29
Hot take: That viral video about office bamboo dying is missing the real problem
Saw that clip everyone is sharing about how office bamboo plants keep dying. Everyone in the comments is blaming the building's HVAC or the watering schedule. But I managed a plant install for a 12-story office tower in Austin last spring, and here's what I found - it's the soil mix. The commercial potting soil most companies use (like that generic brand from Lowe's) holds too much moisture indoors. After 3 months, 18 out of 40 bamboo plants had root rot. I switched to a 50/50 mix with perlite and sand, stopped watering for 10 days, and the rest are still alive 8 months later. Has anyone else dealt with the soil being the real killer in these setups?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
brooket433d ago
Yeah exactly "the dirt is the real villain" pretty much sums it up. I did a similar building gig last winter and found the same thing with those bagged mixes from Home Depot holding way too much water for indoor setups. Swapped to a cactus blend with extra perlite and pumice, then pulled back watering to every 2 weeks instead of weekly. Made a huge difference, all 20 plants are still green after 6 months. The soil really is the unsung killer in these office installs.
3
So the dirt is the real villain, not the watering guy? Classic.
1
jenny1983d ago
The 3 cubic foot bag of Miracle-Gro indoor mix I used last year turned my peace lilies into mush within 2 weeks. That stuff is basically a swamp in a bag. I've had way better luck mixing my own with 50% perlite and some coarse sand. The watering guy gets blamed but the soil companies are selling us garbage that rots roots. Once I switched soils my plants actually started thriving even with the same watering schedule. Dirt is 100% the silent killer in these office setups.
2