How chunky?
My variegated monstera lechleriana nearly died of root rot months ago. I got her to regrow them through chop and prop. The time has come to pot her back up. She's got beautiful roots, and I want to see her thrive. I just don't want her to rot again. What kind of soil do y'all recommend? I know how to mix up a good, chunky mix. But should I make it a little chunkier this time, like say, hoya chunky? Thanks in advance! #monstera #monsteramob #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantaddict
2ft to light, direct
3” pot without drainage
Last watered 18 hours ago
18
Hi Philli, I mix my own, and my Monsteras seem to be very happy in it. I start with a 50/50 cactus succulent soil I get from Home Depot. The huge Perlite I get on Amazon. Then I add Orchid Bark and Worm Castings. And I usually add more Perlite- just in case lol. I also put a layer of Orchid Bark at the bottom of every pot- it also helps drain water. I know some people use rocks- I just prefer the bark.
@SillyPlantGirl, thank you for your response. I too mix my own for my plants. I use an aroid mix and add a special orchid mix I get from Lowes. I also add more perlite. I didn't change the soil when I got this plant, because I thought maybe I was losing plants because I was messing with them too soon. But I will try doing this and making sure to stay up with the roots. Thank you. When I got her, she was the only one there at Walmart. I felt like she was waiting for me, lol. Hopefully, once I pot her up and add a post, she'll transition well.
She will droop for a few days- it’s normal stress every plant goes thru. Give it a few days. Be sure to make sure the soil stays moist as it’s been used to water. It will take some time to acclimate to soil. Yo might lose a leaf but it’s normal too. I just propagated my monstera and they’ve been in soil about 2 weeks and they went thru stress too, but they are popping back now and looking good. I think if you go to Leca, you would stress it even more. Keep me posted - I’d love to see it in a week to see how it’s doing. Of course if you have questions just ask.
For my monsteras, I’ve been mixing PRO-MIX HP (high-porosity soilless medium with mycorrhizae) with some orchid bark, a little extra pumice or lava rock (the medium already contains a bunch of perlite), and some osmocote for fertilization. Prior to that I was using cactus soil from my nearest plant shop for the soil component. The growth of my plants seems more vigorous for the things I’ve potted in PRO-MIX HP… it only contains enough starter fertilizer to fuel a plant for about a week though, so you need to fertilize during repot.
If your plant previously had root rot, strongly recommend using a moisture meter to confirm the soil is dry enough to need water
If your plant previously had root rot, strongly recommend using a moisture meter to confirm the soil is dry enough to need water
@smushface, thank you. That sounds like a great mix. I have this as a base, and add some orchid mix and extra perlite or pumice to it with some osmocote slow release to fertilize. I do have a moisture meter, but I also use a bamboo chopstick, because the meter has misread from time to time, when I'm using chunkier mixes.
@wolfqueen interesting, it seems like that would have good aeration, I wonder if it’s maybe trapping large pockets of water and that’s what is rotting your roots? It might also not be hospitable enough to beneficial mycorrhizae or microorganisms that compete with bad microbes and help prevent root rot. You could try mixing half of that chunky medium with something like PRO-MIX HP or a cactus soil. That would give you more reliable moisture meter readings and help ensure a more even distribution of water.
@smushface, oh no, I wasn't using this before. I had left everything alone, because I didn't want to mess with the roots too much. It was the original soil I bought her in. When I put her in the new pot, it was my mix.
@Azplantchic, @smushface, @SillyPlantGirl, thanks so much for all of the input y'all gave! I have since moved her back to water. She was looking too stressed, and some of her leaves were starting to turn brown, especially her variegated parts. I just couldn't take seeing her like that. I had to remove a few leaves that were too far gone. I have since placed her back with her sister props. I will get some of the mycorrhizae, and try again in a few weeks, once she has a chance to (hopefully) recover and maybe grow some more roots.
@SillyPlantGirl, sounds good. They all composed the same "plant," but I saw that it was several cuttings of varying sizes. One of them was noticeably slower to sprout then the others, too. Thanks.
To piggy back on @SillyPlantGirl the more oxygen the roots get the better, stronger root growth you will have. Splitting is a good idea. Looking forward to some updates as you move through the process!
@wolfqueen Hi there! To add to those before me, she may have had trouble transitioning because she has a LOT of roots that are used to water. Roots grown in water are used to water and they have to grow all new soil roots once you pot them up. They may look worse before they look better, and will droop. I always suggest letting only a small amount of roots grow in water before your transition to a chunky substrate. The more water roots she has the longer the transition to soil it will take.