Trying Plant Hacks: Cat Litter?

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I regularly see people sharing tips and hacks online or in books about using random everyday objects for your houseplants or garden. One of these happens to be...cat litter.

Seriously. Plain, unscented clay cat litter is recommended by some books and such as a cheap way to boost drainage and aeration in potting soil. Sort of like a replacement for perlite. I have also heard some sources suggesting the idea of using used cat litter as a fertilizer, but that's a whole other thing.

Anyway, I actually decided to give cat litter a try. The verdict.

No, I so do not recommend it. 

The price isn't bad. I can get a 5lb bag from Walmart or Family Dollar for less than $2. When mixed with my usual potting soil, it goes a long way. And it seems to work sort of okay mixed with cactus mix for my succulents, but there have been issues. 

First off, it's heavy especially when wet. If you need to weigh down a pot I guess it's okay, but typically you want your potting soil to be light and airy to better oxygenate the roots.

Secondly, it makes the soil hard. Like difficult to shove a moisture meter or stake into your pot kind of hard. Imagine if you were a plant trying to grow roots through something like that. Doesn't sound pleasant, right?

The scary thing is I've heard some people suggest using the clay litter on it's own as a potting medium, for like bonsai or cuttings. I say no way! If it gets that hard when mixed with potting soil, imagine what would happen if you used it on its own. It would be like cement. No thank you.

If for some reason you still feel the need to use cat litter for your plants, then I would recommend potting with a mixture of only 1/3 or less of the litter. I've been using a mix of cat litter, potting soil, and orchid bark.

Please let me know if you've tried this or any other interesting plant hack.

Stay Green.

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Plant Fails: My Troubles with Orchids

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I mentioned in my grocery store plant post that I have a bit of a troubled history with orchids, specifically moth orchids (phalaenopsis) as they are plentiful in grocery stores, home stores, gift shops, and unfortunately in my list of diseased plants.

Here's my tale of orchid woe.

My first orchid was brought from Fry's grocery store. It had such nice large leaves, cute white flowers, and 50% off. How could I resist.

I named it Odette and bought a roomier pot from Amazon, and some orchid bark and Miracle grow fertilizer (which I later found out wasn't recommended, but that's a different story). Things were looking good.

Unfortunately, one day I noticed something white underneath some of those nice leaves.

Mealy bugs!

I overly panicked, went totally scorched Earth to spray them and hack them away. Next thing you know, I was Googling how to re-grow roots in orchids. RIP Odette.

My next orchid was purchased at Whole Foods Market for about $12. I named it Fiona like the movie, Shrek. It was about the same time I got an Ogre Ears Jade plant from Home Depot, and yes I did name it Shrek.

Well, Shrek and Fiona both suffered the same fate, too much Arizona Summertime heat and sun exposure.

The third orchid came from Aldi, I thought this one would be different. I learned so much from the other failures after all.

I have read that you shouldn't re-pot an orchid while they are "blooming", so I chose to wait until the flowers dropped to re-pot this one, big mistake.

They lasted 5 months. Because I waited so long, I didn't see that many of the roots were rotting. It didn't help that the poor orchid was originally potted in the tiniest plastic cup thing imaginable.

I had to cut off all the roots and several bottom leaves. And unfortunately, re-rooting efforts didn't work.

Now here's my newest victim orchid from Sprout's. Will it beat the odds and survive in my care. Only time will tell.

Wish us both luck, and stay green.

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