So I've tried everything, but my elephant bush plant seems to be dying. One by one the leaves are shriveling up and falling off. It's still putting out new growth, but it's losing leaves faster than it's growing new ones. One odd thing I noticed is that some shiny, crinkly substance is appearing in the soil. Has anyone seen something like this before? It's not native to the soil, and it's not the result of decomposing leaves which have fallen off (I'm pretty sure). Any guesses?
I intentionally add perlite to my soil, but perlite is chunky, white and styrofoam-looking. This stuff is flat, shiny and crinkly. Does the sun make it change like that? To me it looks nothing like perlite.
Name: Tiffany purpleinopp Opp, AL @--`--,----- 🌹 (Zone 8b)
Compare to pics of vermiculite.
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Name: Gina Florida (Zone 9a) Tropical plant collector 40 years
AH this pic is better. Yes its vermiculite. I don't use vermiculite because it does the exact opposite of what I want in my soil mixes. It tends to hold more water. I don't want that for my aroids.
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Name: Tiffany purpleinopp Opp, AL @--`--,----- 🌹 (Zone 8b)
I wouldn't use it at all, collapses when wet under the slightest pressure.
The golden rule: Do to others only that which you would have done to you.
👀😁😂 - SMILE! -☺😎☻☮👌✌∞☯
The only way to succeed is to try!
🐣🐦🐔🍯🐾🌺🌻🌸🌼🌹
The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The 2nd best time is now. (-Unknown)
👒🎄👣🏡🍃🍂🌾🌿🍁❦❧🍁🍂🌽❀☀ ☕👓🐝
Try to be more valuable than a bad example.
I agree, that's Vermiculite. I used it in my soil mix years ago but lost many plants to root rot due to my heavy-handed watering tendency and the fact that vermiculite retains moisture. Vermiculite is probably best for water loving plants.
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Name: Al F. 5b-6a mid-MI Knowledge counters trepidation.
I agree it's vermiculite, but I'm wondering if you'd like to work on figuring out what to do about the declining plant? Are you up for answering some questions?
Al
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