Chunky substrate for aroids

Chunky means “with pieces”. Ok ok, but why have a substrate with pieces? For two reasons. First, the addition of certain elements will improve the drainage of the substrate and thus allow better water flow during watering. Secondly, having elements of different sizes in its substrate allows for better ventilation and air circulation at the root level. These two elements will allow better root development of the plant and consequently your plant will grow better! A chunky substrate is particularly suitable for epiphytic plants , such as monstera, philodendron, raphidophora, hoya...

To make chunky potting soil, you need:

• A base (for example; sphagnum peat, potting soil, coconut peat)
• Of the draining elements (for example: perlite, small pine bark, pumice, clay balls)
• Of the large caliber elements (for example; coconut chips, large pine bark)

What will then be important is the proportion of these different elements in your substrate. In fact, the more draining and large-caliber elements you have in proportion, the faster your substrate will dry. So, adjust the following recipe according to your needs.

RECIPE

• 3 parts of blond sphagnum peat (or potting soil)
• 4 parts coconut chips
• 1.5 parts perlite
• 1 part of vegetable charcoal (mine comes from Terrafertilis ) - if you don't have one, replace the part of charcoal with one part of perlite

To measure the portions, I use a jar and put my mixture in a plastic tray. I prefer to prepare a large quantity at once to save time on future repottings.

I use this substrate for my monstera and my philodendron and other climbing plants . It also works very well with Alocasia and Anthurium. Even if I prefer a richer substrate for Alocasia (with vermicompost for example), and I prefer to grow my Anthurium in sphagnum moss.

I hope you liked this post! Don’t hesitate to check out my other substrate recipes on the blog.