Plant cleaning and bio active substrate layer

[Tony_S]

I'm doing my plants tomorrow and have two questions.

1. I remember seeing a thread on how to wash the plants and should I replace all the soil? Could someone link that thread? I can't seem to find it.

2. The plants that I'm putting in the substrate layer, should I put them in pots so they are easier to take in and out or just put them directly in the soil?

Thanks as always,

Tony

 

[Goose502]

There are many ways to wash the plants, I’m sure you’ll receive some great instructions from others. Myself, I don’t wash them. I’ve never had an issue, and honestly, if you’re chameleon cannot handle a small amount of pesticide or fertilizer, then it was probably compromised already. I know many will disagree with me. I plant directly into the bioactive soil. The plants grow quickly, as do the clean up crew. This also helps with water absorption from your misting. Good luck!

 

[Tony_S]

Thanks for the info. I also wasn't sure if the soil that came with the plants would kill of my clean up crew.

 

[GoodKarma19]

My plan is to just give the plants a good rinse and remove the original soil from around their roots (within reason) before popping them directly into my substrate. Except for the plants going into the wall pots... those ones are getting rinsed and maybe having the top ~1" of soil replaced, possibly repotted entirely depending on how fancy I'm feeling/how depleted the soil is!

 

[Ruthless]

My plan is to just give the plants a good rinse and remove the original soil from around their roots (within reason) before popping them directly into my substrate. Except for the plants going into the wall pots... those ones are getting rinsed and maybe having the top ~1" of soil replaced, possibly repotted entirely depending on how fancy I'm feeling/how depleted the soil is!

It’s simple get yourself some organic soil then just take out the plant from the pot. Break up the soil that’s on it then rinse off the rest with a hose then repot with your new soil.

 

[snitz427]

I highly recommend washing the plants first... and carefully rinsing away the soil. I am dealing with a mealy bug issue on my of my plants because ONE new plant likely brought them in. They’ve done quire a bit of damage to a few plants but mostly it is a PIA to remove and wash all the plants every 2 weeks to get rid of them now.

Just put some dawn dish soap and water in a squirt bottle and spray all over the leaves, undersides, and stems. Let it sit for a few mins then use a stiff (but gentle) stream of water to wash it all away. Rinse it really well, then shake off most if not all of the old soil. I rinse the roots, too, which can cause a little bit of shock - but that way I know no pesticide or fertilizer balls fo in with my bio soil and alos makes sure soil borne pests dont come over.

 

[Ruthless]

I highly recommend washing the plants first... and carefully rinsing away the soil. I am dealing with a mealy bug issue on my of my plants because ONE new plant likely brought them in. They’ve done quire a bit of damage to a few plants but mostly it is a PIA to remove and wash all the plants every 2 weeks to get rid of them now.

Just put some dawn dish soap and water in a squirt bottle and spray all over the leaves, undersides, and stems. Let it sit for a few mins then use a stiff (but gentle) stream of water to wash it all away. Rinse it really well, then shake off most if not all of the old soil. I rinse the roots, too, which can cause a little bit of shock - but that way I know no pesticide or fertilizer balls fo in with my bio soil and alos makes sure soil borne pests dont come over.

If you want to go this route here’s a video showing you how.

 

[narnythegreat]

I took my Star Jasmine and Hibiscus out of the pots and kind of pressure washed them with my water hose. I have one that you can determine the level of water pressure you need. It hosed off a great amount of the dirt from the root ball. I then put them in the cage and put the soil around them. I dont clean the plants unless there is a really (unsightly) poo right in my viewing.

 

[Tony_S]

After spending so much time and money creating my enclosure. I didn't want to take any chances. So I did the 5% bleach dunk method and removed as much soil as I could to try to limit as much of the risk as I could.