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Sand Mulch

chibae

An orchid fancier with a CP problem
Hi all. i was looking on the ICPS website growing guides and came across this "...They are growing in pure peat with a 1 cm mulch of sand. The sand helps cut down on cyanobacteria and fungus gnats. "

Has anyone tried the sand as mulch method for their dews or other plants? It makes "sense on paper" to me. I'd like to hear opinons of others on this. The first problem that comes to mind for me though is how would plantlets, offshoots etc fair? I may try this with some orchids though and see if it helps.
 
Im curious with this as well seams to be cosher but is it good for seedlings or mor for mature plants
 
Sand top dressing is used commonly on plants in general as a preventative for gnats. I use it on many non CPs with good results. Only issue is, when you water, it can tend to expose the soil beneath so you have to make sure you shake the pot a bit after to level out the sand covering.

I have seen pictures of some using a top dressing of sand for CPs like cephs, sarrs, etc..., however have not bothered. For dews, I figure its nothing more than some bonus free food if gnats try breed there. With adult dews, the only gnats I have really seen are the ones already caught and digesting. When I grow from seed, I do mix in heavier sand ratio to peat however. This seems (to me anyway) to help control the gnats for the little guys.

I was my media and generally don't seem to have much issue with cyanobacteria so can't comment too much on it. Only time it becomes a problem is when I get in new plants that have the root balls with the media on it still that has cyanobacteria. I try to not disturb the roots if i can help it so usually just pot into media with the original intact. The cyanobacteria seems to have no issue spreading across sand in these cases.

Just my experience based on my growing conditions and geography. Meant to be more anecdotal than anything else so I hope it helps a little :)
 
I've used sand as a top dressing with a few sarrs and dews... I think it looks nice, ontop of keeping peat from being splashed up into the leaves of my dews @_@
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I grow most of my Drosera indoors under lights. Fungus gnats become a nuisance indoors as they are attracted to lights and you see them flitting around TV and computer monitors or reading lights. Fungus gnats are also known vectors of many plant diseases like the Fusarium fungus. Unlike most other Carnivorous Plant genus many Drosera have fine roots which fungus gnat larvae feed on - spreading disease. Many Drosera are found growing in almost pure silica sand (NJ Pine Barrens Drosera filiformis var filiformis, Australian Drosera etc.) and in my experience do better in very sandy mixes with a thick layer of almost pure sand.

A sand mulch layer is very effective in preventing fungus gnat infestations, algae and moss growth. I use it on most of my pygmy Drosera and lately my Sarracenia pots.
 
WOW, thank you all for the replies. Think I will definitly be trying some pots with it.
 
is 1cm really all you need to prevent fungus gnats from breeding? I also grow all my tropical sundews indoors under lights and those gnats are quite annoying. I didn't know about them being vectors for diseases, though. If 1 cm is all it takes, I will top dress right now.
 
I use snad either to mix with peat or to fill in where things have settled or where I've uprooted plants for trades. For Sarracenias, VFT's, and temperate sundews I tend to try to have a top layer of LFS, particularly live.
 
I've tried sand mulch on a few plants, all non-cps and it is great. I've heard that a 1 cm layer of horticultural gravel also does a great job, but I've never tested this myself.
 
  • #10
i grow all my pygmys with a sand layer i just swo the gemmae on top of the sand there roots grow throw that quickly it makes the plants stand out against the lighter colour wich looks good and i guess the plants have a fighting chance against moss etc. Cant see how you could grow pygmys without doing this ha ha.
 
  • #11
those that sow and grow pygmies on sand, do you top water or go strictly with tray method?
 
  • #12
I have used a layer of sand on my S. Purpurea and on P. primuriflora with great success. It does slow down the growth of algae and cyanobacteria. I also resently used sand as dressing for D. filiformis.

Can trichoderma granules (Ampac biotech for example) be used against cyanobacteria?
 
  • #13
I use the tray method and have saran wrap over the top initially I give the the surface a spray of water to wet it. the plastic keeps the gemmae wet enough to sprout. sometimes once the wrap is removed the sand layer dries out compleatly but the roots are deep enough that it doesnt bother the plants.
 
  • #14
The only problem with sand on top is it's easy to think the plants need water. Maybe gravel would be a better choice?
 
  • #15
i have a question concerning how the mulch deters fungus gnats. Does it physically stop the gnats from laying eggs or does the gnat sense the mulch layer and decide it wouldn't be a good place for its spawn to hatch?

The reason I ask is because I have gravel I can use as a mulch but it will be difficult to completely cover the surface around some of my younger/smaller sundews. If the mulch acts as a behavioral deterrent would this be okay?

View attachment 1665

If not, I can fill in the gaps with sand. I'm still curious whether the mulch layer (sand or otherwise) acts as a behavioral or physical deterrent.
 
  • #16
i have a question concerning how the mulch deters fungus gnats. Does it physically stop the gnats from laying eggs or does the gnat sense the mulch layer and decide it wouldn't be a good place for its spawn to hatch?

The reason I ask is because I have gravel I can use as a mulch but it will be difficult to completely cover the surface around some of my younger/smaller sundews. If the mulch acts as a behavioral deterrent would this be okay?

View attachment 1665

If not, I can fill in the gaps with sand. I'm still curious whether the mulch layer (sand or otherwise) acts as a behavioral or physical deterrent.

I'm not an expert but my understanding is that a gnat will lay its eggs on the soil rich with the nutrients. The sand (most of the time) covers the soil and prevents algae/cyanobacteria and other unwanted cohabitants from growing thus no food/no gnats.

Another reasoning might be that the sand grains when used as mulch do not expose that many paths for the gnat to crawl through and reach the soil.
 
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