Rice husk or burnt rice hull?

by Sam
(Manchester)

Heat treated, non burnt rice husk.

Hello! I want to repot some of my aroids in the next days and I want to provide the best soil possible. I’ve been making my research online and I have gathered many ingredients to create a great, airy substrate that will help my aroids thrive. Nevertheless, many plant enthusiasts online will recommend using some sort of activated charcoal to reduce impurities. And after watching this video: https://youtu.be/KnxYceARBxk where it talks about the downsides of using activated charcoal as it is naturally alkaline and will increase the ph (over 7.5 ph) in the soil for plants that, like monsteras and philodendrons, don’t need (they need like 5-5,5 right?). So i came across this ingredient called rice husk, or burnt rice hull depending on what you’d need, that I would like to use instead of activated charcoal. To keep things natural you know?

Unfortunately I didn’t find much content regarding when to use which, but I presume the burnt variety will, like charcoal, unnecessarily increase the ph of the soil.

Have you ever heard of this? Which one should I use for my aroids in your opinion?

Comments for Rice husk or burnt rice hull?

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Mar 14, 2021

So Scientific!
by: Jacki Cammidge, Certified Horticulturist

I think, if you have many similar plants, that you should try several different approaches, and take lots of notes and make comparisons between the plants. I would take pictures of each of them, in all the different scenarios.

So, for example, you would use some kind of commercial potting soil (miracle gro, or Sunshine Mix #4,) as your control.

Then, for plant #1,add some of the rice husks to the mix, then for #2, use the burnt rice hull. I would also find some leaf mold type compost, as this is what they would be most at home in,if you need more options.

Good luck with it - please report back (start a new submission).

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