From: "Derek Burch" derek at horticulturist.com> on 2005.12.18 at 18:12:07(13614)
Ken,
Yes to all your points. I love the amount of slack that many of new mixes
give, and, of course, realize that there are times when you cannot observe
plant growth closely enough. But I don't think that 1000 choices are a
blessing, and that even ten for any one group of plants (i.e. ten for cactus
and succulents or ten for aroids) can cause confusion in the grower's mind.
I shoehorn all my terrestrial aroids and gingers into one mix, and do the
"detail" in the watering. Not with complete success - and I don't do
anything very rare or difficult. Remind me again, if I ever ask about
Astrophytum, that I should definitely stay away from the whole group.
On your specifics, though - I might ask what you are doing giving repeated
waterings to a corm that has not broken dormancy or pushed above the
surface? But let that snide comment go, I don't want to be get into a
slanging match with another grower.
One thing that did influence my thinking on this: many years ago when I
worked at Montreal Botanical Garden, one of the gardeners delighted in
growing cactus in bowls with no drainage, and in pure sphagnum moss.
So, on with the sharing - yes, it is a great group at aroid-l with only a
few snots like me to through a little grit into the bearings.
Derek
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