Soil Issue, Perlite and Dirt Separated

So... like the title says... the perlite in the mix rose to the top (since it floats) and the dirt kept collecting in the bottom of them pot, essentially stopping the drainage (it was a hard, thick layer of black dirt). Did this happen because I did something wrong, or is it just a bad mix of soil....(ROOTS Organic mix, none of the special mixes, it just says ROOTS Organic on the bags). I noticed it today as I was going to flush the 7gal pot, and the water was draining extremely slowlike... This is a week after repotting (I've watered it since), and I followed every piece of advice I could find on repotting, she's doing fine, no stunted growth or anything, she started looking a deficient since I didn't ph balance the new soil, (thats why I was flushing today). Thanks for any info.... I hope its something I did wrong, b/c if this is a common issue, I am going to go pickup some DWC kits this weekend.



Thanks~

The soil needs more perlite...... your perlite is only running to the top because you are flooding your pots... try watering at a slower rate instead of all at once... That should stop the perlite from rising.

Thanks.... I was hoping that it was something I was doing wrong... I've been trying to be mindful of this, guess it wasn't enough.

Pour slowly... let the soil take the water in rather than letting it pool at the top. I'd re pot the plant with a good mix of soil and perlite, and gently scrape top of current soil with a plastic fork to gently break it up and aerate it.

fengshui said:

Thanks.... I was hoping that it was something I was doing wrong... I've been trying to be mindful of this, guess it wasn't enough.

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I've got river rock on the top of mine to prevent that. Seems to work pretty well most of the time. Expanded clay pellets are also used for that. Just a layer on the top so that when you water you're not stirring up the soil as much.

EXCELLENT suggestion... +REP to you sir

Snickerdoodle said:

I've got river rock on the top of mine to prevent that. Seems to work pretty well most of the time. Expanded clay pellets are also used for that. Just a layer on the top so that when you water you're not stirring up the soil as much.

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What would work even better is put a mulch on top and you will end up watering less. good luck dirrtyd

Snickerdoodle said:

I've got river rock on the top of mine to prevent that. Seems to work pretty well most of the time. Expanded clay pellets are also used for that. Just a layer on the top so that when you water you're not stirring up the soil as much.

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do much the same thing, use some pebbles, perlite will float if given a chance

Serapis said:

EXCELLENT suggestion... +REP to you sir

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I'm not a sir, but thanks for the Rep

It works pretty good. You will end up with rock making its way down in the pot over time but it's not enough to cause issues. You will still get some perlite making its way to the top, especially with the first few waters but it definitely helps. I had the same issue. It was driving me crazy to have a 1/2 inch layer of perlite at the top of my pots!

It also helps to see any dead leaves that have fallen off and prevents them from getting moist with the soil and molding. I think a bag of the river rock pebbles is like $4 or less at home depot. I like the river pebbles because they are small and round. You can use gravel or whatever you have but if you use stuff around your home make sure it wasn't under any cars (don't want to smoke motor oil do you?) and make sure to rinse them well and bake it in the oven for an hour and a half at 200 to kill any nastys catching a ride.