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Dec 7, 2018 2:52 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Cole Williams
Colorado (Zone 5a)
Bought this succulent from my grocery store. Anyone know what in the world the potting medium is?? Look at the picture; I have never seen a plant sold in this stuff...


Thumb of 2018-12-07/coleyamzn/f07471
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Dec 7, 2018 2:54 PM CST
Name: Karen
New Mexico (Zone 8a)
Region: New Mexico Region: Arizona Region: Ukraine Cactus and Succulents Plant Identifier Plays in the sandbox
Greenhouse Bromeliad Adeniums Morning Glories Avid Green Pages Reviewer Brugmansias
That is really different! I think I'd be carefully removing most of it to plant it in a gritty, porous cactus mix.
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Dec 7, 2018 3:28 PM CST
Name: Daisy I
Reno, Nv (Zone 6b)
Not all who wander are lost
Garden Sages Plant Identifier
Its sphagmun moss - orchid growers often use it to ship orchid plants but I've never seen a grower put a succulent in it. Karen is right, get rid of the moss. That's a death sentence.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming...."WOW What a Ride!!" -Mark Frost

President: Orchid Society of Northern Nevada
Webmaster: osnnv.org
Avatar for coleyamzn
Dec 7, 2018 3:37 PM CST
Thread OP
Name: Cole Williams
Colorado (Zone 5a)
Alright thank you guys for the quick answers!!
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Dec 7, 2018 3:39 PM CST
Name: Karen
New Mexico (Zone 8a)
Region: New Mexico Region: Arizona Region: Ukraine Cactus and Succulents Plant Identifier Plays in the sandbox
Greenhouse Bromeliad Adeniums Morning Glories Avid Green Pages Reviewer Brugmansias
I was originally thinking the moss, but figured no one would ship a succulent in it. Sighing!
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Dec 7, 2018 10:26 PM CST
Name: Stefan
SE europe(balkans) (Zone 6b)
Wild Plant Hunter Plumerias Overwinters Tender Plants Indoors Cactus and Succulents Sempervivums Bromeliad
Adeniums Bookworm Sedums Tropicals Fruit Growers Foliage Fan
This will probably be the most unpopular opinion of the month........ I placed an echeveria setosa cutting into what was essentially a tilandsia mix. rocks,tree bark and branches, and some kind of dried local moss. The plant still lives, and it had gotten pretty large.... Smiling
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Dec 7, 2018 11:01 PM CST
Name: James
Tucson, Arizona (Zone 9b)
An old commercial Cactus grower years ago in Vista, California named Bob Diehl once famously said about soil mixes "You can grow cacti successfully in ground-up automobile tires if you can get the watering and fertilizing right".

I think that is a real stretch Whistling - but he was trying to get across the point that it is all about using fast draining soil mixes!
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Dec 7, 2018 11:27 PM CST
Name: Daisy I
Reno, Nv (Zone 6b)
Not all who wander are lost
Garden Sages Plant Identifier
Tillandsia don't need soil - they grow on tree trunks. I have quite a few living amongst my orchids. They just sit on the shelves or in pots. Once in a great while they root but mostly, they sit.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming...."WOW What a Ride!!" -Mark Frost

President: Orchid Society of Northern Nevada
Webmaster: osnnv.org
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Dec 7, 2018 11:50 PM CST
Name: Frenchy
Falls Church, VA (Zone 7b)
Region: Ukraine Tender Perennials Container Gardener Dog Lover Houseplants Million Pollinator Garden Challenge
Tomato Heads Hostas Tropicals Annuals Foliage Fan Aroids
Hi Cole - make sure the pot has drainage holes too. Smiling
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Dec 7, 2018 11:59 PM CST
Name: Stefan
SE europe(balkans) (Zone 6b)
Wild Plant Hunter Plumerias Overwinters Tender Plants Indoors Cactus and Succulents Sempervivums Bromeliad
Adeniums Bookworm Sedums Tropicals Fruit Growers Foliage Fan
DaisyI said:Tillandsia don't need soil - they grow on tree trunks. I have quite a few living amongst my orchids. They just sit on the shelves or in pots. Once in a great while they root but mostly, they sit.

I know. It was mostly a mossy mix to give them the appearance as if they were potted.....
I only got one left though....
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Dec 8, 2018 11:26 AM CST
Name: Daisy I
Reno, Nv (Zone 6b)
Not all who wander are lost
Garden Sages Plant Identifier
That's why they died - you rotted the bases with your mossy mix.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming...."WOW What a Ride!!" -Mark Frost

President: Orchid Society of Northern Nevada
Webmaster: osnnv.org
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Dec 8, 2018 11:30 AM CST
Name: Stefan
SE europe(balkans) (Zone 6b)
Wild Plant Hunter Plumerias Overwinters Tender Plants Indoors Cactus and Succulents Sempervivums Bromeliad
Adeniums Bookworm Sedums Tropicals Fruit Growers Foliage Fan
Wrong.....
They actually died a year after i pulled them out.......
Unexposed, in the shade....
They werent actually in the soil, merely laid on top, unattached....
They were watered via spraying old water......
I got lazy, think the alkalinity got to them....
Echeveria was just fine, if maybe a tad more vigorous than the parent....
Last edited by skopjecollection Dec 8, 2018 11:31 AM Icon for preview
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Dec 9, 2018 6:07 PM CST
Name: Pete
Perth WA (Zone 11a)
DaisyI said:Tillandsia don't need soil - they grow on tree trunks. I have quite a few living amongst my orchids. They just sit on the shelves or in pots. Once in a great while they root but mostly, they sit.


Some Tills actually do sooo much better when potted in Orchid / Brom Mix, although not necessary the growth is far superior than when simply grown epiphytic. Which is unusual as they say the roots serve no purpose other than to anchor the plant, Im not 100% convinced ? maybe its simply a comfort thing for the plant..... they are much more connected to the universe than we are thats for sure.
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Dec 9, 2018 8:04 PM CST
Georgia (Zone 8a)
Region: Georgia Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Dog Lover Cactus and Succulents Annuals Lover of wildlife (Raccoon badge)
Birds Hummingbirder Butterflies Bee Lover Composter Garden Art
It depends on the Till IMO. T. cyanea has always been potted from what I've seen, but ionantha is one of those free hanging ones.
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Dec 9, 2018 8:23 PM CST
Name: Daisy I
Reno, Nv (Zone 6b)
Not all who wander are lost
Garden Sages Plant Identifier
Like I said, some do and some don't.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming...."WOW What a Ride!!" -Mark Frost

President: Orchid Society of Northern Nevada
Webmaster: osnnv.org
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Dec 9, 2018 8:56 PM CST
Georgia (Zone 8a)
Region: Georgia Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Dog Lover Cactus and Succulents Annuals Lover of wildlife (Raccoon badge)
Birds Hummingbirder Butterflies Bee Lover Composter Garden Art
DaisyI said:Like I said, some do and some don't.


I must have missed that post then. I saw the one where you mentioned Tills don't need soil. But I agree, some do, some don't.
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Dec 10, 2018 11:32 AM CST
Name: Daisy I
Reno, Nv (Zone 6b)
Not all who wander are lost
Garden Sages Plant Identifier
Clarification: Tillandsia are epiphytic, they don't need to be rooted into/onto anything to survive. If you place them on orchid bark, they will root to it but, they don't need to root to anything. Roots are not absorbing nutrients or moisture, just holding on. Maybe, when sitting on orchid bark, the water is better controlled.

Here are some of mine, rooted and not rooted:
Thumb of 2018-12-10/DaisyI/291e0a Thumb of 2018-12-10/DaisyI/5d29e0
Thumb of 2018-12-10/DaisyI/ea37cb Thumb of 2018-12-10/DaisyI/6d98eb
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming...."WOW What a Ride!!" -Mark Frost

President: Orchid Society of Northern Nevada
Webmaster: osnnv.org
Image
Dec 10, 2018 11:53 AM CST
Georgia (Zone 8a)
Region: Georgia Plant Lover: Loves 'em all! Dog Lover Cactus and Succulents Annuals Lover of wildlife (Raccoon badge)
Birds Hummingbirder Butterflies Bee Lover Composter Garden Art
That first one is intriguing. T. caput-medusae has always been one of my favorites. Lovey dubby
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Dec 10, 2018 12:08 PM CST
Name: Daisy I
Reno, Nv (Zone 6b)
Not all who wander are lost
Garden Sages Plant Identifier
It came home, as a 2-inch broken tip, with an orchid I got in Hawaii. I attached it to the hanger of this orchid (it was also a unrooted cutting) so I wouldn't lose it. Now, the orchid and Tillandsia are inseparable. Luckily both are epiphytic so can stay in that little pot together forever.
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming...."WOW What a Ride!!" -Mark Frost

President: Orchid Society of Northern Nevada
Webmaster: osnnv.org
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Dec 15, 2018 8:11 AM CST
Name: Steve
Perth, Western Australia
Region: Australia Cactus and Succulents Garden Photography Cat Lover Hybridizer Enjoys or suffers hot summers
Vermiculture
DaisyI said:Its sphagmun moss - orchid growers often use it to ship orchid plants but I've never seen a grower put a succulent in it. Karen is right, get rid of the moss. That's a death sentence.

I agree Daisy, but it is SphagNUM moss.Not really the right medium for succulents.

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