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Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:44 pm
by Dionae
Has anyone successfully grown sarrs in coco? I know Steve posted about him growing VFTs in it so I tried it and it works very well but will sarrs grow in it? Thanks!

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 1:22 am
by Steve_D
Dionae wrote:Has anyone successfully grown sarrs in coco? I know Steve posted about him growing VFTs in it so I tried it and it works very well but will sarrs grow in it? Thanks!
Of all the plants I've tried in a coir mix so far, Sarracenia seemed to dislike it the most and didn't grow as well as in a sphagnum-based mix. Venus Flytraps, Cephalotus, Heliamphora and Drosera (the several types I've tried) grow well in a coir mix.

Tiny plants such as baby Venus Flytraps and plants just out of tissue culture without much or long roots don't do as well in the coir mix I use for adult plants, because the top layer of the coir mix dries out a little too fast (though beneath that it stays moist as long as a comparable sphagnum mix). So to establish small plants, I'm tending to prefer a sphagnum based mix at present, using a coir mix for more established or mature plants. A mix of sphagnum peat moss and coir also works well, for all stages of many of the plants' lives. But from my own experience I don't recommend a coir mix for Sarracenia, at least so far (I might figure out a coir mix they like, but my current coir and silica sand mix is not preferred by Sarracenia). :)

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 1:55 am
by Dionae
Thanks a lot Steve! What do you think about a 50/50 coir/peat mix for sarrs?

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:45 am
by Steve_D
Dionae wrote:Thanks a lot Steve! What do you think about a 50/50 coir/peat mix for sarrs?
I think they would like that (and I plan to try that myself but I can't speak from experience yet). The coir would make a nice, springy mix with plenty of healthy air, and the sphagnum would give the additional acidity that might be the reason Sarrs seem to prefer sphagnum.

If I were going to try a sphagnum/coir mix for Sarrs, I might try, by volume, 1 part sphagnum peat moss, 2 parts coir (desalinated coconut husk pith), and two parts silica sand (or perlite, or a mix of perlite and silica sand). It takes about 2 parts by volume of dry, fluffy coir to equal the moisture retentive versus drying time of 1 part of sphagnum, which is why I suggested unequal volumes of each.

Anyway, it would be a worthy experiment I think. :)

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:46 am
by Dionae
I think i'm going to give it a try. Thank you very much for your input Steve. I'll update this thread when I get some coir.

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:02 am
by Steve_D
Dionae wrote:I'll update this thread when I get some coir.
ProCoir is a brand of pure, compressed coconut husk pith. Like all other coir I've bought, ProCoir must be desalinated thoroughly by repeated soaking and draining before use. :)

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:14 am
by Dionae
I was planning on using cocogro. Its supposedly prewashed with a low TDS but I dont really know. I'll grab some ProCoir too and see if theres a difference. Thanks again Steve!

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:46 am
by Darkrai283
HERE is a page from icps about soil fertilising for sarrs. Go to the middle-bottom of the page and they talk a bit about coco-peat. :)

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:58 pm
by Steve_D
Dionae wrote:Its supposedly prewashed with a low TDS but I dont really know.
All of the brands say they are "prewashed," "naturally low in sodium," "safe for garden use," etc., and for normal use as a supplement to most regions' natural soil for plants that are more tolerant of minerals and other solubles in the soil, it's fine to use in limited quantities the same way many people normally use sphagnum peat moss to condition the soil.

BUT, the manufacturer's claims are mostly marketing hype and are only true in a relative sense, when the product is mixed with soil. Do one soak for 12-24 hours and then measure the TDS of the water you drain from the coir, and regardless of brand, the TDS is likely to be anywhere from 800 to over 1600 parts per million! (Certain death to Venus Flytraps and other carnivorous plants.)

So when used as a major ingredient in a potting mix, coir must, absolutely, positively, without question (in my opinion) be repeatedly soaked and drained perhaps 8-10 times at least, to reduce the soluble mineral salts to a usable level (between 50-70 ppm, similar to sphagnum peat moss).

So don't be fooled by the manufacturer's claims. Test it yourself and find out the truth. :)

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 3:30 pm
by Dionae
I was definitely going to check the TDS. I'll definitely soak the coco until the PPM is as low as I can get it too. Thanks for all of your help Steve!

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 8:26 pm
by bugman
I have been looking at a supplier in the uk and they advise they clean it again before sending it out and the salt content is <0.2mS/cm

http://www.cocogreen.co.uk/production/

Is this level too high?

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 8:52 pm
by Dionae
I never got around to experimenting with this. Might give it a try now that I have sarr seedlings in abundance.

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 9:00 pm
by Daniel_G
I'd definitely be interested in the results.

Re: Sarracenia And Coco Coir

Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 9:07 pm
by bananaman
Me too.
I've used coir in a couple pots, to see how dews and Utrics respond.
If all goes well, I'll be able to stop using peat, which means I won't be supporting the destruction of CP habitat!!!

I definitely want to see how your sarrs like it, as I may get some sarrs soon, and want to try them in a 1:1:1 coir:LFS:perlite.