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puchinita5

the right soil for indoors? peat moss and perlite

Puchinita5
9 years ago

I'm really new to growing plants, started growing African Violets back in march and now also have:

Jasmine (maid of orleans)
Banana Shrub
Sensitive Plant
Purple Velvet Plant
Chinese Perfume Plant

For the african violets, I have been using a mixture of sphagnum peat moss and perlite, about 50:50. They have done extremely well with this. I also have used this for the Jasmine. Seems fine there too.

I'm wondering if I can use this for all my plants. My other plants are newer so they have been growing with the soil they came in. They need to be repotted, so I'm wondering if it's okay to also use the peat moss perlite mix for them as well.

Thank you for your help!

Comments (4)

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It would not be my first choice. Is there a reason a regular potting soil was not used? Peat can be quite acidic, which many plants may not like (buffering agents are used in peat-based potting soil). And depending on the grade of the perlite, your mix might be too dense, not providing sufficient aeration.

  • Pyewacket
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Add a small amount of dolomitic lime and do look for coarse perlite. Home Depot has it in the Thermorock brand - if the store doesn't carry it normally they should be able to order you a bag. Make sure it is the COARSE grade and not the medium grade. I think the bag is yellow. No need to unpot your plants right this moment, you can "side dress" with lime and a small amount of bone meal.

    I'm switching to a peat-pumice blend because I hate perlite and the way it tends to float up and out of the mix. For long term plantings a 70/30 blend (peat to pumice) is probably best. I get my pumice from the feed store where it is sold as Dry Stall - not Stall Dry but DRY STALL. It is crushed pumice. It does need to be rinsed thoroughly, and a compost screen with the correct mesh size makes that a ton easier. I forget the particle size off the top of my head.

    But if you like what you've got, with the proviso that you switch over to coarse perlite if you're not already using it, there's no real need to change. Keep in mind that the peat will break down over time. It has a maximum life span of about 5 years under ideal conditions but it starts to degrade significantly before that. I'd give it no more than 3 years before you have to replace it. Since perlite is so light you can recondition your mix by putting it in a bucket, filling with water, and scooping the perlite out as it floats to the top, then reuse to make new mix with fresh peat moss.

    However perlite is pretty fragile and it will gradually break down, mechanically over time. I'm guessing you should get up to 8 to 10 years of use out of it before you have to toss it because the particles have become too small. Screening will help to retain large enough particles and you can discard the dross.

    Pumice will last virtually forever and won't break down unless you take a hammer to it. However availability is limited. Growstones is basically man-made pumice but it can be quite expensive. However given that it lasts for-virtually-ever, if you amortize the expense over your lifetime, its not that bad. And it comes in larger particle sizes than the Dry Stall, which may be advantageous for some plants (but disadvantageous for others). I hope to be able to test a mix using the smallest available Growstones eventually, but for now I'm working with the natural crushed pumice. It's cheap and the particle size seems to be about right for anything I'd be growing. It's also much lighter weight than Turface, which is a popular substance used by some in some soil mixes.

    Read and post on the container forum for more detailed information about the pros and cons of various mixes for specific plants. I think your jasmine will do fine in the blend you have, but I'm not familiar with the other plants. There is a strong bias there for one particular blend - well, two. What is called 5-1-1, which is a pine fines based potting mix very similar to most commercial potting soils (but with some advantages) and what is called "gritty mix", which is Turface based, coarse, and well-draining, intended for things like potted trees, cactus and other succulents, etc.

    I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with either mix, except that pine fines are difficult to find for many people, and becoming ever harder to find as time passes; and Turface can also be hard to find and it is VERY heavy.

    If you can find pine fines affordably where you live (its basically small pine bark mulch or may be sold as soil conditioner) then a 5-1-1 mix would probably suit all or most of your plants except the African violet, which is undoubtedly fine where it is. Again, other than the jasmine, I'm not familiar with the rest of those plants, so asking someone else on the container forum would probably get you better information, with the understanding that there is very little real discussion of alternatives to those 2 particular mixes over there.

    They'll also do fine in most any commercial soil-less potting mix. It's really pretty much up to you. I would avoid anything that includes a coir component however.

  • Puchinita5
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for all the information! I will look into all of this. The only reason I was using the peat moss instead of potting soil is because for the violets I was told peat moss/perlite mix was the way to go, so it's what I have for them and was avoiding having to buy anything else since I've already spent a lot this month. But I don't want my plants to die!

  • Kimmsr
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    "Potting soil" is most often peat moss but can be finely ground bark or coir (coconut hulls) or a combination of those, with perlite or vermiculite added to promote drainage. Some manufacturers add synthetic fertilizers, lime, etc. to make specialty potting mixes such as those for African Violets, but they are all basically peat moss, bark, coir or a combination of those.

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