Coco Coir in Potting Medium for Palms

[PalmatierMeg]

I am considering ordering a block of compressed coco coir to rehydrate and use as part of a potting mix for the palms I recently received from Floribunda. This mix would include:

Coco coir

Loose, coarse organic garden soil

perlite and whatever black lava rocks saved from previous Floribunda orders

Can people tell me how they use coco coir in their potted palms? I am particularly interested the experiences of FL PTers. Does coco coir reduce instances of root rot and damping off? What proportions of it do you use in potting mediums? How does it work when germinating seeds and growing tiny seedings? You would think SFL with its abundance of coconut palms would have tons of coco coir in every garden center but I haven't seen hardly any except tiny "bricks."

[Really full garden]

I use coco coir in my germination mix and for my potted palms. I have had far less damping off with my seeds compared to traditional peat. With the potted palms it is difficult to say. I think the mix dries out more quickly than when I used peat moss in the mix.

[Zeeth]

I'm a fan of coir heavy mixes (40-60%), as they are easier to re-moisten than peat and better for the environment. They do tend to dry out more easily, so I add more compost than I do with my peat heavy mixes. 

[Rickybobby]

Coco is great for potted palms. I make my own kid of 70 percent coco and 30 percent perlite. Sometimes I throw some clay pebbles in as well. As long as the pot is sized properly I’ve no issues with root rot. 

[redant]

Interesting, where you finding this to buy. I think it should work well with seedlings

 

[Silas_Sancona]

Agree w/ all 3 thoughts above.. Superior substitute for Peat. Can be a little more challenging to use here ( the " can dry out quickly factor " ) vs. when i lived in FL. but, compared to soil mixes containing Peat, much easier to moisten, and yes... far less issues w/ damping off or root rot, etc. It is also PH neutral, so it will not throw off the acidity/ alkalinity of the soil mix.

Can add something like Turface, ( Lave Rock will work as well ) which absorbs additional moisture applied to help w/ moisture retention, though that is less of an issue there since Fl. is more humid/ experiences much more rain during the summer than we do here...  Have used as little as 20% in a given mix, or, gone heavy and had it make up 80% of the soil mix,  as Keith mentioned..  Chunky stuff is great for Orchids / other Epiphytic plants..

As far as the "bricks" you see in the stores, You'll be surprised how far that seemingly small amount goes once fully expanded in water.  Only concern when first using it would be the potential salt content.. I know with the chunky stuff, many people recommend soaking / rinsing it a couple times to leach out any residual salts which might remain in it.  Some sources for Coir / husk use fresh water to do this before packaging/selling.. Others not so much, or use Salt water while processing.. Ground Coco"Peat" may be processed better ( less / no salt content )

[Zeeth]

56 minutes ago, redant said:

Interesting, where you finding this to buy. I think it should work well with seedlings

Around here I go to a landscape store called "Big Earth" and they have giant compressed bricks of it for $11

[PalmatierMeg]

1 hour ago, redant said:

Interesting, where you finding this to buy. I think it should work well with seedlings

 

Amazon. I am considering the following:

https://www.amazon.com/Nutrifield-Coco-Professional-Mega-Brick/dp/B004T0G67S/ref=sr_1_24?dchild=1&keywords=coco+coir+block+for+plants&qid=1592758187&refinements=p_72%3A2661618011&rnid=2661617011&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-24#customerReviews

 

https://www.amazon.com/ECO-COIR-Compressed-Fiber-11-Pound-Medium/dp/B0773SMT1S/ref=sr_1_13_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=coco+coir+block+for+plants&qid=1592758187&refinements=p_72%3A2661618011&rnid=2661617011&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-13-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExOUFOV1ZMWUhDTE1PJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTgyMTc0V1ZBTlpSNFdDQlJTJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA3MTU2NDExWkhLVkJWSkFOMTJVJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfbXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

I'm looking on Amazon. Cost isn't my sole criteria. The one that costs more also has a 5-star rating. Anyone familiar with either product, tell me what you think. An 11lb block will make 18-20 gallons of rehydrated coir. I am an Amazon Prime member so usually get free shipping on stuff. We are going to Amazon for stuff more and more since the virus lockdown. Trolling through overcrowded stores loses its "charm" for us.

[palmsOrl]

Meg, I had been contemplating doing this same thing for some of my palm mixes as well as for my tree fern mixes (as I mentioned in my post about my tree ferns).

The reasons that I steered away from this and decided to either include peat moss with sand, potting soil, and Vermiculite/Perlite or my standard for ordinary palms which is to just combine sand, potting soil and Vermiculite/Perlite in varying ratios, depending on the palm is as follows.   First, peat moss is quite acidic whereas coconut coir is roughly neutral in pH.  Most of the palms I grow personally are tropical rainforest palms and palms from tropical rainforests tend to be growing on acidic soils (though I assume this is not always the case).  Thus, at least for my special (rarer, more expensive, etc.) palms, I intend to include peat, along with sand, potting soil and in my case I am thinking I am going to stick with Vermiculite, as I prefer working with it.  Also, it seems less prone to float and gather and wash off the top of my pots (my whole plant collection is currently potted, or mounted, in the case of some bromeliads and orchids).  I am going to be repotting my Cyrtostachys renda this week back into the same pot specifically so that I can introduce it to a mix with 50% peat moss and I am going to be repotting my Cyrtostachys "Apple" into a slightly larger pot, again with a 50% peat moss mix.

That said, exceptions in which cases I will likely choose coconut coir over peat moss include for my coconut palms as they do not prefer acid soil as far as I am aware and in this case I will want to be decreasing the weight of the ever-larger pots they will have to be planted into (this along with substituting Vermiculite for sand to decrease total weight).  Also, for many Caribbean native palms (not all Caribbean palms prefer alkaline soil I'm sure) or other palms I specifically read favor alkaline soils I will use coconut coir instead of peat moss if I don't go with the standard sand, potting soil and Vermiculite trio.

Secondly, I read it is suggested to choose peat moss over coconut coir for potting media because the latter substance tends to contain a lot of dissolved salts (especially NaCl) due to its origins in most cases and this can be detrimental to some plant species.  This may or may not apply to palms.  

My solution to this when I do actually use coconut coir (except with Cocos, they don't mind the salts and can certainly grow in their own material )will be to thoroughly soak the coconut coir and do water changes a number of times and to agitate and thoroughly mix the coconut coir in the water to release any stored salts before using it in my soil mixes.

Additionally, one article I read did mention that a study was done that found that over a wide range of plant types, peat moss actually performed a bit better than coconut coir as a soil mix component.  Take it for what it is worth.

Finally, I have read about coconut coir's antimicrobial properties and for that reason I will be using it (rinsed for salts and boiled to sterilize) for my expensive seeds when I recieve my RPS order next month.  This is what I did with my last order in 2009 but I am almost certain those Cyrtostachys loriae seeds have a very short viability period and were just too old.  Time to visit Jeff Searle for that one in October!

[palmsOrl]

2 hours ago, redant said:

Interesting, where you finding this to buy. I think it should work well with seedlings

 

Go to an exotic pet store (the kind that specializes in reptiles and such) if you have any locally.  We have a place near Orlando called Pet Bazaar that is where I source mine.  Otherwise just order online.

[palmsrgreat]

I've purchased the Coco Bliss coir brick before and use it in my mixes, especially with smaller plants. I prefer it over peat.

My mix consists of coir, fine screened aged pine bark, 3/8"pumice, turface mvp, and compost/sand. I prefer my mix fast draining as the winter and spring rains can really keep things too wet if not shielded from the weather.

[Silas_Sancona]

37 minutes ago, palmsOrl said:

Go to an exotic pet store (the kind that specializes in reptiles and such) if you have any locally.  We have a place near Orlando called Pet Bazaar that is where I source mine.  Otherwise just order online.

Any plant related business that specializes in Hydroponics/ Organics will have it as well..

[redant]

I did find you can buy on HD and have it shipped to store for pickup.    https://www.homedepot.com/p/Vermont-Organics-Reclamation-Soil-11-lb-Coir-Block-COIR11LB/300679904?mtc=Shopping-B-F_D28O-G-D28O-28_3_SOILS_AND_AMENDMENTS-MULTI-NA-Feed-PLA-NA-NA-BASE_SHP&cm_mmc=Shopping-B-F_D28O-G-D28O-28_3_SOILS_AND_AMENDMENTS-MULTI-NA-Feed-PLA-NA-NA-BASE_SHP-71700000041058685-58700005177368127-92700045708975084&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1-LS8MKV6gIVUNyGCh36cgtdEAQYAyABEgIrJfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[palmsOrl]

Thank you for providing another source Redant!

I am wondering if mixed with a substantial proportion of other components (soil, Perlite, Vermiculite, sand, etc.) if peat moss is less prone to drying out and then being difficult to re-wet, or if this tends to occur only with straight peat moss or nearly 100% peat moss.  

I will do an experiment in two plantless pots and find out and post the results.