Potted plants

 Advantages of growing plants in containers:

• The type of media used, fertilization and

watering can be controlled – resulting in
uniform & even growth of plants
• Containers can be easily moved around to a
more suitable location
• Potted plants can be used as house plants for
indoor decoration
• The containers can be decorative
 Planting ornamental plants in
containers
 Container medium
- Soil-based medium
- Soilless medium
Soil-based medium
One advantage of soil-based medium is its high
CEC.
Nutrient retention is increased hence it is useful for
long term crops (e.g. stock plants, cut flowers
planted in ground beds, foliage plants)
 Example of soil-based media;
John Innes potting mix
7 parts top soil (tanah atas)
3 parts organic matter
2 parts sand
 Soilless medium

-has consistency, excellent aeration, low bulk

density
-lower CEC and hence require more fertilizer
than soil-based media
Examples:
1) University of California mix (sand & peat
moss)
2) Cornell University mix (vermiculite & perlite)
3) 3 : 1 (cocopeat : sand)
 Examples of soilless potting-mix components:
- sand
- coconut coir dust (cocopeat)
- peat (gambut)
- rice hulls (sekam padi)
- Sawdust (habuk papan)
- Vermiculite
- perlite
 Container media
Container plants are different from plants grown in
the ground
 Container plants are grown in a limited amount
of media
 The media contain a limited amount of water
and nutrients
 The roots are confined /restricted in a limited
volume
Thus selection of proper container medium is very
important
 Physical properties of container
media
 Bulk density (ketumpatan pukal)
-dry weight of the medium component relative
to the volume (g/cm3), (lb/ft3)
-for container media:
~ 0.6- 1.2 g/cm3 (wet)
~ 0.15 – 0.75 g/cm3 (dry)
 Water holding capacity
(daya pegangan air)

For container media:

20-60 % (volume)
 Pore space
-The ratio of water/air in the media is determined by
the size and amount of pore space
-While a plant is being watered, almost all pore space
is filled with water.
- After watering, the water filling the large pores
(macro pores) drains out the bottom of the pot and
the pores refill with air
- The smaller pores (micro or capillary pores) retain
water
-a good growing medium should contain a
balance of macro & micro pores for
optimum root growth
-for container medium, the total air filled
porosity after drainage should be ~5-30%
Chemical properties of container media

 Cation Exchange Capacity – CEC (Keupayaan

penukaran kation)
-the ability of a soil or growth medium to retain
nutrients
-CEC measures the number of units of nutrients
held by a certain quantity of media:
– milliequivalents/100g
– me/100cm3
- The greater the CEC, the more nutrient
ions the medium will hold.
- Media components with high CEC include
soil, peat, vermiculite. Sand & perlite have
low CEC
- For container media:
CEC: 10 – 100 me/ 100cm3
 Carbon to Nitrogen Ratio (C : N Ratio)
-amount of carbon in the media component
compared to the amount of Nitrogen
-for decomposition of organic matter by
microorganisms : C:N ratio ~ 30:1
-materials with high C:N ratio need additional N
and should first be composted before use
e.g sawdust 1000:1
bark 300:1
 pH
-Determine the availability of nutrients that can
be absorbed by plants
-pH 5.5-6.5 is suitable for most plants

-compost, peat - acidic

-sand, perlite -neutral
-vermiculite - alkaline
Components of potting media
 Soil
- Can vary in mineral content and ratio of clay,
silt and sand
-the use of soil as potting medium has
decreased due to variable supplies, weight
and low aeration
-excellent water holding capacity
-CEC : very high
-bulk density : high
-aeration : poor
 Sand
-the heaviest component (100-120lb/ft3)
-low CEC & water holding capacity
-good aeration
-pH : neutral
-cost : low
-quantity used ~ 25% of volume of media
 Coconut coir dust (cocopeat)
-used to reduce or replace peat
-can have high levels of soluble salts (Na, K)
-excellent water holding capacity & aeration
-CEC : medium to high
-pH : 4.5 – 6.9
-bulk density: low
C:N ratio moderate
Cost : moderate
 Sawdust
-best used after being composted. Fresh
sawdust has very high CN ratio (1000:1) and
will tie up the N in the medium and cause N
deficiency
-quantity used : not more than 20% of volume
of media
 Rice hulls
-Low bulk density, CEC, and water holding
capacity
-CN ratio : high
-aeration : good
 Perlite
-volcanic mineral, alumino-silicate rock
-characteristics similar to sand & used as
low-weight replacement for sand
-low bulk density, water holding capacity
-CEC : very low
-aeration : excellent
-pH : neutral
 Vermiculite
- Manufactured from aluminum-iron-magnesium
silicate mineral
- Water holding capacity : high
- Aeration & drainage : good
- Low bulk density
- Source of K, Mg & Ca
- Quantity used: 25-50% of volume of media
 Other components:
-Bark, peat, calcined clay, rockwool
-composted products such as compost,
manure, composted municipal refuse,
composted sewage sludge.
Factors to consider in selecting media
components

 Economic
-cost
-availability
-easy to produce
 Chemical properties
e.g. pH, CEC, C:N ratio,

 Physical properties
aeration, water holding capacity, weight
Objective:
A media mix that can produce good
quality plants in the shortest time at
the least cost
Planting container plant
 Repotting (Pemasuan semula)
When a plant outgrows its container, the
roots will fill all available space and
become potbound.
Potbound plants have to be repotted into
another container
Purpose of repotting
 To supply new & fresh medium
 To increase space for roots to grow
 To get a good balance between container
size and foliage
 To replace broken pots/containers
 Symptoms of potbound state
Repotting should be carried out when the following
symptoms appear:
 Roots grow out of the drainage hole
 The root ball is made up of mostly tangled roots
with very little medium
 Slow growth, even after fertilizing
 Foliage looks top-heavy in proportion to
container
 Water runs quickly through the medium with
little retention