Bulb Mix Curses

Linda Foulis lmf@beautifulblooms.ab.ca
Thu, 09 Nov 2006 06:05:06 PST
Hello,
And here I thought it was common knowledge amongst the group.  Sorry about
that.

"We use crushed granite (the size of a watermelon seed) with
horticultural perlite (fines sieved) and 20% or less of a commercial
compost with excellent results. Each and anything will germinate in this.
Using
half granite and half perlite and adding to it 10-20% of compost will give
you a
great mix."

I was not able to find the granite that size at our rock yards however
gravel about the same size works the same.  Wash only if loaded with clay.
The most expensive part of the mix was the large bag of perlite and the bag
of compost coming second.  In all a fairly inexpensive and easy to make mix.
It's the results that are amazing.

For my albuca, Alberto suggested, 'Put one third of a mix of perlite + grit
+ commercial compost + in a pot. Then fill with 2/3 of a mix or granite and
coarse perlite or granite or granite and sand. In this
plant your A. spiralis. This method gives fabulous results with the most
difficult succulents and desert bulbs.'   True, my albuca put out 3 flower
stalks and is just finishing its bloom.  The bulb itself has about doubled
in size since putting it in this mix under 10 months ago.  Another thing
that Alberto mentioned was key, make sure the mix is bone dry when you pot
your bulbs in it and then water in well.  This mix drains so well, there is
no fear of over watering.  One more note, if you can't find the granite and
end up using gravel, make sure it is not full of limestone.  I was able to
find granite grit at our local Country Depot which they sell for chicken
grit.

Another change I've made with all of the plants (indoor potted) is that I no
longer use tap water.  Our water in Calgary wasn't so bad, I never gave it
much thought in fact.  The water in Okotoks is well water and extremely high
in sediments, and horrible.  After moving here I started to notice that most
of the plants were doing poorly, we installed a reverse osmosis filter and
the plants are loving it.

Hope this helps, it's just too good not to be shared.

Linda Foulis
Okotoks, AB
Canada


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