Turface
Hydroponic-style growing can be accommodated with Turface-mix (T-Mix). It forms a matrix for finer roots to 'hang' on as they are drenched regularly.
We tried it 3 years ago substituting it for our regular mix during re-potting. During growing season it was more effective than some other mixes that were being used similarly. We substituted it for pumice and or perlite to mix with our own organic. Used the same proportions, treated it the same way with our liquid treatment.
Approximately 75 flats of 2.5" to 5.25" potted succulents were eventually moved into the T-mix during the season.
As we reduced quantity and frequency of watering during the cooler months, we began to notice that the T-Mix plants were not responding to 'opportunistic' growing temperature periods in the late Fall and Winter.
As it began to warm up in the Spring the T-Mix plants did not respond as well to warming trend. The roots were underdeveloped compared to plants grown in our 4 other mixes used for different applications.
We don't heat our GH's , but we do have a small closed 200sq.seed room section in one GH with bottom heat for seed and rooting during cooler months . T-Mix plants in that room did not respond as well and all had underdeveloped roots.
We didn't have Agaves or Aloes in Turface mix at all. Primary focus was Haworthias, Echeverias, Mesembs , Euphorbias and a few flats of Cacti. The Euphorbias worked quite a bit better in the T-Mix than the other Genera.
By Mid-Spring we had moved all but the most robust Echeveria specimen, back into their previous mixes.
We had done some searching and found sources for Turface. The cost was favorable to that of Pumice/Perlite in bulk quantities. We still have a little here. I now use it for what it was being used by the county. (To make a muddy trail into a usable pathway in county parks and athletic fields.)
It is much more pleasant to work with Turface than pumice or perlite. We had recommended it during the summer to quite a few customers and I didn't hesitate to advise them or our experiences as they developed.
Turface use is definitely a trade-off in many areas and I know quite a few folks in the east that still use it. I suspect their watering/supplementation regimen is quite different and that too would get a different result. The same could be true with us. The vast majority of our plants remained in our standard mixes, There was no difference in the way we watered the T-Mix plants.
Bob
Cacti suffered most with T-mix.
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