Soil mix for Ti plants, to perlite or not?

K

KennyRE317

Active Member
52
18/10/13
1
28
Seal Beach, CA 10a/10b
i'm starting to prepare for spring when i plan to order quite a few Ti plants and was wondering what everyone uses for their soil mix. for my bromeliads i use the palm & cactus mix from the big box store and mix in 1/3 perlite so i would use 2 cups soil and 1 cup perlite and i usually mix an actual 5gal container with lid full so i don't have to mix everytime i get new plants. i was hoping to be able to use this mix for my ti plants but i've read on various sites (might not be the best sources though since they all regurgitate the same info) that perlite isn't that great to use in Ti soil.

currently i've just been growing the Cordylines in the straight Palm & Cactus soil right out of the bag and everything seems to be growing well, it's just at $5/1cuft is kind of expensive if i start potting up 100 plants. so i've been wondering what everyone uses in their Ti mix.
 
IMHO - Ti plants will tolerate most any soil mix. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Of course clay, sand, and rocks won't do, but any decent soil - that is, organics and drainage - should do the trick. I have not heard, nor believe, that perlite would be a negative if used in proper amounts.
 
The Palm & Cactus Mix with 1/3 added perlite added has worked fine for my potted Ti. I prefer to use the fine pine bark instead of the perlite but could not find it in the last 2 years.
 
ScotTi said:
The Palm & Cactus Mix with 1/3 added perlite added has worked fine for my potted Ti. I prefer to use the fine pine bark instead of the perlite but could not find it in the last 2 years.
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ah, i still have a big bag of small bark chips, not sure if it's pine but got a big bag from the hydroponic shop awhile back that i usually use just for the wife's discarded orchids.
 
if i have time later tonight i'll see if i can pull up the articles that suggest that perlite might not be that great for Ti plants but glad to see others have used it without any real issues
 
I'm back from a two week trip and catching up on what's been posted. I have also read that perlite is not recommended for ti plants. My mind is cloudy on the reason, but I think they said it contained high levels of fluoride that could adversely affect ti growth and health.
 
tropicalken said:
I'm back from a two week trip and catching up on what's been posted. I have also read that perlite is not recommended for ti plants. My mind is cloudy on the reason, but I think they said it contained high levels of fluoride that could adversely affect ti growth and health.
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that's what it is, fluoride. I haven't had time to really search for the articles but supposedly it leeches into the medium and causes burnt tips
 
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