Prayer plant going downhill

[rary]

Try using concrete sand available at any builders supply store a lot cheaper than perlite and can be used for sowing seed into, do not use the fine builders sand

[Marb67]

Try using concrete sand available at any builders supply store a lot cheaper than perlite and can be used for sowing seed into, do not use the fine builders sand

I have some kiln sand which is white so should be ideal but I really don't think lack of perlite is the issue as why would it thrive for a year or so and suddenly give up ? I have a large one in the front room which is about 6 years old and that hasn't got perlite. I get why perlite is good and will continue using it but I think something else is amiss here.

[rary]

Kilin sand is too,fine, you need course gravely sand , hence concrete sand, this is to give you an open free draining planting medium, that allows air into the soil ,it does not need to be perlite or vermiculite that you mix in with your compost, perlite is the material that is usually recommend by horticulrulturalsts in magazines or tv, I am suggesting that you use concrete sand which is a lot cheaper to buy, this creates an open compost which allows the roots to penetrate the planting medium
I have one other question for you, when you are planting anything do you make sure that the roots are free and not bound in a circular or square pattern, I was putting on a large number of plants today nd before planting them up I loosened out the roots, doing this is quite important, have you ever heard of air pots, these are round pots , of various sizes with holes all over their sides they were developed by a Scotsman in Australia where several years after planting hundreds of trees they started to die , it was discovered that the roots had continued to go round in circles choking and not getting sufficient food for growth, the air pot was invented to allow the roots to grow out through all the holes in the sides of the pots, the roots were air pruned if sitting any length of time when planted out the roots continued to push out the way. The reason I am letting you know about this is due to the growing problems that you are experiencing all the time, ensure that the roots of all the plants you are potting on or planting out are loose and spreading out so that he can get to the nutrients

[peanut]

I have never used neat Irish Peat Moss to plant in, I thought it was best used mixed with another type of compost/soil or as a mulch/soil conditioner.
Even when mixed with sand or perlite surely the fact that it is neat peat by its very nature it will hold onto water more than most pot grown plants would like?
Its also low in nutrients which again for a pot grown plant won't be ideal.
Just my rambling thoughts...

[Nicos]

Gosh- I thought Irish Peat Moss was being withdrawn for ecological reasons!
Yeh…peanut, my thoughts are much the same about its use.

[DannyK]

looking at Gro Sure perlite 10 Ltr bag on Amazon which is over £10. Not cheap

You woz done! On ebay 100lt £25 and free delivery. Piddling sizes always get charged at rip off prices! Likewise vermiculite.
It doesn't go off and it's light. It'll last a year or two.
Damp perlite down before using as there is fine dust. It also seems to mix in better when damp.
Try the sanseveria on 100% perlite. Mine some of mine have grown like this for years. Originally I only intended to use it to root them but as they were happy I left them alone.

[Marb67]

You mean builders sand? If so, I have some of that. Never heard of concrete sand. I also use grit in my compost which I assume does the same thing.

Regarding roots, I always make sure they are teased out.

The Irish Peat moss is excellent quality and has great reviews. In fact, some professionals I have heard saying nothing peat free is as good as peat based. The brand I use is clover. It's very light and fluffy. Google it.

[rary]

Builders sand is put through a fine sieve so that when mixed with cement it is smooth with no lumps when being used to lay bricks, concrete sand contains small pebble particles as it doesn't need to be so fine sieved