A good substrate creates the right balance between air, water, structure and nutrition around the roots.

The most important factors are airflow, moisture retention, structure, particle size, drainage and nutrition.

There is no universal substrate that is ideal for every indoor plant. A Monstera with thick roots, an Anthurium with finer roots, an Alocasia in a self-watering pot and an epiphytic orchid all require different balances of moisture and oxygen.

The substrate should therefore be chosen around how the roots actually grow.

Because PlantScraper develops substrates around the root system and growing method, not simply around a list of ingredients.

Our approach is based on defined volumetric recipes, purposeful particle sizes, premium components, grower-controlled nutrition, quality control, mixing and packing by our team in Prague and laboratory analysis during product development.

The objective is not to put as many ingredients as possible into a bag. It is to create the right physical environment around the roots.

• Essential aroid mix: balanced, airy everyday mix for Philodendrons, Epipremnums, Syngoniums and many other aroids.
• Supreme aroid mix: includes New Zealand tree fern fibre for additional fibrous structure and moisture distribution.
• Monstera mix: deliberately chunky, built around large roots and substantial air spaces.
• Anthurium mix: balances moisture retention with a highly open structure.
• Alocasia mix: designed for consistent moisture while maintaining strong aeration.
• Hoya mix: bark-rich and highly structured.
• Orchid mix: very open epiphytic mix built around bark, coco, tree fern fibre and sphagnum.
• Cactus and succulent mix: mineral-dominant and highly draining.
• Fine seeding mix: finer structure for seedlings, cuttings and developing roots.
• Mineral substrate mix: available in fine and chunky grades.
• Moss pole filling mix: designed for aerial roots growing inside moss poles.

We publish our recipes because composition and proportions matter.

Essential aroid mix

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

Supreme aroid mix

• 30% bioactive growing medium
• 15% small pine bark
• 30% chunky perlite
• 10% washed and buffered coco husk chips
• 15% New Zealand tree fern fibre

Monstera mix

• 25% bioactive growing medium
• 30% large pine bark
• 30% chunky perlite
• 10% coco husk chips
• 5% New Zealand tree fern fibre

Anthurium mix

• 25% bioactive growing medium
• 10% small pine bark
• 10% large pine bark
• 25% chunky perlite
• 15% coco husk chips
• 15% New Zealand tree fern fibre

Alocasia mix

• 30% bioactive growing medium
• 10% small pine bark
• 30% chunky perlite
• 20% coco husk chips
• 10% New Zealand tree fern fibre

Hoya mix

• 20% bioactive growing medium
• 40% small pine bark
• 5% large pine bark
• 25% chunky perlite
• 10% coco husk chips

Orchid mix

• 40% large pine bark
• 25% coco husk chips
• 15% New Zealand tree fern fibre
• 10% sphagnum moss
• 10% perlite

Cactus and succulent mix

• 30% bioactive growing medium
• 60% fine mineral mix
• 10% perlite

Fine seeding mix

• 35% bioactive growing medium
• 15% New Zealand tree fern fibre
• 50% perlite

Moss pole filling mix

• 33.3% sphagnum moss
• 33.3% coco husk chips
• 33.4% large pine bark

This makes it possible to understand what is around the roots instead of relying on an unspecified blend.

Because calling all three plants "aroids" does not mean their root systems behave identically.

Monstera mix is built around substantial roots and large air spaces.

Anthurium mix balances moisture retention, aeration and fibrous material.

Alocasia mix provides more consistent access to moisture while maintaining oxygen around the roots.

The plant name on the bag is not the important part. The root architecture behind the formula is.

Both are available as Premium aroid mix, but they are built for slightly different priorities.

Essential combines bioactive growing medium, pine bark, chunky perlite and coco husk chips for a versatile balance of airflow, drainage and moisture retention.

Supreme adds New Zealand tree fern fibre, creating a more fibrous environment with additional moisture distribution around the roots.

Choose Essential for a highly aerated everyday aroid mix. Choose Supreme when you want a more advanced fibrous structure.

PlantScraper separates two things that are often bundled together: the substrate your roots grow in and the fertilisation programme you choose for the plant.

Our mixes are supplied without added long-term fertiliser. This does not mean they are nutrient-free. Substrate ingredients can naturally contain and release both macro and micronutrients. What we deliberately avoid is adding a predetermined fertiliser programme to the bag and deciding in advance what every plant should receive for the following months.

That distinction matters.

Different plants, growing environments and stages of growth can require very different feeding strategies. Light intensity, temperature, watering frequency, substrate volume, plant maturity and the fertiliser already being used can all affect how much nutrition a plant actually needs.

By keeping fertilisation separate from the substrate, growers can choose:

• which nutrients they want to provide
• which fertiliser formulation they want to use
• the concentration
• the feeding frequency
• when to increase, reduce or stop feeding

It also avoids combining an unknown quantity of pre-added fertiliser with a separate feeding programme, making nutrition easier to understand and adjust.

Our approach to the substrate itself is equally transparent. We publish the volumetric composition of our mixes, formulate substrates for different plant groups, and make many of the individual components available separately. You can see what is around the roots, understand why each component is there and adjust the mix if your growing conditions require it.

PlantScraper is built around a clear principle: the substrate should provide the physical and biological root environment, while fertilisation should remain a deliberate and adjustable decision.

For growers who want to understand and control root aeration, moisture retention, substrate structure and plant nutrition independently, this provides substantially more flexibility than having those decisions predetermined inside one bag.

Because once long-term fertiliser is incorporated into a mineral substrate, the grower has less control over the feeding programme.

Plant requirements change with light, temperature, season, plant size, growth rate, water quality, species and growing method.

PlantScraper mineral substrate mix is therefore deliberately supplied without added fertiliser.

The substrate provides the physical root environment. You decide the nutrition.

The main difference is particle size and the resulting balance between water movement and air space.

Fine Mineral Mix, approximately 2 to 8 mm

• Greater contact between particles
• Stronger capillary movement
• Better suited to smaller or finer root systems
• Particularly useful for Alocasias and self-watering systems

Chunky Mineral Mix, approximately 8 to 16 mm

• Larger spaces between particles
• Greater root-zone aeration
• Better suited to substantial root systems
• Particularly useful for Monsteras and other large aroids

Both are available from the mineral substrate mix product. Fine prioritises capillary movement. Chunky prioritises open structure.

The name of an ingredient tells you very little by itself. Grade, particle size, processing and consistency matter.

• Chunky perlite: low-dust European perlite selected to create substantial air spaces
• Coco husk chips: washed and buffered, screened to approximately 10 to 15 mm and specified at an EC below 0.5 mS/cm
• Tree fern fibre: New Zealand tree fern fibre
• Sphagnum moss: premium Chilean long-fibre sphagnum
• Orchiata Power Plus: matured New Zealand Pinus radiata bark
• Mineral substrate: pumice, lava and zeolite in fine and chunky grades

A good substrate is not created by using exotic ingredients. It is created by using appropriate ingredients in appropriate proportions and particle sizes.

Orchiata Power Plus is a premium New Zealand Pinus radiata bark designed for long-term horticultural use.

Our Power Plus grade is approximately 12 to 18 mm.

• Air-filled porosity of approximately 50 to 54%
• Water-holding capacity of approximately 56.8%
• pH of approximately 5.5 to 6.5
• EC below 0.3 mS/cm
• Dolomite treatment during processing
• Ready to use without washing or soaking

It can be used alone for suitable orchids or added to custom mixes for airflow, structure and long-term stability.

Yes.

PlantScraper sells many of the same components used throughout our finished substrate range separately, including Orchiata bark, coco husk chips, chunky perlite, tree fern fibre, sphagnum moss and mineral substrate.

This allows experienced growers to adjust moisture retention, particle size, aeration, organic content, mineral content and capillary movement.

There is no universal perfect recipe. The best custom mix is the one that matches your plant, pot, watering habits and growing environment.

Use sphagnum moss when maximum moisture retention and capillary movement are the priority.

Use moss pole filling mix when you want a more open and structured medium.

PlantScraper Moss Pole Mix contains 33.3% sphagnum moss, 33.3% coco husk chips and 33.4% large pine bark.

Whichever medium you choose, avoid packing it too tightly. Aerial roots need moisture, oxygen and space to grow.

Laboratory analysis forms part of our substrate development and quality validation.

Selected finished mixes and individual raw materials are analysed for parameters including pH, electrical conductivity, moisture, dry matter, organic matter and selected elemental parameters.

Natural substrate ingredients can vary between batches, so this does not mean every individual bag will produce an identical laboratory result.

It means our substrate development is informed by measured data alongside practical growing experience, rather than formulation based only on appearance or ingredient lists.