What is your Favorite Palm soil mix?

[Chris WCT]

Hello PT 

 

I'm ordering a custom soil mix from Southeast Soil in Okahumpka,FL. They will make a custom blend if you order a min of 20+ cubic yards.

What is your favorite base soil blend for growing palms in nursery pots. and if you know percentages that would be awesome?

Example; 50% Florida peat, 20% Coconut coir, 15% .5" Pine bark, 10% Cypress Fines, 5% Cypress dust. 

Thank you 

Chris 

 

 

 

 

[PalmatierMeg]

I mix my own. Current formulation is 1/3 organic garden soil from Kellogg, 1/3 coco coir, 1/3 perlite. I’m always on the lookout for something to improve my blend. But 20 cu yd minimum special order exceeds even what my 0. 61 acre gardens can take. Dealing with minimum 10 cu yd of delivered mulch was a tall order. And the city of Cape Coral code enforcement would not appreciate the highest elevation in town to be a mountain of custom soil mix.

[ZPalms]

I wish a company would come out with bag soil that was straight to the point ready to go without having to do amendments because Im so lazy with soil mixing and Im terrible at it

[Silas_Sancona]

"Base" mix is 40% Coconut Peat, ..Other 60% is inorganics ( Turface MVP, Limestone, Lava and/or wash grit, and Pumice.. ) adjusted for specific plant's requirements ( Limestone / plants that want a "mineral" soil  lovers, = can be as little as 20% Coco Peat ).

Plants that like a richer soil? i'll add some collected leaf duff, and/or a little Mushroom Compost. Does not make up more than ~55% of the soil mix however.  Also recycle all inorganic components except fine sand, ..Which saves $$$$$$...  Reminds me, need to sift more grit sometime today..

As for a " bagged " mix?  best i'd used in the past was " Jungle Gro " Had everything i wanted in it, though i'd add a little extra of this or that to it sometimes.. Wish it was still available.

[Chris WCT]

Thank you for the input. Looks like coco coir is a must. 
Love utilizing yard waste as much as possible. 
 

Does anyone have a good practice for utilizing palm fronds as compost or ways to break them down faster? 
 

thank you again for contributing

Chris 

[Pal Meir]

Three component mix:

[johnnymak]

I use a 50/50 mix of a local peat based potting mix, and 10mm Quincan (scoria). I have it loaded onto the delivery truck a 1/4m at a time, alternating between the 2 products. By the time its tipped, its mixed pretty well!

[Enar]

Poor man’s mix peat and perlite 50/50. Alternatively mix 50/50 peat and compost then 50/50 that again with perlite. I have some seedlings currently growing in the latter. Pot drainage matters a ton. 

[MSX]

On 6/30/2023 at 6:34 PM, Pal Meir said:

Three component mix:

Hi, what is the "LECA" component?

[Pal Meir]

43 minutes ago, MSX said:

Hi, what is the "LECA" component?

LECA = Expanded clay aggregate. It is chemically neutral.

[Merlyn]

Originally I started with 50% generic "topsoil" (shredded tree bits), mixed with 50% perlite.  Then I found that Turface MVP was cheap and readily available at a Ewing Irrigation only a couple of miles from home.  So I'd do about equal parts topsoil, perlite, and Turface MVP.  For palms or other plants with different water needs I'd make it more or less organic.  So like a Licuala would get a lot more organics and an agave would be 75% or more inorganic.  At one point I started adding some Sakrete Paver Base (crushed limestone gravel), with the theory that it would counteract the acidity of the potting mix.  But I think that was causing some iron deficiencies by raising the pH.  So I'll probably quit adding that.  Last year I found a local nursery selling the "small pine nuggets" super cheap, because everyone spends big bucks on the big pine nuggets for mulch.  The small ones work great in a mix to add "chunkiness."  Recently I have started using cypress mulch in the mix, and am looking at replacing the "topsoil" with Kellogg Raised Bed mix plus coco coir.  I just bought some coco chips to also be more "chunky."

[MSX]

On 7/12/2023 at 8:29 AM, Enar said:

Poor man’s mix peat and perlite 50/50. Alternatively mix 50/50 peat and compost then 50/50 that again with perlite. I have some seedlings currently growing in the latter. Pot drainage matters a ton. 

The real poor man's mix is when you grab a shovel, go to a backyard and dig up garden soil for your potted squad needs, without buying anything lol

That's actually what I normally do and my mix contains - garden soil (loam) + manure + decomposed granite 1:1:1, from my observation in drier and very hot desert climates soil based mixes hold moisture between waterings better than soiless mixtures without burning roots if the pots kept under the sun all day long, can't say about other palms but my washies seem to love that

 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by MSX

[Pal Meir]

10 minutes ago, MSX said:

The real poor man's mix is when you grab a shovel, go to a backyard and dig up garden soil for your potted squad needs, without buying anything lol

That's actually what I normally do and my mix contains - garden soil (loam) + manure + decomposed granite 1:1:1, from my observation in drier and very hot desert climates soil based mixes hold moisture between waterings better than soiless mixtures without burning roots if the pots kept under the sun all day long, can't say about other palms but my washies seem to love that

 

 

For my outdoor palms (Archontophoenix, Jubaea, Livistona spp, Phoenix spp, Washingtonia etc.) I used also a soil of 100% weathered granite:

 

[realarch]

I just use soil from the garden mixed with packaged compost products from a big box store to create my mix. My seedlings are healthy, fast growing, and usually find homes with other palm society members here on island.

Because of the high rainfall and slope of the property, I’ve created drainage channels with intermittent dams. The runoff soil collects behind the dams and provides ample bulk for my needs. I’ve never used anything else except maybe black cinder when I have some on hand. Try to keep it simple here and fortunate to have a constant supply. 

Tim

 

[Steve in Florida]

You should look into their Nutri-Bark, it's good stuff.

[Arecaceus]

I always mix soils myself. Imo the best way. I adapt the mixtures depending on the palm and its location. Alkaline or Acidic, swamp or extreme drainage - I can control everything myself. Sand is one of my favourite components. If it has the right size it's helping with every soil type to get better drainage or oxigen accsessibilty for the roots. I also don't have fixed measurements. I do it all by visual judgement. Over the last 15+ years this has shown to work out amazing.

[D. Morrowii]

I’ve been working with 3 base types. 

1. Economy blend - For non fussy palms/bananas etc. in large pots or as in ground soil amendment.

1 part pine bark fines, 1 part bagged compost (now 1 part top soil @Merlyn) 1 part shelly sand and 1 part turface. I can fill a 30 gal pot for about $13. 
 

2. Supreme blend 🙂 - For fussy palms also in small containers. I can fill a 7 gallon pot for about $8-9 also for soil amendment on palms I’ve had trouble with. 

1 part coco coir, 1 part turface, 1 part pine bark fines, 1/2 part worm castings, 1/2 part top soil. Sometimes I substitute the top soil for the shelly (coquina) sand for more drainage. If I want it to maintain more moisture I may add an xtra 1/2 part coco coir. 
 

3. Other - For palms that want to be moist but never wet?  Adapted from @Pal Meirmix and Floribunda. So far mostly for 2 gal and under Licualas and others that seem to struggle in the other mixes. 
 

50/50 or 40/60 coco coir and hydroton clay or 50/50, 40/60 or 30/70 coco coir and pumice. Or 1 part Pine bark fines 1 part coco coir and 1 part pumice.  I usually mix in a good handful of Osmocote plus for nutrients.  
 

Nothing scientific here just having fun trying stuff and using what I’ve learned here from many on this board.