Coco coir is a popular natural material to use as a soil substitute when practicing the art of hydroponics. Coco coir is short for coconut coir or coconut fiber. Coco coir is made from the inside fibers of a coconut.
That is the area in the coconut between the outermost shell and the inner flesh, also known as the endosperm, of the coconut. So, is it good to grow houseplants?
Is Coco Coir Good For Houseplants?
Yes, you can grow houseplants in coco coir. However, that is only part of the answer to this question. Houseplants are a very large term that includes many different plants. All plant varieties have different needs.
These needs can include watering amounts, time duration to sunlight exposure, and most importantly, soil nutrient levels. Therefore, you will have to check your variety of houseplant to see if it will fare well and thrive if grown in coco coir.
Houseplants that will grow well in coco coir need a neutral soil type, as coco coir has a balanced PH level which means it is neither acidic nor a base.
Likewise, coco coir retains moisture, so houseplants that need thick soil that is constantly moist will grow well in coco coir.
Houseplants that can grow in shallow pots, may not benefit much from coco coir.
Can You Grow Plants In Coco Coir?
In short, yes, you can definitely grow plants in coco coir. In fact, many plants will benefit from being grown in coco coir as it is a supreme growing medium. Coco coir has numerous beneficial properties that will make plants grow in a healthy and strong way.
For instance, coco coir is an excellent sponge as it holds water. This is good for plants who need to have their roots kept moist constantly as well as consistently.
See best coco coir for mushrooms.
Also, since coco coir is a naturally derived product, there is no need to worry about plants or the environment being damaged due to you using coco coir to grow plants.
Coco coir is also fairly easy to clean, unlike soil, which means that if you choose to grow plants indoors then you don’t have to worry about making a mess in your home so you can basically grow plants in any room in your living space.
However, coco coir is so close to soil in terms of properties that if you choose to later transition a plant from coco coir to actual soil, you will be able to do so with ease. Don’t like bugs? Then coco coir is for you! Bugs and other garden pests hate coco coir so you don’t have to worry about attracting harmful bugs that might destroy your garden and the plants you are growing in it.
In case you already facing troubles with bugs you may want to check our article about applying neem oil on houseplants.
How to choose the right Coco Coir type for your houseplants?
One of the benefits of using Coco Coir for the process of hydroponic growing is that it comes in many different forms. All of these different forms of coco coir are useful as they all have numerous but separate and unique benefits so that they can be selected for a specific need.
First off, there are two main types of coco coir to choose from:
- brown coco coir
- white coco coir.
Brown coco coir is made from fully ripened coconuts. Brown coconut coir is very strong and rigid.
White coco coir is made from juvenile, or under ripened coconuts. White coco coir is very flimsy and malleable.
There are many different companies that make, package and sell coco coir.
After choosing which type of coco coir to use for hydroponic gardening, you can then choose which form you want to purchase your coco coir in.
There are three main forms of coco coir that you can purchase and use. These forms are:
- coco coir peat
- coco coir fibers
- coco coir chips
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Coco coir peat is finely ground grain-like coco coir fibers.
Coco coir fibers are lang and slender strands of hair resembling coconut fibers.
Coco coir chips are small pellets of sectioned coco coir fibers pressed together.
In order to see the best results for your hydroponic growing process, it is crucial that you choose a coco coir product that has the best combination of these three different forms of coco coir.
Is Coco Coir Good For Succulents And Cacti?
Succulents and cacti are plants that will benefit from being grown in coco coir but only in certain conditions. If you have a succulent or cacti outside, which should only be done if you live in a humid climate, then coco coir is a good option. It will retain the minimum amount of natural watering.
However, if you own a succulent or cacti in an indoor setting, then coco coir isn’t as beneficial as you run the risk of overwatering your plant.
This will be an issue as you want your succulents and cactus to have a suitable amount of time between being in dampened soil and being in dry soil.
In these cases, you will need to have a suitable ratio of soil to coco coir. This depends on your specific type of cacti and/ or succulent.
I highly recommend you check treating succulents with neem oil.
Is Coco Coir Good For Monstera?
Monstera is a plant that will thrive if grown in coco coir but only if it is used in a ratio with soil. The ideal ratio of coco coir to soil for Monstera is 1:1. In this coco coir to soil ratio, the coco coir provides good drainage while the soil provides a bounty on nutrients.
Is Coco Coir Good As Drainage?
Coco coir retains moisture exceptionally well. Therefore, coco coir is not good for drainage when left naturally. However, it is easy to drain the moisture from coco coir as well.
In this case, if you are willing to put in the effort for a plant and have the time to do it, then coco coir is a good choice as it has the ability to drain well when forced to do so.
How Do You Prepare Coco Coir For Planting?
As coco coir comes in many different forms, the way to which you need to prepare your batch of coco coir for planting depends on your form of coco coir. You can buy prepared coco coir with added nutrients in which all you need to do is add it to your soil.
However, this is tricky as your pre-existing soil already has nutrients, and due to the fact that prepared coco coir only comes in small packs and can be expensive.
This is why the best form to buy coco coir in is in a brick format. All you need to do with a brick formed piece of coco coir is to add warm water and wait for it to break apart into a fluffy substance.
After this, you can add your prepared coco coir to your soil and, depending on your soil and/ or the plants you want to grow, determine and add the nutrients as needed.
Can You Mix Coco Coir With Potting Soil?
Since coco coir is neutral in acidity and has almost no natural nutrients, it is necessary to mix it with potting soil in order to grow any healthy plant.
Does Coconut Coir Mould?
Coco coir has the tendency to mould if it is overwatered along with having an excessive amount of added sugars.
Can You Overwater In Coco Coir?
As coco coir is great at maintaining moisture, this makes it easy to accidentally overwater your plant if you are growing it in coco coir.
How Often Should You Flush Coco Coir?
Flushing your coco coir should be done according to your situational needs. This can include what plant you are growing, the container (if using one), how humid your environment is, and how often you are or plan on watering your plant.
Final Thoughts
Hydroponics is a huge industry and past time, that has greatly increased in popularity over the past few years is that of. Hydroponics is the art of growing plants without the use of conventional soil.
To replace the soil, gardeners who practice hydroponics use a variety of different soil substitutes. These soil substitutes can include but are not limited to, clay, water, peat, and other natural materials that can sustain a plant’s overall structure.
Using hydroponic instead of conventional soil growing methods are chosen for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons can include that certain plants grow better in substances other than soil, lack of space, lack of resources, financial reasons, and more.
The list is endless. One popular material that has been used in the process of hydroponics is coco coir.
Hope this was helpful and make sure to check 27 Types Of Houseplants Spider Mites Like.
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