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container soil
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Posted by weeddummie (My Page) on Mon, Oct 24, 05 at 7:50
| Hi everyone :)
I have a little lechenaultia formosa that I would like to put in a pot outside on the patio. Very new at native plants by the way. I recall native plants don't really like being fertilised very much, so I guess normal commercial grade potting mixes won't do (not that I have any left - I think I could have mixed this with sand 50-50 or something like that). I didn't want to waste buying a big bag of native potting mix for the medium sized pot I have in mind.
Is it really bad to use garden soil I have outside now? I do think it's free draining soil out there. If the plant will be outside anyway, does it matter? I will still add slow release fertiliser for natives to this soil. I guess I can still plant it outside, but I just wanted to make sure if using garden soil for container natives are a total no-no.
Lotsa thanks, and hope everyone is having a pleasant spring gardening, with the good rain and all :-D |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: container soil
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| Give your lechenaultia a treat, buy it some native potting mix, then, give yourself and the birds an early Christmas present of a few more natives to use up the left over mix. |
RE: container soil
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I always try to establish by research the type of soil/ground that the plants grow in their natural habitat, as most soil types can be duplicated at little cost but may require a little effort and time.Generally this has been successful for me due to my locality, as i can't just pop down the road to the local nursery to purchase whats required as its 260km's away.
The main thing with natives is if at first you don't succeed,don't give up keep trying as eventuaaly you will succeed |
RE: container soil
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- Posted by aeor nsw (My Page) on
Tue, Oct 25, 05 at 5:49
I am very new to gardening and native plants. But I'll give you my 2 cents anyway...
I would buy some native potting mix. It is a no brainer really.
I have a garden that is pretty much wild native bush. Well it was 20 years ago before a subdivision. Most native plants I put into it (of the relatively similar local area) seem to thrive, with a little slow release native fertiliser. The free draining low phosphorous, nutrient poor, or all the gum leaves that fall on the beds as a natural mulch seem to do the trick of providing what they need. The potting mix will do the same, perhaps even better. (Cause not all native plants obviously have the same needs)
However, having said that, I planted a camelia shrub into a large pot with garden soil (cause I didn't know any better, and my mother bought it for me and planted it in an spot I didn't want - in my native garden!) This camelia is probably the healthiest plant in my garden and has flowered profusley and tripled in size in 9 months. So much for my native garden!
So I suppose my point is, give the best chance for your plants, and you will be rewarded, but nature is still a mystery for some of the most advanced sciences.
Good luck, and enjoy.
Andrea |
RE: container soil
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| Thanks guys, I really do appreciate the feedback :) I would like to avoid rushing to the nursery for "quick fixes" if I can help it these days (need to save money at the moment:( ), if a "home" remedy exists. Like I only recently learnt about using household organic matters for the garden (flour for aphids instead of pyrethrum, etc), and it's actually a very exciting different approach to gardening :) I guess it boils down to trying things out - or even the luck factor, because I can imagine somehow me getting a bad batch of potting mix which might do damage...so hard to tell with these things (to me). I'm lucky so far that my native plants in the garden seem to be thriving so far (I just let them be, it's amazing how wonderful they are turning out:)). Container planting is very very new to me. |
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