Ep. 49 - Aroid Potting Medium
Substrate Sessions
Ready to elevate your indoor Aroid game?
Matthew sure is, and wants everyone onboard! Is Stephen ready, though? At a certain point he includes "praying" in his Aroid tips, so you be the judge. Gather around for our second Substrate Session, and don’t forget to bring your [every soil ingredient ever]!
For the visually-oriented plant parents out there, the photos below show the ingredients Matthew describes, and the process of mixing them.
Our recipe:
With fir bark in the center, going clockwise we have:
sphagnum moss at the top
tree fern fiber
and coconut husk chunks.
these are mixed in equal proportions to make a “Chunky Jungle Concentrate” that can then be “diluted” with potting soil, coir, or peat in different proportions to suit the particular plant.
Like he does for the majority of his Aroids, Matthew mixes the additives in a 1:1 ratio with potting soil to use for a baby Philodendron ‘Birkin’ plug that was ready for its first pot! Matthew wanted to encourage its best growth, so he used this mix to promote the healthiest root system possible - now he just has to remember to water it a little more often, but during The Pandemic and staying home for quarantine, that’s not a problem.
For pickier Aroids who want lots of water that could risk rotting the roots in heavy substrate, or ones that like to dry more, Matthew mixes the substrate to have two parts of the Chunky Jungle Concentrate with one part or less potting soil.
But for many trailing Aroids, ones he isn’t growing up to a mature form, or any in smaller pots that dry rapidly, he flips the ratio, using two parts potting soil with one part or less of the chunky additives.
Links to the products mentioned are provided for convenience, in case you were curious to see what we use ourselves! If you decide to make a purchase, Plant Daddy Podcast earns small commissions on any purchases through the links above. We use these revenues to keep the podcast going and the plant geekery coming. :) Thank you for your support!