TIPS FOR USING BIO LEAF AROID & HOYA POTTING MIX

I have below outlined a few tips on how to use our Bio Leaf Premium Aroid & Hoya Potting Mix. 

The mix continues to amaze us because just about everything we plant in it grows.

THE BIO LEAF DIFFERENCE

Plants growing in Bio Leaf Premium Aroid & Hoya Potting Mix

Bio Leaf Premium Aroid & Hoya mix is not a bunch of ingredients randomly mixed. Our potting mix is manufactured using our own propriety recipe that has 3 distinct stages. Each stage is designed to enhance or optimise the potting mix's properties.

Bio Leaf Premium Aroid & Hoya mix is custom-crafted to help your plants grow better.

We use science and data to ensure that our mix meets our standards. Samples are submitted regularly to laboratories for analysis, plus we do our own in-house testing to ensure that our mix meets our production standards.

Bio Leaf Premium Aroid & Hoya Potting Mix is custom-crafted, and some of the benefits reported by users include:

  • Hardly any or no transplant shock.
  • Fantastic root growth.
  • Better foliage growth, colour and sometimes variegation patterns improve. Some plants even get a growth spurt.
  • More growth points.
  • Plants that have not grown well before, start growing well again.

FIRST THINGS

Our potting mix contains fine particles which settle into layers over time. Before you use it, you should mix it up thoroughly to ensure all particles are evenly distributed through the potting mix. If the potting mix is very dry adding about 250ml of water, will help with the even distribution of the particles. 
 

PREPARE A TRANSPLANT SOLUTION

Before repotting, prepare a Transplant Solution. The nutrients in this solution will help your plant recover from transplant shock.

  • Pour 5 litres of water into a container.
  • Add 4 ml Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt and stir. (Dilution = 1:1250).
  • Add 4 ml Dyna-Gro KLN Rooting Solution and stir. (Dilution = 1:1250).
  • Add 6.6 ml Dyna-Gro Foliage-Pro or Dyna-Gro GROW and stir. (Dilution = 1:750).

Dyna Gro KLN Rooting Solution

Dyna Gro Pro-TeKt Fertiliser, The Silicon Solution

Dyna Gro Foliage Pro Fertiliser

Dyna Gro GROW fertiliser

PS: You can substitute a Dyna-Gro KLN with a good quality seaweed extract such as:
  • Grosafe BioPower Seaweed Flakes. This is a dry flake and needs to be dissolved in water before adding to the Transplant Mix.
  • Ocean Organics Soil Concentrate.

PREPARING YOUR PLANT FOR REPOTTING

Repotting is a traumatic experience for a plant, and sometimes plants experience transplant shock. This is normally induced when the roots can't provide enough moisture and nutrients to the plant. 
 
There are a few things you can do to lessen the effect of transplant shock: 
  • Before repotting your plant, soak it in the Transplant Solution. Use enough solution to cover the top of the potting soil. This will help prepare the plant to lessen the effect of transplant shock (Repotting Trauma).
  • Try and soak the plant for at least 15 - 60 minutes. The longer, the better.
  • This also helps loosen the old potting mix and soften the roots, thus minimising root damage when you remove the potting mix.
 

REPOTTING YOUR PLANT

Be gentle when working with the roots. The less damage inflicted, the better. Sometimes flushing the root ball under tap water removes a lot of the old potting mix. Water flowing over the roots is a gentle process and minimises damage to the roots.
 
I always add a layer of limestone chips to the bottom of the pot. The potting mix will then rest on top of the chips, so to speak. The benefits of doing this include improved moisture drainage, better airflow through the potting mix and helps with better disposal of contaminants flushed from your potting mix.
 
If you have a lot of roots, it can be difficult to get the potting mix settled in between the roots. Place some potting mix in the middle of the root mass and gently wrap/fold the roots around the potting mix. Place the plants into your pot and open the roots(flay) so that the plant is sitting on top of the potting mix. Next, start placing the potting mix in between and around the roots, occasionally tapping the side of the pot liberally. This will help the mix to settle in between the roots.
 
After repotting, your plant should be able to support itself, i.e. free-standing in the pot. If required, you can use a stake to support the plant until such time that the roots system can support the plant.
 

POST CARE OF A REPOTTED PLANT

After repotting your plant, thoroughly drench the potting mix with the Transplant Solution mentioned above.
 
For the next four to six weeks, continue feeding once a week using The Transplant Solution.
 
After caring for your plant through the first six weeks, it is beneficial to use Dyna-Gro KLN Rooting Solution once a month to promote vigorous root growth.
 
While your plant is recovering from transplant shock, be careful not to expose it to bright light or hot growing conditions. If you have the means, increase the humidity your plant is exposed to.
 

MOISTURE MANAGEMENT

Depending on your plant's requirements, you will need to water every three to four days in summer and winter every five to seven days, maybe even longer.
Add Fernwood Tree Fern Fibre to the potting mix to increase the moisture-holding capacity. Add some Kiwi Orchid Bark to the potting mix if you want to reduce the water holding capacity of the mix.
 

BENEFICIAL FUNGI

Bio Leaf Premium Aroid & Hoya mix is rich in organic matter and nutrients, and sometimes fungal mycelium threads can appear on top of the substrate or in the bag. This is nothing to be worried about because fungi are a part of the microbial life inside the potting mix and will not harm your plants. Fungi are an important agent of the decomposition of organic matter. Nutrients that would not normally be available for plants are made available by fungi and other microbes.
 

HELP, I'VE GOT INSECTS IN MY POTTING SOIL

Occasionally your plants will host some visitors like Fungus Gnats, Mealy Bugs, Scale, Thrips, Mites, and other nasties.
 
Fungus Gnats and some species of mites will make their home in your potting mix. Yates Mavrick Insect & Mite Spray Concentrate will control most of them. Make up a solution and drench the potting mix. Repeat every seven days. Three applications should work to eliminate them.
 
Insects that suck, bite or chew on various parts of the plant can be controlled using the following recipe:
Per 1-litre water use, 10 ml Groventive Garden Insecticide, 8 ml Enspray99 and 5 ml EcoSpread Super Spreader. Spray all visible parts of the plant, top and bottom of the leaves, stems, and branches. Apply 2 to 3 applications 14 to 21 days apart.
  • Groventive is a systemic insecticide that is translocated to all plant cells. If any insects bite, suck or chew on the plant, they will ingest the active ingredient. Groventive has limited activity on adult insects, and its mode of action is that it prevents juvenile insects from growing into adults.
  • Enspray99 kills any adult insects.
  • EcoSpread Super Spreader helps spread the mixture on all surfaces and assists the products in working better.
Please check the websites for detailed information about the recommended products and follow the recommended application and safety procedures.
 
All the best with your plants, and we wish you happy growing.