Plant Substrate Recipes

Recipes and info about substrates for growing various types of plants. More recipes will be added over time.

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Lithophytic

Cliff-dwelling lithophyte mix #1 (Crevice)

  • Perlite
  • Peat moss
  • Seachem flourite
  • Fine orchid bark (Pinus radiata)
  • Crushed lava rock
  • Coarse lime grit – to raise/balance the pH and emulate the limestone cliffs it naturally lives on
  • Shredded sphagnum moss – very small quantity

Plants:

Cliff-dwelling lithophyte mix #2 (Xeric)

  • Small crushed lava rock
  • Pinus Radiata bark
  • Perlite
  • Pumice
  • Fluval stratum

Plants:

Lithophytic mineral mix #1

  • 1 part small lava
  • 1 part pumice
  • 1 part limestone grit

Plants:

  • Mexican Pinguicula spp.

Terrestrial

Forest mix #1 (light and permeable)

  • 5 parts peat moss
  • 3 parts perlite
  • 2 parts fine pinus radiata bark
  • Topped lightly with sphagnum to keep moisture and humidity up

Plants:

Moist Acidic Jungle mix #1 (lean)

  • 5 parts sphagnum moss
  • 1 part fine pinus radiata bark
  • Light sprinkle of leaf litter

Plants:

  • Many tropical plants

Moist Acidic Jungle mix #2 (rich)

  • 6 parts Sphagnum
  • 2 parts Happy Frog potting mix
  • 2 parts Perlite (coarse grade)
  • 1 part Pinus radiata bark (fine grade)
  • 1 part Monto clay
  • 1 part Willow-Oak leaf litter (mixed in)

Plants:

  • Labisia, Ardisia, many other tropical plants

Limestone Potting mix #1

  • Peat moss
  • Perlite
  • Charcoal
  • Bonsai Block (calcined clay)
  • Coarse Limestone grit

Plants:

  • Begonia spp. from neutral to alkaline habitats (Limestone-growers)

Swamp / Marsh

Basic swamp mix #1

  • 1 part peat moss
  • 1 part ripped up beech leaves

Plants:

  • Cryptocoryne spp.

Rheophytic

Rheophyte Mineral mix #1

  • Fluval Stratum
  • Topped with 1/4″ to 1/2″ of small crushed Lava

Plants:

  • Bucephalandra spp.
  • Dicranopygium spp.

Hard Core Rheophyte mix #1

  • Small crushed Lava

Plants:

  • Bucephalandra spp.