I just did some research on the perlite and soil ratio for my thai constellation and now that it’s been watered and repotted, i am concerned that 1:1 was a bit too high. I have some orchid bark at the bottom of the pot to allow some more air flow but idk if you can have TOO much airflow. Should i reconsider the ratio next time?
by axderv
16 Comments
Actually it doesn’t look too bad and 1:1 is fine. I would just recommend adding something chunkier like orchid bark next time and doing 1:1:1. Soil is a science of its own and everyone has their own perfect mixture. I buy a premixed aroid mix because it also has things like worm castings and charcoal in it. This way I don’t have to buy a bunch of different substrates and mix them myself ( even though that is probs less expensive). Hope this helps a bit but there is definitely a lot more to it
I don’t think so… I usually do 1/3 each… perlite, soil, orchid bark… oh and I break down some coco coir for the top
I went with 2 parts Potting Soil (mine already had a little perlite), and
1 part Perlite and
1 Part lava rock as Chunky Matter.
As I understand it, the roots need cycles of water and air.
The point of the perlite and the Chunky Material (bark, lava rock, leca, etc) is to make the soil more quick-draining, so the air cycle sets in before the next watering. With these additives, the soil is less susceptible to water-logging which gives compaction.
Your perlite doesn’t look excessive to me, but my experience is limited.
You’d probably want the bark mixed in with the soil and perlite so it looks more like this
https://preview.redd.it/lxgtb615q0of1.jpeg?width=383&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b8a7c225db66cc794f53c44ed1c89222a92b8e29
The plant is buried too deep. It’s not too much perlite.
As long as it isn’t consistently getting dehydrated it’s fine, I put tons of perlite and bark and leca in my Thai con mix
There is no such thing as too much perlite lol
this looks good to me! just mix it up a bit more perhaps. I would dig around the base of your plant because it looks pretty deep , the stem can and will rot this way if you are top watering.
That stem is going to rot if you keep it buried that deep. But perlite is good.
Don’t know if that is possible, lol.
You can grow them in pure perlite
As long as we’re on this subject, I too just purchased this and would like an evaluation on perlite if anyone has opinions
https://preview.redd.it/1bk6ld7vc1of1.jpeg?width=5707&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=74b0fc6900b0987e112c0a3765f8d0a0d69918bc
I use a ton of perlite and then do fine. It looks dry though.
I know that everyone adds perlite to aerate their soil but doesnt it hold moisture aswell? Its super porous.
Buried too deep.
No.