# Indoor plants - looking for potting soil recommendations



## Edwardoka (19 Nov 2020)

Evening folks,

I inherited an extremely stressed and diseased begonia plant a couple of months ago, to save it I took several cuttings and binned the rot. Most of the cuttings have now successfully rooted in water and need to be planted. However, on the main websites where one can buy potting soil, the reviews indicate that the most popularly bought brand (Westland) is riddled with bugs and larvae, namely symphylans and fungus gnats, so I'm obviously not keen.

Does anyone have any recommendations for potting soil/potting mix or ways to treat the offending brand to remove the pests?

Thanks,
Ed


----------



## Archie_tect (20 Nov 2020)

50% non-peat based compost, 25% grit and 25% lea... all from local nursery if you haven't got your own.


----------



## PaulSB (20 Nov 2020)

Archie_tect said:


> 50% non-peat based compost, 25% grit and 25% lea... all from local nursery if you haven't got your own.


The above should work well for you though I have no idea what "lea" is. 75% compost and 25% grit will be ideal for indoor Begonias.

I'm very surprised by your comments regarding Westland composts. In 44 years of commercial horticulture, and therefore a lot of contact with the retail side, I never heard such a comment.

If you buy a commercial compost it's likely it will have been sterilised during production. Loam (soil) based composts need sterilisation to remove harmful pests or disease. Non-peat composts may require sterilisation but this depends on their constituents and how likely those are to contain potential contaminates.


----------



## Archie_tect (20 Nov 2020)

PaulSB said:


> The above should work well for you though I have no idea what "lea" is.


Should've been 'leca' [auto-correct really annoys me!] The pellets of brown or white clay to hold in moisture used indoors.

Our Council used to make its own compost from recycled garden waste but it went through a few bad years when all the residual weedkiller and lawn 'improvers' chemicals used on grass and gardens built up and things wouldn't grow in it. We stopped buying it a dew years ago.


----------



## PaulSB (20 Nov 2020)

Archie_tect said:


> Should've been 'leca' [auto-correct really annoys me!] The pellets of brown or white clay to hold in moisture used indoors


Ah yes, quite agree on both points.


----------



## sight-pin (20 Nov 2020)

John Innes no 3


----------



## Edwardoka (20 Nov 2020)

Thanks all. I'll be giving the gardening centre a swerve because the city is going back into lockdown at 6 tonight and I'm not going to be one of the cliched panic buyers who rushes off and gets bitten by a zombie infected at the last moment.

If you google Westland gnats most reviews on B&Q and Amaz.on this year suggests that their potting mix is absolutely infested ever since the first lockdown began. Lower quality control, perhaps?

I guess my leafy chums will have to deal with being water-dwellers for a few weeks longer...


----------



## snorri (20 Nov 2020)

My indoor plants seem to survive well on the products of my garden compost bin made up of grass cuttings, seaweed and kitchen waste.


----------



## PaulSB (21 Nov 2020)

@Edwardoka I'm very interested in your experience with Westland. I have a large allotment, use Westland regularly and know several others who do. As I said before I worked in commercial horticulture for 44 years and never heard similar.

I've googled but found nothing. Can you post a couple of links as I'm curious to read more about the problem.


----------



## Edwardoka (21 Nov 2020)

PaulSB said:


> @Edwardoka I'm very interested in your experience with Westland. I have a large allotment, use Westland regularly and know several others who do. As I said before I worked in commercial horticulture for 44 years and never heard similar.
> 
> I've googled but found nothing. Can you post a couple of links as I'm curious to read more about the problem.



View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Westland-Houseplant-Potting-Compost-Enriched/product-reviews/B07661NX9K/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_viewopt_fmt?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&sortBy=recent&pageNumber=1&formatType=current_format&filterByStar=critical#reviews-filter-bar


It appears to be some batches of their indoor potting mixes that are contaminated.


----------



## PaulSB (21 Nov 2020)

Thanks @Edwardoka


----------

