Food-Gardening Lessons From A Wartime Victory Garden

What Are the Best Black Gold Soils for Tropical Plants?

“Hello, this is my first time contacting your company. I want to know what is the best soil mix or specialty mix for the following 4 different plants. Ideally, I am hoping that one type of soil mix would cover all below. Maybe I can add one single substrate addition, like “perlite” to balance an individual plant’s needs. However, I am open to being educated what is the beat for each one below.

  1. Alocasia Macrorrhiza Variegated Albo
  2. Peacock Ginger, Cornukaempferia ‘Jungle Gold’
  3. Philodendron, “Pink Princess”
  4. Dwarf Geometry Tree, (Bucida Buceras)

Thank you very much for your time in researching each plant’s needs and recommended the best, Black Gold product’s.” Question from Franklin of Honolulu, Hawaii

Answer: Thank you for your question from Hawaii! First I will detail the needs of each plant with respect to soil and follow up with Black Gold soil suggestions. All of these plants prefer a soil pH around neutral to slightly alkaline or acid.

  1. Variegated Alocasia (Alocasia macrorrhiza ‘Variegata’): Moist, fertile soils with adequate drainage and high organic content. (The best Black Gold soils for this plant have a very high water-holding capacity and good drainage and include Black Gold® Moisture Supreme Container Mix, Black Gold® Natural & Organic Cocoblend Potting Mix, and Black Gold Natural & Organic Ultra Coir)
  2. Peacock Ginger (Cornukaempferia aurantiiflora ‘Jungle Gold’): Choose fertile, loamy soils that drain well. (Best Black Gold Soils are fertile and offer good drainage. They include Black Gold® All Purpose Potting Mix, and Black Gold® Natural & Organic Cocoblend Potting Mix.)
  3. Red-Leaf Philodendron (Philodendron erubescens ‘Pink Princess’): Provide this Philodendron with fertile soil that is moist but well-drained. (Best Black Gold Soils are fertile and offer good drainage. They include Black Gold® All Purpose Potting Mix, and Black Gold® Natural & Organic Cocoblend Potting Mix.)
  4. Dwarf Geometry Tree (Bucida buceras): Plant this sizable tropical tree in a wide variety of soils that drain well, though those high in organic matter are preferred. We recommend planting this tree in the ground using Black Gold® Natural & Organic Garden Compost Blend or Black Gold® Garden Soil.

I hope that these tips help. Follow up by using a natural & organic fertilizer formulated for tropical plants.

Happy gardening,

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

About JESSIE KEITH

Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.

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