Post by druboi on Jun 23, 2014 17:51:46 GMT
I received my first Dewy Pine, in a 3'' peat pot, about 6 weeks ago. The instructions with the plant were to plant the plant, pot and all into a 12'' pot. I did plenty of reading and found lots of conflicting information, regarding using lime and peat being deadly. I also noted that root disturbances and stagnant air is a death sentence and the plant is not a good candidate for growing under lights.
Well, I like to make my own decisions, based on my own opinions, after taking all the research into account and I created a porous mixture of peat, granite grit, and turface. I used a 5'' pot and I sought to remove the plant from its current peat pot and tease some of the dense, wet, old potting mix from the roots.
This is when disaster struck and the weight of the root ball slipped from my supporting hand and dropped away, taking 90% of the roots with it. I was sure I had doomed the plant to a speedy death. Undaunted, I potted the plant up, watered it in with RO water and placed a plastic drinking cup loosely over the plant. I placed the plant under 6 tubes of T8 light, with a reflector, on for 14 hours a day, the temps are between 75F and 68F and humidity is between 60 and 85%, with fans for plenty of circulation. The cup allowed for a small amount of condensation to form and I watered the plant by pouring small amounts around the cup, not directly at the plant's roots.
I watched the plant closely and surprisingly, it retained its dew and seemed to continue to grow. Eventually the cup no longer showed any condensation and I removed it, as of last week. The plant is happy and smells wonderfully, of sweet honey. I hope I am not celebrating too soon, but it appears these plants CAN survive major root loss.
Well, I like to make my own decisions, based on my own opinions, after taking all the research into account and I created a porous mixture of peat, granite grit, and turface. I used a 5'' pot and I sought to remove the plant from its current peat pot and tease some of the dense, wet, old potting mix from the roots.
This is when disaster struck and the weight of the root ball slipped from my supporting hand and dropped away, taking 90% of the roots with it. I was sure I had doomed the plant to a speedy death. Undaunted, I potted the plant up, watered it in with RO water and placed a plastic drinking cup loosely over the plant. I placed the plant under 6 tubes of T8 light, with a reflector, on for 14 hours a day, the temps are between 75F and 68F and humidity is between 60 and 85%, with fans for plenty of circulation. The cup allowed for a small amount of condensation to form and I watered the plant by pouring small amounts around the cup, not directly at the plant's roots.
I watched the plant closely and surprisingly, it retained its dew and seemed to continue to grow. Eventually the cup no longer showed any condensation and I removed it, as of last week. The plant is happy and smells wonderfully, of sweet honey. I hope I am not celebrating too soon, but it appears these plants CAN survive major root loss.