Posted by Tom Broome on 6/14/2006, 10:26 pm, in reply to "Roots exposed due to erosion" --Previous Message--
152.163.100.65
: Hi, I have 6 beautiful cycads, 4 in
: 16gal cubs, one in 3 gal, one in 1
: gal. The bigger ones, I've noticed
: (since they lived away from me for a
: year) have lost some soil from the
: top of the pot--when I was
: fertilizing them two days ago (with
: the cycad special fertilizer from
: tom) I noticed that at the top level
: of the ground I was seeing some thin
: roots exposed. I'm concerned that
: maybe the fertilizer crystals can
: burn them, and this could hurt my
: plans. The soil mix they are in is
: the one advised by tom (peat moss,
: perlite, sand, shavings). I would
: have to drive quite a way to find
: stuff to make up a new mix, (or I
: would have to top with a potting
: soil mix, supersoil brand, mixed
: with perlite, but i don't know if
: this would hurt them). Are they OK
: as they are, should I top them off
: with standard potting soil, or
: should I go and make up a different
: homemade peat and perlite mix, or
: should I go to the trouble of making
: up another sago soil mix? Many
: thanks, I haven't watered them yet
: because I'm afraid the fertilizer
: crystald touching the small roots
: may burn them, and am thinking about
: picking the fertilizer out again in
: case I need to put more soil on.
: Thanks :)
:
It is possible you may be getting corraloid roots coming to the surface. Either way, if you use Cycad Special according to label instructions, you should never have to worry about burning plants or roots, unless you have some roots that got damaged somehow.
Over time the soil will compact and the soil level will get lower. In 25 gallon container, after about 5 years, the level will get even 5 inches lower than when it was first planted. When it get that bad, I pull the plant out of the pot and just add some new soil in the bottom of the pot and put the plant back in. If you think you need to add just a little soil on top, it probably would hurt to do that, but if the stem isn't exposed too much then I wouldn't worry about adding more soil, that is unless some just pulled some out, or the plant tipped over or that kind of thing and that is the reason for the lower soil level.
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