Soil help pls....

[Erwin]

Hey peeps, ive just bought a scheflera plant and was wondering if i can just clean the plant but dont repot it with organic soil as they stink like hell. But i'll put river rock on top of the current soil that the plant is in. Is this safe for my cham??

 

[bbprinting]

Yes you can just clean off the plant and place enough river rocks that are big enough to never fit in their mouth. The only other problem that you may run into is when it drains out the bottom some of the fertilizer could come out.

 

[Erwin]

Thanks bbprinting, nt to worry i got the bottonm of the pot taken care of. I got a plate below it.

 

[deerharvester]

I would still repot incase the place u bought it from used fertilizer/pesticides.

 

[Erwin]

Repot to?? Coz the fertilizer really stinks.

 

[Decadancin]

Aside from the fertilizer that may present a problem, you could have some bugs (or eggs) in the soil that could present a bigger problem. Also, it doesn't have to be organic soil, but try not to use any that have vermiculite or styrofoam added for drainage. You will most likely want to add some sand to whatever soil you use because with the amount of water we use for our chams the plant needs lots of drainage.

 

[Erwin]

Hmmmm ok. Maybe what i'll do is repot everything, put a layer of organic soil follow by a layer of sand and den river rocks. Maybe this would block the smell. Good idea??

 

[Decadancin]

I'd mix the sand with the soil or you may get a layer of packed, dense wet soil on top of your sand and still have the same problem.

 

[CrazyChamLady13]

Here's another reason to depot with new soil... I'm having issues with ants... lol

 

[Decadancin]

Here's another reason to depot with new soil... I'm having issues with ants... lol

I found centipedes in one plant! Don't need that in my boy's enclosure!