Okay, here’s my blog post about my “ficus audrey soil” experience, written in a casual, personal style:
So, I’ve got this Ficus Audrey, right? Beautiful plant, but it was starting to look a little… sad. Droopy leaves, not much new growth. I figured it was probably the soil – I hadn’t repotted it since I got it, like, a year ago. Oops!
First, I gathered my stuff. I already know some basics. You can’t just use any old dirt for these guys. They need something that drains well, or their roots will rot.
My potting mix recipe:
- Regular potting mix, the cheap kind from the garden center.
- Some perlite, to make it drain better.
- A bit of orchid bark, it help with drainage.
- Also, a little bit of worm castings, because, why not? Extra nutrients!
I mixed all that stuff up in a big bucket. I didn’t measure anything precisely, I just eyeballed it. Like, maybe 50% potting mix, 25% perlite, 15% orchid bark, and a 10% handful of worm castings. It looked chunky and loose, which is what I was going for.
Then came the scary part: getting the Audrey out of its old pot. It was pretty root-bound, meaning the roots were all tangled up and circling the bottom. I gently tugged and wiggled, and finally, it popped out. The old soil was super compacted, almost like a brick. No wonder the poor thing was struggling!
I loosened up the roots with my fingers, trying not to break too many. Then I put a layer of my new soil mix in the bottom of the new pot (which was just a bit bigger than the old one, nothing crazy). I set the Audrey in, filled in around the sides with more soil, and patted it down gently.
Finally, I gave it a good watering until water started draining out the bottom. And that was it!
Now, I wait. It’s been a couple of weeks, and the Audrey already looks happier. The leaves are perking up, and I even see some tiny new growth!
Fingers crossed it keeps thriving in its new, airy soil!
