Two plants in one pot

[santiago]

What's the go with this?

Even with a simple question like this, sometimes mysteries of the plantworld occur.

My logic is simple, with 3 remaining cereus sections and a decorative pot one wonders of the negative stats ie root space outweigh the great looking creation of 3 cactus in one pot.

It's easy to understand 1plant/1pot is the general go but what happens when nature turns illogical. Do some species prefer company, whether it be brother brother, sister mum, mum dad, clone clone. When one thinks the Amazon rainforest the plant species all seem to battle it out and fight. With such riches of life in that area maybe then you could assume plants are competitive little killers who compete then kill at whim.

It raises a ethical question. Does god judge that plant for killing his neighbor? We often think as plants as peaceful, calm, nurturing........maybe they could also be natural slow and methodical serial murderers.

Can two plants in one pot get along, maybe even prosper from some kind of symbiotic pact, biological or spiritual?

[Bongchitis]

I reckon it would be fine! Look great for a while but I think one cut will tend to dominate eventually and may stunt the others. Could try some sort of sub soil devider that ensures some kind of equality root space wise but the cereus will probably outgrow the pot in a couple of years anyway.

If god were real to me I'm sure he would say fuck the ethics and plant the cacti.

What's the go with this?

Even with a simple question like this, sometimes mysteries of the plantworld occur.

My logic is simple, with 3 remaining cereus sections and a decorative pot one wonders of the negative stats ie root space outweigh the great looking creation of 3 cactus in one pot.

It's easy to understand 1plant/1pot is the general go but what happens when nature turns illogical. Do some species prefer company, whether it be brother brother, sister mum, mum dad, clone clone. When one thinks the Amazon rainforest the plant species all seem to battle it out and fight. With such riches of life in that area maybe then you could assume plants are competitive little killers who compete then kill at whim.

It raises a ethical question. Does god judge that plant for killing his neighbor? We often think as plants as peaceful, calm, nurturing........maybe they could also be natural slow and methodical serial murderers.

Can two plants in one pot get along, maybe even prosper from some kind of symbiotic pact, biological or spiritual?

[Qhorakuna tantani]

Certain plants sure do love being planted together. Companion planting I think its called. Tomato and basil for example, not only great flavour combo, but they bother grow better when planted near one another. The reverse is true too, onions and beans don't like each other I think it is. In your case, I'm thinking that your only problem would be crowding

[planthelper]

planting several plants in one pot can have lot's of advantages, like pleasing the eye or saving space, whilst increasing growth.

several plants in one big pot will grow often faster as they have more rootspace, aswell one has to water only one pot instead of several.

this topic is quite inspirational and i would say it would be interressting which ethno plants could be "companion planted".

if we are renting homes or move often, we sometimes like to keep our beloved friends in pots so we can bring them with us, a big pot companion planted might be the answer.

i could see how planting catha, psychotria and heimia in one pot could work.

maybe some sceletium as a ground cover.

to grow big plants and cacti without planting them out one has to use big pots, planting several plants in one of them makes good sence to me.

[apothecary]

I think there is still lots of research to do on companion planting of ethnos! It is a very interesting area.

How did people realise that borage and strawberries like to be planted together? Or peas and corn? Had some great discussions with various people at EGA about their companion planting efforts. Here is a list of some example food companion plants

http://www.companionplanting.net/ListofCompanionPlants.html

It would be great if we could compile a similar list for ethnos! For example when living in Sydney I discovered my very hungry B. caapi plants loved living near nitrogen fixing Fabacea like certain Mimosa and Acacia species!

I will add an obvious one: just love to get some old pots, stab some extra big holes in them, fill with sandy soil and plant in sections of Acorus and Bacopa and then stick in a big water filled tub! Nothing better than chewing a fresh bit of Bacopa on the way to work in the morning!

Edited November 19, 2009 by apothecary

[Chiral]

Tricho's seem to love having Delosperma planted all around the base, once it takes hold there is absolutely no chance of any weeds getting in either. I recently tried this and was shocked at how fast and thick the Delosperma ran around the inside of the pot completely covering up the top soil.

The Delosperma I used, I think is Delosperma esterhuyseniae, although I'm not a 100% sure, it has wonderful tiny white flowers that bloom daily.

[tripsis]

Hm, the idea of companion planting ethnos appeals to me. Companion planting at all actually.

maybe some sceletium as a ground cover.

Would look good and reduce evaporation from the soil.

For example when living in Sydney I discovered my very hungry B. caapi plants loved living near nitrogen fixing Fabacea like certain Mimosa and Acacia species

I see no reason why that would actually help the B. caapi. Nitrogen-fixing plants fix nitrogen for their own benefit, not the benefit of the surrounding plants. Only if the N-fixing plants are killed and then mulched back into the soil is the nitrogen of any use to surrounding plants. So unless you were periodically killing your Acacias and Mimosas, or chopping off their root nodules, the benefit would not have come from the ability of those plants to fix nitrogen.

[planthelper]

Hm, the idea of companion planting ethnos appeals to me. Companion planting at all actually.

Would look good and reduce evaporation from the soil.

I see no reason why that would actually help the B. caapi. Nitrogen-fixing plants fix nitrogen for their own benefit, not the benefit of the surrounding plants. Only if the N-fixing plants are killed and then mulched back into the soil is the nitrogen of any use to surrounding plants. So unless you were periodically killing your Acacias and Mimosas, or chopping off their root nodules, the benefit would not have come from the ability of those plants to fix nitrogen.

i personaly think that other plants can't benefit from nitogen fixers, however they might benefit still to a high degree because the N fixer will not compete as much for N with the caapi, aswell as taking advantage of any mulch produced by the N fixer.

[Qhorakuna tantani]

Other plants will only benefit from N fixing bacteria on root nodules of other plants, if they fix an excess of nitrogen. For example, growing mucuna vines throughout a crop can fix up to 200kg N per hectare.

Apo - I remember reading that there is a test you can do to see if plants are good companions. It involved taking some leaves of each plant, extracting and putting the extracts in a petri dish or similar, and a particular reaction occuring over time showed whether they were good to go or not. Looking just now, it seems this could be a part of allelopathy. Even if this doesn't perfectly describe companion plants, it could give a good estimation.

[apothecary]

I see no reason why that would actually help the B. caapi. Nitrogen-fixing plants fix nitrogen for their own benefit, not the benefit of the surrounding plants. Only if the N-fixing plants are killed and then mulched back into the soil is the nitrogen of any use to surrounding plants. So unless you were periodically killing your Acacias and Mimosas, or chopping off their root nodules, the benefit would not have come from the ability of those plants to fix nitrogen.

Err right, so Native Americans have been planting pole beans and corn directly next to each other for absolutely no reason since prehistory.

[tripsis]

Just because one N-fixing plant makes for a good companion plant does not mean all of them do. It's like saying that because some Acacias contain DMT, all of them do, while the reality is probably that they are a vast minorty.

Is there any evidence to suggest that Native Americans planted those two together because beans are a nitrogen-fixer? Corn is often planted alongside beans as it gives something for the beans to climb up.

[apothecary]

Just because one N-fixing plant makes for a good companion plant does not mean all of them do. It's like saying that because some Acacias contain DMT, all of them do, while the reality is probably that they are a vast minorty.

Is there any evidence to suggest that Native Americans planted those two together because beans are a nitrogen-fixer? Corn is often planted alongside beans as it gives something for the beans to climb up.

Alright, I'm really not sure what we are arguing about? I never claimed all nitrogen fixing plants are good companion plants? Just provided an observation that my caapi plants were happier near NFT than away from them.

Why would a nitrogen fixing tree would need to be mulched to release nitrogen into the soil? Bacteria don't live forever and I have observed many times nodules to recede, vanish, move etc especially on Mimosa in Winter. I remember fertilising my caapi precisely once in 3 years and yet it was a huge green machine.

As for your request for me to provide evidence of a biological phenom as proof of reasoning for a millennia old agriculture technique, don't you think that's a bit much? I do know many Native American tribes grew more than one kind of climbing bean, but generally only companion planted one kind, so the pole shape of the corn is obviously not the only reason.

[tripsis]

It is inevitable that some roots will eventually die and break down, releasing some of the stored nitrogen into the soil, but that is not the aim of the plant. Just like deciduous plants withdraw the chlorophyll before winter, I would expect that where possible N-fixing plants would withdraw any available nitrogen in root nodules if a root was dying.

It's interesting that the Native Americans only companion plants pole beans. It's probably a good example of a decent companion plant.

[apothecary]

It's interesting that the Native Americans only companion plants pole beans. It's probably a good example of a decent companion plant.

Sorry, I must have mistyped that you misinterpreted me. What I meant was each tribe only companion plants one sort of bean with their corn even though they grow other beans. It does differ between tribes largely depending on the locale.

[MindExpansion]

Have heard from my mate doing a bio sciences course that they were told plants will often release hormones when they are too close to other plants to make them grow tall, thinking that they are in a competitive envorinment where outgrowing your neighbour gives you the light to keep you alive. Unsure of the extent of this practice but its interesting nonetheless.

Peace