How I feel about TREE FERN FIBRE & FLUVAL STRATUM 🤔 Prop Experiment Results

[@crochetqueen6440]

As a new zealander I'm stoked that overseas ppl are getting into fern fibre, it's the best! I love it in moss poles too, on it's own, and I completely agree with you that the pressed poles are garbage, they're just too compacted to allow the roots to grow in and really just work as a stake like you said. But as a prop medium, and even as a long term substrate, it's wonderful stuff. Hoya INSANELY love it, and I use it regularly to prop and then transfer to semi hydro, they always seem to do well going from there compared to moss. So glad you like!

[@ObjectiveAnalysis]

Hey just to clarify are you saying to soak the boards then break them up and use them as soil amendment? Thanks!

[@crochetqueen6440]

No, you buy it as a substrate on it's own. Not to say what you're suggesting couldn't work, but I don't know whether they use anything to make the pressed fibre keep it's shape? I guess you could try but it's much easier to just buy bagged fibre on it's own@@ObjectiveAnalysis

[@joehisel5966]

I'm going through all the KZbinrs trying to get a Baseline on stratum. Had to put you on list. Thanks for the info!

[@kendasaunders606]

I have started propagating in Pon and it works great! Especially nice for cacti and succulents, I have re-rooted several succs in Pon and they are very happy. Yes on the Stratum, its reusable until it dissolves into black dust. When I prop in Stratum I flood the cup, water to the top and it helps some with the drying. Thanks for the content Emma! Appreciate you!

[@pinstripesuitandheels]

Woke up from one of my nightly horrible dreams, and can't get back to sleep. Had some tea and read a bit of LOTR. Now it's time to settle down again with someone who always makes me smile with her bubbliness and enthusiasm.

[@GoodGrowing]

Oh no!! I'm so sorry to hear you had a rough night! I hope this video helped even just a little bit!

[@pinstripesuitandheels]

@@GoodGrowing it did, and I fell asleep listening to your voice in another video. ☺️

[@KathyGallagher01]

I found with the stratum you need to keep a water reservoir in the container so that it never has the chance to dry out, personally had great success with stratum and with tree fern fibre for propagating. The tree fern mixed with chunky medium of your choice works amazingly well, Anthurium love it as do Hoya. 🌱💚

[@GoodGrowing]

Ahhhh maybe that's where I went wrong...

[@latanyamckenzie277]

This was a good experiment. Do more of this.

[@VintageJournalJunkie]

I've been propagating in pumice and that's been working really well for me

[@Jason24nga]

I love doing experiments, I also had these issues when I first tried using these. I have found mixing perlite, tree fern and flugal together makes my cuttings root 2/3 times as fast, I had to play with ratios a bit to find the right amount for my over watering habits, lol Hoyas especially love this combination

[@GoodGrowing]

Oooh that sounds like a fun combo! Maybe I'll give that a go! thanks

[@nehab4148]

Love this! I’ve started mixing stratum with perlite and that seems to be much better for me as it’s less dense and allows for a few more air pockets

[@TraciBunkers]

Me too! I've had great success with a 50 stratum/50 perlite mix & I reuse it without a problem.

[@ThatGirlShelbyy]

I’ve been waiting for plant content today, I clicked so fast 😂😭 I just got my first ever order of Leca in the mail yesterday, it’s been soaking for 24 hours and I’m debating doing another full 24 hour soak.. I’ve seen the Leca Queen recommend 3 24-hour soaks but I’m not patient enough for that 🤣 I still haven’t tried tree Fern or stratum either.. I’d like to someday though

[@maylani3697]

I’m a fan of Leca. It’s fairly inexpensive and reusable. Just make sure to disinfect it before reusing it. It’s sooo much easier to clean up any run-away Leca balls than Fluval or soil. I’m in a dry climate. My plants seem to do better in Leca.

[@GoodGrowing]

I defo never soaked mine for the full 24 hours before using it... then again that was a couple of years back

[@blanchegodwin4648]

Great comparison

[@natjoy22]

I have fluval as the base layer under soil of a terrarium for added nutrients. I made it in a class and this was my first encounter with stratum and the terrarium is thriving! I've also been told that in a closed prop box, little prop cups with it work great. I have a bas, but haven't experimented myself yet!

[@GoodGrowing]

ooh I could imagine it working well in a closed box so it stays more moist!

[@nehab4148]

Same here! I use it on top of leca and under a terrarium mix / moss in a jar and it works well I think

[@margimorris7360]

Hello. Thanks for your video on the different substrate. In the past I have never done poles because of the work that comes with them. I ended up buying a very large pole with a monkey mask and I'm using TFF mixed with moss. I live in Australia and started the plant in April and it has doubled in size. I seriously only water it every 1 to 1.5 weeks. I went on holidays for 3 weeks and the kids didn't water this plant and its doing beautifully. With one of my now very small Hoya that I have had many issues with I am now experimenting with having moss mixed with TFF with no drainage on a permanent basis. 🤦‍♀the things we do for our plants

[@GoodGrowing]

sounds like the perfect solution then! I defo want to try a mixed one soon!

[@EarthenCreep]

I use the fluval stuff for my alocasia corms and have great luck with it! 😊

[@msladyjune3285]

I like tree fern fiber to propagate. My Syngoniums Collection is in a Lechuza Pot with half soil and half Aroid mix and a layer of PON in the bottom. When I add new rooted plants I add the tree fern fiber too. It works for me. So glad you made this video. Thanks. 🪴Keep Growing🌿

[@carolstuff]

Like that all the cuttings grew roots. I use all, except moss…it sticks to roots too much; it’s great for moss poles. You can reuse both tree fern & fluval. Thanks for sharing Emma!

[@ronanhayes4968]

I bring my d moss poles into the shower and drown them once they get crunchy and I find it good. Especially for Amydrium medium silver as the moisture seems to activate new shoots on the side of the vine. Must try tree fern fibre as it seems more practical once plants and poles get huge. Great review - thanks for the helpful info and testing these methods out!

[@sathusundar6122]

Beautiful Crotons it will produce lot of fresh air 👍💯💯🌴🍎🍉🍎🌸🍁🌼🍅🌵☘️

[@plantsinjars]

Fluval stratum mixed with perlite is goated

[@marygorchidsmore2058]

Great video, thanks for the review and sharing it with us. Recently I bought tree fern fibber to grow some of my orchids in it, so I'm glad that you got a good result from it. Do you have any other advise regarding using this substrate such as watering or mixing it with any other substrate?

[@GoodGrowing]

I've personally not tried it in any other way except for the 2 mentioned

[@aplantprocess]

This was great.

[@NorthbertR]

Thank you for that video. I was thinking about tree fern fiber for when I will get some nice anthuriums. It may work from what I see in your video. For propagation I am very conservative: clean water and sphagnum :-)

[@sassysoutherngal6819]

I have never had any success with the tree fern poles. I chopped them up to use in my pots. I mix perlite with my stratum and have been fairly successful with my props. I keep the prop containers filled to the top. And Stratum can be reused.

[@GoodGrowing]

haha yeah i might just need to chop it up to use in soil...

[@SparkleInMoonlight]

Cool experiment and review. Very helpful video. Seeing the results, I´ll continue my water propagations (it´s cheap, very clean, transparent, easier to get rid of pests, transfer to any media I might chose later).

[@jodidelong3663]

Thank you for this, Emma, very informative. I only recently heard about fluval stratum as being great for hoyas (I'm a bit of a hoyahead, lol). It's more readily available and cost effective here in Canada so I'll get some and give it a try, as I mostly use leca, pon and perlite for my baby plants, and pon is hard to get (dunno why).

[@NicoleVillos]

What about orchid barks?

[@ninasuculentasymas]

I find that fluval props are easier to transfer to pon.

[@GoodGrowing]

Interesting! Is it because the stratum comes off the roots easily?

[@daveoverstreet5148]

Regarding the fluval: I wouldn't be too eager to use a medium that I had to add another medium to keep it moist. Like, why aren't I just using perlite to begin with? Interesting video, thanks!

[@GoodGrowing]

yeah agreed!

[@AammaK]

Did I miss it or did you mention how long your propagation experiment was? How long were the cuttings in these media?

[@GoodGrowing]

it was about 6 weeks... since the last video really

[@annaparker4842]

I think most ppl keep the fluval basically self watering. Which makes it work much better.

[@sunshinecarnivores1919]

Never knew Fluval dried out faster. Then again, I only used for one of my mangroves that need to sit in water all the time.

[@hennesseyme9112]

You can reuse fluval as long as there is no rot. Never let it dry out with your plant in it, or it will kill it.

[@taylorstewart8309]

i also decided i hate stratum so now i just use it for top dressing lol

[@hedgewitch59]

Just bear in mind that tree fern fibre comes from shredded, nature grown tree ferns that are being cleared from the forests of Australia and New Zealand. They take absolute ages to grow and are so beautiful. Please don't use tree tern fibre. There's a lot better alternatives. 😢

[@rosaerdbeershake9194]

Yes, this is a dangerous trend!

[@rar435]

I have actually heard the opposite. That because of New Zealand regulations it HAS to be farmed sustainably. Outside of there, not so sure, but with everything we should just be researching and supporting brands we believe in.

[@kat1984]

​@rar435 I only use NZ sphagnum moss with my orchids and single surviving peperomia because of the strict regulations. I also refuse to buy anything with peat moss/sphagnum peat moss because of the sustainability issues. I use coconut husk chunks and coir because of it. Gardening has a huge environmental impact.

[@GoodGrowing]

Yeah I was defo nervous about trying it because of that but based on the Fernwood website, their stuff seems to be farmed responsibly?

[@malindarayallen]

New Zealand makes sure it is gathered responsibly at a rate that is slower than it's replenished.

[@Ellocasia]

In going to London and Kent in March for a wedding and i really want to visit a London plant shop! I see lists but can't really tell the quality. Probably not going to buy a plant plant but a planty item. Any shop name advice??

[@GoodGrowing]

I like Nunhead Gardener, N1 or W6 nursery, Conservatory Archives

[@lindaedwards4632]

I wasn’t a fan of Fluval too, I could never tell if it needed watering 🤦‍♀️ It looks the same wet or dry 🤷‍♀️🇨🇦

[@GoodGrowing]

it so does!!

[@SteraFaux]

Just pay attention to the water layer in the cup. I keep mine 1/3-1/2 full at all times after about a week of keeping it completely saturated to get the process going. It wicks very well and I've had a monstera adansonii in it for about 4 months and she's doing great.

[@maxzytaruk8558]

Yo thank you so so much for following up with this!!:)

[@stephanierene3537]

Thank you so much for the idea on filled moss poles with different substrates. I am thinking about trying coco coir and perlite. Just to avoid using moss and dealing with it becoming hydrophobic.

[@PhoenixFyreRising]

I want to try Tree Fern. Heard good things about it from you and Claire (your friend). I use stratum with Pon when baby plants have established roots. And they are growing ok. I am also using Leca as a bottom layer and Pon on top. This way I can see the reservoir better. But Stratum alone? Messy and not as good. Plus Stratum is expensive also.

[@gamingsensisensi7956]

the thing with fluval is it is realy a substrate for bioactive terrariums and in my one i use it as the drainage layer as it don't hold water that well

[@GoodGrowing]

Hmmm maybe I'll give it a ago in a terrarium then! thanks!

[@jamiewestover6760]

Fluval is so pricey! Absolutely not worth it to me when I compare it with my success with other media.

[@GoodGrowing]

Agreed! Glad I was able to swap for some instead of buying!

[@musicalmarion]

Water's free... 🙂

[@andyandbee]

Can you do the "double cup" method with stratum cuttings, like when you regularly are rooting something just in water. It will stay moist due to the amount of humidity. Or even adding a reservoir. Or both, so a triple-cup-method. Loved this update, thanks so much! I wanted to buy these substrates badly and I'm very much under the poverty line, so I have to be choosy when I save my money for my new plant stuff!!! 💚🪴🌵

[@GoodGrowing]

Ooh yeah that could work. I defo think keeping the fluval one in a more moist setting would help. Always glad to help! From my first few weeks of impressions I'd defo rate the tree fern fibre, but wouldn't say fluval is worth paying to experiment with

[@andyandbee]

@@GoodGrowing thanks so much! I may be getting some tree fern fibre in my near future thennn! 💚🌵🪴