- Collection.jpg (193.19 KiB) Viewed 2122 times
Aside from the root mealies, there are things I could have done better that I think I have corrected. Obviously I changed up my growing medium pretty radically. It's a huge unknown, but I feel optimistic. My previous go-to substrate was 25% pumice, 50% turface, and 25% potting soil--I've since then had some really poor experiences with turface, and that much soil+turface compacted way too much, inhibiting drainage and retaining too much water. Now my new North American substrate is 3 parts pumice, 3 parts scoria, 3 parts bonsai block, and 1 part decomposed granite. I chose equal parts of the three main components as a starting place, and will adjust in the future as I gain more experience or theoretical knowledge. My new South American substrate is 2 parts pumice, 2 parts scoria, 2 parts bonsai block, and 1 part aged compost (about 15% organic). All the mineral ingredients are screened to ensure consistent particle size, and the compost was screened to remove pieces of bark over 1/8".
Next, my pot selection. Two years ago at my last repotting I went on a buying spree and changed all my plants from basic terracotta to glazed impermeable plots. Some of those pots were talavera terracotta that was glazed on the outside but not the inside, most were high-fired pots glazed on both the inside and out. With every new pot I saw way, way better root development compared to when the plants were in terracotta (as expected), but I still saw a fair amount of roots caking the bare inside of the talavera pots.
- Cholla-roots.jpg (155.89 KiB) Viewed 2122 times
- E-grusonii-pot.jpg (119.23 KiB) Viewed 2122 times
- M-bombycinia-pot.jpg (104.1 KiB) Viewed 2122 times
So there we go... Lessons learned. Now just gotta sit back and wait for the spring flowers!
One thing though is that some species can have pretty long tuberous roots, often longer than the depth of the bowl, so I am stuck with using taller pots.