Rooting in a coarse coconut mix

[dondan]

Many Thais use plenty of lumpy coconut fiber when potting up their figs – it's a cheap, waste product over there – resulting in a fairly loose, airy substrate. I imagined this would soon dry out in the tropical sun, but this material seems to hold a lot of moisture, and fig roots seem to love it.

This got me thinking about experimenting with the stuff in my rooting substrate, so this year I have been using ONLY coarse coconut fiber, with about 5% pumice mixed in, to root some of my cuttings. This is not the usual fine coir, but stuff intended for growing orchids (though not the lumpiest type - kind of medium coarse). This means that there are large pockets of air in the mix. In a way this is the opposite of rooting in water, which allows the cuttings minimal air, a process which in my experience takes much longer than rooting in soil.

Well, so far the results are very promising. The first cuttings all took after a couple of weeks, and the front-runners are showing roots all around the cup.

PS To be able to push the cutting down into the coconut fiber I have to first make a hole with a sharp instrument. I used the shaft of a watercolor
paintbrush.

 

[TorontoJoe]

I think it's a solid choice and will root the cuttings very well. My only suggestion would be to be careful when you pot them up. Rooting can be done in all manner of substrate... Even none at all if you use aeroponics. The challenge (at least for me) whenever using something very different from the first pot up mix was the sudden change in humidity and environment would cause them to fail at that point. This is not to dissuade you. Just perhaps something to be careful of when you reach the next phase.

Beautiful roots you have there. From the condensation it appears you're adding some heat. May I ask how long ago you started them?

 

[TorontoJoe]

Oh.... I meant to ask... We don't get much coir around here.... and least it's not cheap. Do you find you need to sterilize it prior to use?

 

[dondan]

Oh.... I meant to ask... We don't get much coir around here.... and least it's not cheap. Do you find you need to sterilize it prior to use?

No, the stuff is already sterilized and hard-packed in 5 kilo blocks

 

[dondan]

I think it's a solid choice and will root the cuttings very well. My only suggestion would be to be careful when you pot them up. Rooting can be done in all manner of substrate... Even none at all if you use aeroponics. The challenge (at least for me) whenever using something very different from the first pot up mix was the sudden change in humidity and environment would cause them to fail at that point. This is not to dissuade you. Just perhaps something to be careful of when you reach the next phase.

Beautiful roots you have there. From the condensation it appears you're adding some heat. May I ask how long ago you started them?

They are in tall bins with a heat mat underneath. Once the leaves appear I take great care to remove the lid, except for a few hours a day for a week or two, to retain the heat. In the photo the lid had just been taken off. After that the lid is never on. I well know the dangers of keeping the plants in a humid environment before potting up. I also like to rinse off a little of the medium before replanting, as I think this helps the roots to penetrate the new soil. This is relatively easy with this coarse, loose coconut fiber, though the roots do have a tendency to cling to it and seem to love it - must be good for their continued life. By contrast, I have noticed that with ordinary figpops (and air layers) a compact ball is sometimes formed, with the roots in-turned, and this may not bet conducive to their integration in the new medium.

 

[Figgerlickinggood]

Many Thais use plenty of lumpy coconut fiber when potting up their figs – it's a cheap, waste product over there – resulting in a fairly loose, airy substrate. I imagined this would soon dry out in the tropical sun, but this material seems to hold a lot of moisture, and fig roots seem to love it.

This got me thinking about experimenting with the stuff in my rooting substrate, so this year I have been using ONLY coarse coconut fiber, with about 5% pumice mixed in, to root some of my cuttings. This is not the usual fine coir, but stuff intended for growing orchids (though not the lumpiest type - kind of medium coarse). This means that there are large pockets of air in the mix. In a way this is the opposite of rooting in water, which allows the cuttings minimal air, a process which in my experience takes much longer than rooting in soil.

Well, so far the results are very promising. The first cuttings all took after a couple of weeks, and the front-runners are showing roots all around the cup.

PS To be able to push the cutting down into the coconut fiber I have to first make a hole with a sharp instrument. I used the shaft of a watercolor
paintbrush.

View attachment 4186View attachment 4187View attachment 4188

I love in picture #2 one of your cuttings already has a fig on it. That is quite unique.

 

[ktrain]

I seen someone years ago doing this, I believe it worked well for them too.
One of my favorite rooting mediums is the long sphagnum moss, works like a charm every time.
However...you basically have to leave it there when you up pot because getting the roots untangled is impossible without breaking some.
Do you think you will have an issue with that or will you leave it permanently?

 

[TorontoJoe]

So you do a slow acclimation to the reduced humidity. Cool....

 

[Inflorescence]

I’ve used a coarser coco coir myself, though not quite as coarse as that one. It’s surprising how quickly it can break down in time though. I imagine it’s similar to rooting in fine wood chips but perhaps more water retentive, which is good. I found mine seemed to really need nutrients though when I was using the coarser mix.

 

[dondan]

I seen someone years ago doing this, I believe it worked well for them too.
One of my favorite rooting mediums is the long sphagnum moss, works like a charm every time.
However...you basically have to leave it there when you up pot because getting the roots untangled is impossible without breaking some.
Do you think you will have an issue with that or will you leave it permanently?

I'll just leave the coconut chips. As I said, figs grow great in it in Thailand.

 

[dondan]

I’ve used a coarser coco coir myself, though not quite as coarse as that one. It’s surprising how quickly it can break down in time though. I imagine it’s similar to rooting in fine wood chips but perhaps more water retentive, which is good. I found mine seemed to really need nutrients though when I was using the coarser mix.

I am gradually adding small amounts of liquid fertilizer

 

[Figless]

@dondan great idea, I have been hesitant to use coco in my potting mix
Last year I used none at all. This year I've upped my Coco used to 50% that's a huge change for me. @Inflorescence I think adding fertilizer even low strength right at the start is a good idea. I actually would consider going with a very low strength synthetic.

 

[Inflorescence]

@dondan great idea, I have been hesitant to use coco in my potting mix
Last year I used none at all. This year I've upped my Coco used to 50% that's a huge change for me. @Inflorescence I think adding fertilizer even low strength right at the start is a good idea. I actually would consider going with a very low strength synthetic.

I used synthetics at the time I used the coarser coco coir, it did not have the desired effect I wanted. Reading more current research on how plants actually eat, which is not synthetic NPK, has benefited my growing and probably my own health down the line.

 

[Figless]

@Inflorescence I am always worried about the cutting surviving the propagation process . Maybe I could learn some other ways that would work just as good or better.

 

[goodnessatlanta]

Thank you for sharing your rooting process in Thailand with us. It is something to look into.

 

[dondan]

Thank you for sharing your rooting process in Thailand with us. It is something to look into.

I'm in Denmark, not Thailand , but I have closely studied the growing techniques of my fig friends there. In situ, no less

 

[GilaMonster]

This makes me hopeful because I have started using coco coir in all my planting, it seems to work very well here in phoenix to reduce trapped humidity.

I have been mixing it into cuttings and will try your ratio, maybe I will have greater success with this.

 

[dondan]

This makes me hopeful because I have started using coco coir in all my planting, it seems to work very well here in phoenix to reduce trapped humidity.

I have been mixing it into cuttings and will try your ratio, maybe I will have greater success with this.

You are using very coarse coir, with lumps and chips in, or just the ordinary coir? The important point here is that the coarse stuff contains large pockets of air.

 

[GilaMonster]

You are using very coarse coir, with lumps and chips in, or just the ordinary coir? The important point here is that the coarse stuff contains large pockets of air.

I had been using the finer coco and it's been much better for my plants, I'm very interested in using the thick coco your referencing in future projects

 

[dondan]

No failures so far in this coarse coconut fiber, and lots of roots. I am going to use this exclusively in future,