anyone familiar with pandan?

[kvet]

Anyone here try growing pandan? I'm wondering if it could grown successfully in semi-hydro versus in the ground.

[Ray]

I have never grown it, but in my experience, terrestrial plants take to S/H culture far easier than do epiphytes!

[SouthPark]

These plants are seen growing next to river banks. I reckon they would have no problem in semi-hydro.

The only thing is .... these grow up to be pretty large trees, right? hahaha

Unless I'm thinking of the wrong plant. I'm thinking of pandanus ...... the ones that grow the fruits that look like huge pineapples ..... but not pineapples.

[kvet]

Yes - there are different varieties of the pandanus, the one you are thinking of may be the h-unpronouncable one. The one I'm considering is the edible one, amaryllifolius, it can get big, too. I was going to put it outside since I have a lot of shade and my soil seems to stay wet (been two months since I watered), however, we get a couple days when it gets too cold for the plant (apparently an immediate kill) so I'm considering options. Some internet tells me this plant is impossible to grow indoors, but rest of internet says it's easy to grow. There are times when I do not like the internet Small ones are orchid-level expensive!

I've seen a few videos on youtube where people were doing larger plants in SH, without the drain holes, they are just filling a big pot lined with a garbage bag with water to a specific level, and the plant in a leca pot is dropped in. Kind of the same thing I guess, just a bit of a pain to care for, and I suspect they'll get root rot faster once the roots reach the reservoir since they are not flushing the water as often, thus preventing aeration in the standing water.

[Ray]

I have grown several large tropical plants in S/H using a regular plastic flower pot with tray.

I just watered until some liquid accumulated in the tray, only feeding monthly. Twice a year, I'd lug 'em outside for a very thorough, plain-water flush.

[Leafmite]

You can buy very sturdy large pots at a pond store (lotus pots)

i.e.
Laguna Large Lily Tub (MPN PT977) - Best Prices on Everything for Ponds and Water Gardens - Webb's Water Gardens

Lowes and Home Depot sometimes have them as well.

For mobility, you would need to set this on a base with sturdy wheels as they are pretty heavy filled with dirt/water:

https://www.amazon.com/Planter-Caddi...de=14623204011

[kvet]

Cool, thanks. One of the interesting things I'm going through now is determining whether to put the houseplant in SH or an inorganic-based "gritty mix". Plants seem to do fine in either provided they are properly attended to during the change.

[kvet]

Hello world! I haven't been on this forum in a while

I did purchase the edible pandan plant way back when from someone in FL, and then promptly accidentally killed them trying to get rid of the bugs that hitchhiked along (pretty sure it was spider mites argh! thank goodness I followed advices here to quarantine plants before introducing them to the rest).

For some reason, I really wanted the plant so I tried a second time from a different seller and different state (CO) and picked up two little ones: one was upotted to regular potting mix and the other into semi hydro. Keeping them indoors for now. Both arrived with mealy bugs and I'm still trying to get rid of them a year later before moving to a better location here - spraying with Isopropyl Alcohol is my usual goto, but that's what killed them the first time around so I've been manually dabbing with IPA infused qtips, and also tried spraying with orange guard, azadirachtin, and tried a neem oil drench, and continue struggling - but this is not why I'm posting so let's avoid this for now.

The one in potting mix was doing well but I accidentally left it outside after spraying and it got sunburned, and good news that it has recovered. The one in semi-hydro is doing very well, in about a 1 gallon little pot - it is due for a flush.

I am beginning to schedule spring repotting projects now to make sure I have time for it, and have begun to panic because I will have to pot this plant up and semi-hydro in large pots does not sound like fun. I read Ray's and Leafmite's notes above that it is possible and while encouraging still makes me go hmmm. HMMMM. I have a prayer plant test in a larger 3-4 gallon setup (mesh bag, hydroton, sitting in a pot) with semi hydro and it's been strange. Kind of smells bad, but that could just be the plant struggling (it is doing poorly).

What should I do with the pandan? Take it outside in the spring and put it in real potting mix, keep it indoors in semi-hydro, or ???

[estación seca]

I'm not clear on your question. Are you asking what to do with the big one? I would leave it in that pot until it's a lot larger. I don't think it will grow as large in a pot in a house as it does in habitat.

Remember these are very tropical. They expect heat and high humidity. If your summers are warm and humid, they would be much better outdoors.

I would think a 3-4 gallon pot is too big for a prayer plant unless it's a very old and huge one. They don't have extensive root systems for the size of the plant, and the roots are very fine. I wouldn't expect them to be able to grow deeply into a container. Maybe your plant isn't reaching the water?

[Leafmite]

First of all, if you are smelling something in the prayer plant's potting soil, that means that there is a lack of oxygen that is promoting the microbes that cause rot--which, incidentally, is why the prayer plant is probably suffering. Even lotus and lily tubers will rot if the water becomes anaerobic...which is why most people who have an ornamental pond usually have some form of water circulation (I had an ornamental pond for thirteen years, then a tub garden for about eight more years). I had a fountain for the pond and a small solar fountain for the tub.

For potted plants, to prevent this, even with plants that like to stay damp, you can choose between a few options...

1. Each time you water, water until plenty of water comes out of the bottom. If the plant normally sits in water, make certain that when you water, the water in the tray is also completely replaced by the new water during each time you water.

2. Let the saucer go completely dry and the soil dry a little each time before you water. For the plants that prefer to stay damp, do not let the soil dry completely, just until the top inch or so is dry. Then, water well.

3. Pump air into the water with an external aquarium pump and some air-stones. Adding air is how hydroponics is actually done.

4. Use wicking. make a reserve, put cotton rope up through some of the holes (I loop it) and then fill with dirt so that the rope reaches half-way to the top. Make certain that the ends of the rope drag to the bottom of the reserve. Fill the reserve and set the pot above the reserve so that the bottom of the pot stays above the water. The rope will draw water up into the pot as needed and the dirt stays damp as long as the reserve is kept full. This keeps the soil from getting water-logged and allows air to have some space.

I pot plants that like to stay damp in a light, porous mix. I mix up half-perlite, half-peat, then add a few handfuls of either some compost (lately, I tried mint compost) or pine bark. The exception is my Carnivorous plants...they are in peat, sand and perlite...mostly peat. I usually add some extra perlite to the soil for all of my plants as Ohio winters are dim, cool and this helps to prevent issues with over-watering. Pond plants were always planted in the heavy, clay based stuff from the yard...but they always had a fountain to keep the air circulating in the water.

I hope this helps! Good luck!