My Greener Home

The Aroid mix that means more to me than gold

By

Nina

on

Young monstera plants in white pots with a chunky potting mix on a white rug

My plant journey actually started by accident.

My daughter had just moved into her own place, and suddenly I needed to turn an almost completely empty room into a guest room. I did it with a slightly heavy heart, but to make the room feel a little less bare, I moved the THREE houseplants we had in our living room into it.

And you know what? They looked absolutely lovely against the black-and-white striped wallpaper 💚ðŸĪðŸ–Ī

So, naturally, I bought a couple more plants. And then a couple more…

At some point, my interest in plant care kicked into a whole new gear. I started looking for information everywhere, including Facebook, where I discovered my first houseplant group. And that’s where the real learning began!

Oh, grow lights exist?

Ooh, you can mix perlite into potting soil?

Got it!

Before long, I was already experimenting with lighter soil mixes. Then I discovered that some people mixed perlite AND bark into their potting soil. So, of course, I did that too 😄

And then came the day I first read about soilless growing mixes ðŸĪŊ

Can you guess what happened next? ðŸĪ­

This plant enthusiast ordered enormous bags of coco coir bricks from Amazon, along with perlite, pine bark and even LECA.

Then came the great repotting project. I mixed my own substrate, washed the roots and moved ALL my plants into a soilless mix.

I was thrilled at first. But eventually, fertilising became a bit of a headache. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t want feeding my plants to feel like a chemistry lesson, mixing several different liquids in a specific order. I also got tired of storing enormous bags of individual ingredients, and all that mixing wasn’t exactly kind to my joints 😎

Then, at some point, I discovered PlantScraper’s Aroid mix ðŸĪ—

I honestly can’t remember whether my first bag came as a free gift with an order or whether it was a sample. But I remember my first impression of the mix itself!

It was chunky. Airy. And, most importantly, it drained and dried quickly after watering!

I’d previously had a pretty disappointing experience with another company’s mix that I’d been given the opportunity to try. Several of my plants were lost because the substrate stayed wet for far too long with my watering routine. RIP roots 💀

But the plants I tested with PlantScraper’s Aroid mix started growing happily, and that was the turning point!

So, what’s actually in this magic mix?

PlantScraper’s Aroid (Essential) mix combines five ingredients to create a chunky, airy growing medium:

  • 30% bioactive growing medium
  • 15% small pine bark
  • 5% large pine bark
  • 30% chunky perlite
  • 20% washed and buffered coco husk chips

The combination gives my plants the airy structure I was looking for, with plenty of room for airflow around their roots and excess water to drain away efficiently.

And once I’d fallen in love with it, you can probably guess what happened next ðŸĪ­

Project: ONE MIX FOR EVERYONE. ASAP!

Every plant, every shelf, every corner of my green jungle. I wanted them all in the same mix!

It took a while to get the job done. My husband may or may not have cursed a little while carrying home those many, many kilos of parcels from the post office ðŸĪĢ💚

And then came the finishing touch…

Somewhere along the way, while browsing online for plant supplies, I came across Hesi fertilisers. After trying HousePlant Elixir, I realised it was the finishing touch I’d been missing ðŸĨđ

No more complicated DIY substrate experiments. No more endless ingredient bags. No more turning fertilising into a chemistry practical.

Just a growing medium that works for me, a fertiliser routine I can manage, and plants that seem pretty happy with the arrangement ðŸŠī

My plants and I had finally found our thing 💚ðŸŒŋ

And that’s why PlantScraper’s Aroid mix means more to me than gold. It’s not just about what’s in the bag. It’s about finding a way to care for my plants that works with my life, my needs and my very enthusiastic plant-collecting habits 😊 Some people find their perfect pair of shoes. I found my perfect growing mix.

And yes, I really did repot practically my entire jungle to prove it ðŸĪ­