EddieA wrote:
What food do they get?
I am interested in trying seramis and would greatly appreciate hearing more of your experience with it.
I give them diluted fertilizer for cacti. Once every two weeks.
The seramis works very well in those hanging basket lines with coconut fibers. It takes up fluid without keeping the roots 'wet'. In my case, it prevents the soil to become dry too quickly. In plastic pots, I would not use is as it holds too much water in such case. Perhaps even in ceramic pots that might be a problem if you water a lot.
But I use only 1/4 Seramis. The loam I use to hold the soil particles somewhat together. The other material are coarse grit that is also used for pond filtration, charcoal and some sand.
Stijn wrote:In winter most of them are under a window in the roof of our house. There they get all light they need and the temperature doesn't drop below 15°C.
EddieA wrote:That sounds a really good solution do you heat the room/attic or is the warmth coming from your house? - what's the temperature outside?
Most of the heating comes from the house, but if it drops below 18° an electric heather starts to run. So it never really drops below 15°C, even not last winter when the temperatures outside dropped below -15°C (I checked with temperature logger placed near the plants).
Stijn wrote:The more sensitive plants go into an incubator in winter where the day temperature is about 25-30°C and night temps around 15-20°C.
EddieA wrote:What kind of heating and control system do you use to manage day/night temps
The heat comes from the CFL lamps. Two small fans circulate the air, that spreads the heat evenly and cools the lamps. If it gets too hot, fresh air is blown into the incubator.
Stijn wrote:There is also plenty of artificial light in there (CFL 2700K and 6500K and blue/red led lights).
EddieA wrote:I am thinking of trying LEDS, for cuttings and seed raising and maybe overwintering some difficult plants- again I would very much like to hear of your experience, what LEDS product you use , distances etc.
Currently I'm using red/blue leds, about 90 watt/m2. It are those 225 leds panels that measure 30x30cm and that are offered on ebay for example. They are not too expensive. I've placed them about 40cm above the plants and their light spreads well.
But I rather use them as an additional lighting. I'm not planning to exchange more CFL with leds, also partly because I want the heat the CFL produce.
About the fluorescent lighting: I use 50% 2700°K 50% 6500°K. At about 250 watt/m2. I decided these two colour temperatures as they combine into a nice spectrum for plants, while being economical in purchase.
Recently I've bought some additional blue and red LED spots, 2.4Watt each, 5 euro/piece incl. postage. They are more focussed and I'm planning to use them as directed lighting for certain plants.
The plants are lighted 16 hours/day.
Stijn wrote:Here is one of the plants they has been growing under artificial lights. It started in early winter as small cutting and bloomed in may this year without having seen natural light.
EddieA wrote:That seems really quick - 9 months from cutting to flower - very good.
Yes, it surprised me as well. But I think the constant heat, a lot of light and giving regular watering did the trick. I didn't expected flowering, but two other plants got flowers: Stapelia grandiflora and Huernia procumbens.
At first I was a bit afraid that my asclepiads would etoliate and stretch, but to the contrary they grow into sturdy plants. My Edithcolea plants tripled in size in half a year and Edithcolea seedlings from march are now about 6 cm in length with multiple branches.
At first I was also reluctant to water too much, but none of my plants have shown any sign of rotting, despite the fact that they are rarely in dry soil (but it's also never really 'wet'!).
I believe that it's important to make sure that the roots of succulents get plenty of fresh air. That prevents anaerobic conditions that would damage the roots and make the plant vulnerable to bacteria and fungi.
Therefore I use the ventilation fans, the loose soil, the coconut lined baskets and no organic additions to the soil. The downside: I need to water them once every two days and sometimes every day. But considering my results, I think it's worth the efforts.
Perhaps I should practise more patience, but so far so good.
EddieA wrote:Sorry if this is a long post to answer but you seem to have touched on a lot of the things I am interested in trying
Eddie
You're welcome! Much of what I know I learned from other by asking questions.
