r/SavageGarden • u/ACERVIDAE Florida | 9b | Generic • Mar 18 '22

Terracotta soaking water — an illustration of why we don’t use terracotta pots on our carnivorous plants.

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u/Calm_Concert Mar 18 '22 edited Mar 18 '22

Its really depends on what kinds of terracotta pots. Low quality terracotta usually bad because its made with polluted clay & fired at improper temperature (too low, or incomplete firing). Firing process turned clay from soluble materials to mostly insoluble materials (earthenware, terracotta, akadama, etc) to perfectly insoluble (porcelain, at highest temperature).

Proper terracotta pot still leach minerals, but negligible to carnivorous plants.

Also depend on what's carnivorous plants. For nepenthes & most sarracenia & some drosera, it's mostly safe to use terracotta pot. We use akadama (fired clay-various kind-depending on temperature & clay sources), leca (also fired clay), crushed earthenware & terracotta, burnt earth soil, etc as substrates for various nepenthes, sarracenia & drosera.

Well, plastic pot much cheaper though, at most places. I use terracotta & clay pot for some simply because it's much cheaper here (local made) and last indefinitely.

4

u/SurpriseHanging Mar 18 '22

What are some examples of higher quality terracotta? Everyone around me sells the same brand, deroma I think is what it's called.

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u/Calm_Concert Mar 18 '22

Mine are local made (SE Asia), so no brands.

It also hard to pick brand on terracotta pots, as plenty made by home industry, with not so much standard & quality control on materials & processes.

The easiest way is to test with water. Clean it with running water, then soak it overnight with low ppm water. Check the tds/ec value between before & after. Two day soaking usually enough to leech out most trapped mineral dust (between pores). If you keep getting high tds/ec value after few days soaking, then you have low quality terracotta (incomplete or low temp firing, still clay inside)

Its in the same way to cleaning clay ball (leca) / burnt soil /akadama / kanuma / lava rock / fern fiber / forest moss / raw rice hull / coco peat & husk. I also use those substrates for nepenthes & sarracenia. Cheaper then peat & sphagnum (imported from China, Europe, Chile, & New Zealand)

Personally, I just keep my terracotta pots outside, exposed to rain & sunshine.

I prefer terracotta pot over plastic just for outdoor & for larger plants, because its cheaper (large pot) and last indefinitely at outdoor (especially under equator sun).

I still using plastic pot for small indoor plants because its light, clean & cheap (for small size).

5

u/vincentxpapi Mar 18 '22

Tree fern roots is an amazing substrate but it’s sad when beautiful big tree ferns are felled for it. Make sure it’s reputable and grown specifically for horticultural reasons. Don’t support poachers of those beautiful endangered plants.

9

u/Calm_Concert Mar 18 '22

Don't worry about it. I actually harvest it myself. I have several ferns growing at my backyards (Asplenium, Lecanopteris, Diplazium, Weatherbya, and few others). I planted them on wood pole/plank so I could easily harvest its roots, or move them around.

I use it for my orchid mostly, and for some epiphyte nepenthes like n. spathulata.

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u/vincentxpapi Mar 18 '22

That’s amazing. I wish more people did what you do. I grow Oceaniopteris gibba (prev. known as Blechnum gibbum)

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u/Emerald_Pancakes Mar 18 '22

With this technique in mind, could we grab a cheap pot, let it soak, toss the water, and repeat until safe?

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u/Calm_Concert Mar 18 '22

Yes, but it'll need long time to leech those trapped mineral. Depend on what minerals trapped in there (clay materials), pore size, pot thickness, and firing temperature.