MAB Grow: What is it, How I use it, Plants I grow in it and some tips

[@MyFellowFoliage]

Hello my fellows, if you are interested in a MAB vs Pon video, let me know!

[@renatecormick7399]

Hi Grace, I’m so happy that this video was posted today, thank you so much. I’ve just bought some MAB Grow and as with leca (which I’m also using for some of my orchids & syngoniums) it takes a fair amount of rinsing to get rid of the sediment, but that’s ok, I only need to do it once then it’s good to go. I realised how heavy it’s going to be so I’ve mixed in a bit of perlite because there is one of the MAB products which they call “light” and it also includes perlite. My mix is 3 parts MAB and 1 part large perlite. As you mentioned, the problem of fine hoya roots getting through the heavy MAB may be a bit more difficult, I feel that by using my proportions my Hoyas should be ok. I received a couple of hoya polyneura cuttings in MAB Grow about a month ago and repotted them into my mix today so it was a good opportunity to check the roots and they are great. I’m sorry my comment is so long winded but I just wanted to ask your opinion on my adding the perlite to lighten the weight of the pots. I’ll probably keep using leca for the larger plants anyway and mainly bought the MAB Grow for my Hoyas. Let me know what you think, I’d appreciate your reply. Cheers from Gold Coast, Qld.

[@MyFellowFoliage]

Hi Renate, thanks for your comment! I think it's not a bad idea to add perlite to the mix. I haven't tried that though and can't comment much on whether that affects anything else ie. how porous it is and how well it retains moisture (I can't imagine it would affect things too much though). If it works for you and your environment, I say keep it up :) In terms of trying out MAB grow for your hoyas, I've seen others report success with it so maybe it's just my experience! I'd recommend to experiment with a few propagations to begin with and see you how you go! Hope that helps xx

[@marsf4883]

Never heard of MAB, but I do use pon for hoyas, and they seem to like it. Pon seems to be okay for anthuriums too, though I feel like pon gets heavy too 😅. Thanks for the video! Nice to hear about different ways folks grow plants.

[@MyFellowFoliage]

I am convinced to give pon a go for Hoyas. I'll experiment a little bit and see how it goes!

[@margimorris7360]

Hello. I'm using both MAB and Leca. I like mixing the two. I find setting up a wicking system and good why to go but like you I think it's a bit heavy for Hoya have just switched a few into Leca only.

[@MyFellowFoliage]

I agree I think the extra surface area on leca gives hoya roots something to cling on to as well which they enjoy!

[@intensecutn]

Can you use MAB grow for orchids? I'm about to place an order and just wondering if I should add some MAB to my cart for my orchids.