Soil for spathiphyllum - what kind of land is needed for a flower

The Aroid family, or Aronnikovs, includes more than 3000 plants. These include anthurium, monstera, dieffenbachia, zamioculcas, spathiphyllum. All of them are grown indoors. Spathiphyllum is popularly nicknamed "female happiness" for the tenderness of leaves and petals. In order for this exotic plant to feel comfortable on the windowsill and to bloom actively, it needs a properly selected soil.

Ground requirements for spathiphyllum

To understand what kind of soil is needed for spathiphyllum, you should get more information about its natural habitat. In the wild, the flower is found in the tropical forests of South America. The soil here is saturated with nutrients due to the constant renewal of the organic layer, which consists of rotting fallen parts of plants and peat. The quality of the soil for spathiphyllum should differ:

• looseness;
• humidity;
• breathability;
• environmental friendliness.

Dense bushes of spathiphyllum can decorate any interior

The soil familiar to the plant has a neutral or slightly acidic pH, in the range of 5-5.5.

What is the composition of the soil necessary for the flower "female happiness"

Often they purchase ready-made substrates for the Aroids. Experienced flower growers know that any universal primer may not work and require improvement. The optimal soil for spathiphyllum should have the following composition:

• leafy or soddy soil;
• peat;
• expanded clay or brick chips;
• charcoal;
• sphagnum moss;
• coarse river sand;
• mineral leavening agents (vermiculite, perlite).

Not finding special land for spathiphyllum on sale, they resort to compiling it on their own.

Should the land for planting and replanting be different?

Growing an exotic flower from seeds is laborious and does not always bring the desired results. When such a planting material is in the hands of a grower, the question may arise: what kind of land is needed for spathiphyllum germination?

To renew the soil, the top layer in the pot is sometimes replaced.

To obtain seedlings, a sand-peat mixture is most suitable, in which it is easier to maintain the required level of moisture and air permeability. After the emergence of real leaves in the seedlings, they are dived into the substrate with the addition of other components necessary for the spathiphyllum.

In what land should an adult spathiphyllum be planted? A mature flower specimen is transplanted into soil with a recommended composition close to natural.

How to provide suitable soil when planting outdoors?

Sometimes flower growers use lush spathiphyllum bushes for landscaping their personal plot in the summer.Transferring the flower to open ground for the summer, dig out a planting hole, drain it well and fill it with a suitable substrate.

Pros and cons of ready-made soil and prepared by hand

Knowing which land is suitable for spathiphyllum, you can grow a lush and abundantly flowering bush on your own windowsill. The ready-made soil mixture is convenient in that it eliminates the need to waste extra time and effort. But when it comes to universal soil, such important points as:

• the ratio of the constituent components;
• disinfecting treatment;
• acidity level.

The soil for the Aroids is far from always on sale. To create optimal conditions, they often mix the earth with their own hands.

How to cook earth at home

Preparing potting mix is ​​not as difficult as it might seem. Moreover, even such specific components as sphagnum moss or coconut flakes can be found on sale.

To obtain the soil that spathiphyllum loves, mix:

• 2 parts of peat;
• 2 parts of nutritious leaf or sod land;
• 1 part coarse sand;
• 1 part sphagnum.

The soil should be light and loose.

A little compost mixture, charcoal chips, pine bark and needles are added to the resulting composition. Stirring of perlite and vermiculite is permissible in order to impart looseness to the soil and enrich it with minerals.

How to choose a ready-made substrate

Having found out what the soil for spathiphyllum should be, it is much easier to choose a universal soil that is similar in composition. Among the manufacturers that produce soil for Aroids, there are:

• Vermion;
• Seliger-agro;
• Bio-Master;
• Eco Garden.

Each of these mixtures has a number of advantages and high quality. They are distinguished by a suitable level of acidity and an optimal content of organic components. In such a substrate, "female happiness" will feel comfortable, receiving everything necessary for nutrition and full growth.

Having planted a plant in new soil, purchased or compiled independently, it requires careful observation. The slightest changes for the worse can signal mistakes made when choosing a soil mixture or replanting.

What can be added to purchased soil to improve it

When finalizing the finished substrate, it is taken into account which components are included in it initially. If the description shows that a number of necessary elements (for example, peat or sand) are missing in the composition, then it is recommended to add them.

If it is decided to add a mineral complex preparation or organic fertilizer to the purchased land, it is important to carefully follow the instructions on the package. Violation of the dosage can greatly harm the delicate root system of the flower and lead to its death.

Slaked lime, dolomite flour or ash are added to the purchased soil with high acidity to lower the pH. If the soil is alkaline, then peat, humus or nitrogenous fertilizers are added to it.

It is important not to burn the tender roots with excessive feeding.

Disinfection of the earth before planting or transplanting spathiphyllum

When self-compiling a soil mixture, flower growers often resort to using garden or forest land, which contains a huge number of pathogenic microorganisms, bacteria and insect pests. And sometimes you can open the package with ready-made soil and find that it also needs disinfection.

In the fight against the destruction of harmful bacteria and fungal diseases, the preparations Fitosporin, Gamair and Alarin have proven themselves to be excellent. Their use will make the composition comfortable for "female happiness".

Heat treatment of the soil is also carried out. There are two main ways - roasting in the oven and freezing.

In the first case, the soil is poured onto a baking sheet, the layer is leveled and placed in the oven, where it is kept for 15-20 minutes at a temperature of 120 degrees. For freezing, the substrate is left on the balcony in winter for several days. The latter method is considered less effective, since some insects and fungal spores are able to hibernate in the soil.

Drainage

No matter how loose and drained the substrate is, when planting a houseplant in a pot, a drainage layer must be placed on the bottom. Gentle spathiphyllum is no exception - stagnation of moisture in the soil is harmful for it. You can create drainage from components:

• broken brick;
• expanded clay or river pebbles;
• crushed stone.

Some growers use polystyrene or plastic food pads broken into pieces for these purposes. This method will ensure the air permeability of the root zone. It is environmentally friendly and does not harm plants at all.

Drainage will allow you to remove excess moisture from the pot

Problems when growing spathiphyllum due to improperly selected soil

Disturbances in planting and the wrong choice of soil for spathiphyllum can lead to the fact that the flower will constantly be exposed to various diseases, its leaves will begin to dry. It can also affect the ability to bloom: instead of a lush plant constantly releasing new arrows with buds, it will turn into a nondescript bush.

No amount of flower care measures, even with full adherence to agricultural technology, is not able to correct mistakes in soil selection. Due to the heavy, dense soil, moisture will linger at the roots longer than necessary, which will lead to their rotting. Ultimately, the plant may die.

If the flower was planted in soil that is not able to retain moisture for a sufficient amount of time and constantly dries up, then brown spots will begin to form on the leaves. The same is observed when the acid balance in the soil composition is disturbed. At the same time, the plant looks weakened, lethargic. In the absence of proper measures, the stuntedness of the spathiphyllum will sooner or later provoke the appearance of an infection or an attack of pests.

Novice growers, using a soil mixture of dubious quality, sometimes neglect insect control. In this regard, they encounter various parasites, among which the most common are:

• scabbards;
• root aphid;
• spider mite;
• mealybug.

Having found signs of the presence of pests, they immediately take measures to destroy them. In this case, the flower is transplanted into carefully cultivated, fresh soil. For preventive purposes, the soil is eliminated from the spores of various fungal diseases.

A flower planted in a suitable ground needs minimal maintenance

Spathiphyllum, despite its exotic origin, is considered one of the least demanding indoor plants. A bush provided with sufficient nutrition will delight the grower with juicy leaves and abundant flowering.