.

Keep in mind too, that the concerns with coir mentioned above deals with media that are primarily or entirely composed of coir. Nothing says one can't still use coir as a component in a media mix successfully. I have used ground coir as a main component in mixes for some of my carnivorous plants. However, different plants may, understandably, react much differently.

Here is a link that might be useful: large grade perlite and stuff

Hey Paul,..I dug around a little bit regarding carnivores in coir and found this...

Here is a link that might be useful: VFTs and coir

Asleep - no problem quoting me.

******************************************************************

An excess of any nutrient has as much potential to limit plants as a deficiency of that same nutrient would - regardless of the plants age.

As noted, institutions and commercial ops that DO use coir or CHC's are familiar with their shortcomings and have the wherewithal to adapt - chemically speaking. I don't use it because of the poor results I've seen every time I did side by side comparisons. I've always been results oriented, and to me, the added effort it takes to use coir most effectively isn't worth the limited return for that effort. It makes no sense to me.

Al

Appreciate that,man,..comes as a relief. :)