Yes, growing environments make a lot of difference in culturing. When I first started growing adeniums from seed I shied away from using perlite because of those floating white pieces. I grew my seedlings in almost pure organic matter.
First two months of their lives my seedlings were drenched almost every day from rains (our two wettest months of the year). They loved it and thrived. But to my horror, I found rhino beetle larvae in the little 4" pots. They were eating the decaying matter of the organics in my soil. So I unpotted and washed off the media. As I was learning more about adenium culture, I was experimenting with potting media, so I tried perlite in my mix. No more larvae...the white perlite deterred the beetles.
Another benefit I discovered in using perlite is that it provided for a lot of aeration, allowing the roots to get more oxygen from the rainwater and the roots and plant to grow faster. Still don't care for the floating debris on top, but such is life.
-Kadie
