"Well it was that time of year when some of my babies needed extra love... I repotted with the grow pole blend, it's great, it's chunky, holds moisture but still drains beautiful, I'm a very happy plant mummy and so are the plants, win win." Pip Hyde

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Where has this been all my life?! Okay, that's a bit dramatic. But it's long overdue that some clever clogs created a mix made just for grow poles. Especially one this good. It not only puts your plant's needs first, giving aerial roots the same support as soil roots, but also transforms grow poles from high to low maintenance, and makes grow poles look gorgeous too. There's a lot to love. 

 Who is Wildvine? 

Also on my list of things to love, is the creator, Kate from Wildvine. Not just because she's cured my grow pole pains, but also because she's a fellow Kiwi planty business owner and we've shared our small business ups and downs together from the start.

You might know Kate from YouTube or already be one of her 15 thousand+ followers on Instagram (if you're not, you should be). I love that she took on the challenge to make grow poles healthier for our plants, and lower maintenance for all kiwi houseplant hobbyists. Thank you Kate!  

Wildvine Grow Pole Blend available in:
2 litres and 6 litres (this size).  

 Which plants is this mix best for? 

This is a soil-free grow pole mix made for rainforest epiphytes that naturally get their climb on in nature. This is the one that you want for Monstera, Philodendron, Pothos, Scindapsus, Syngonium, Epipremnum and similar to help them reach their full potential. 

 Which poles is this mix best for? 

All your moss poles that you'd otherwise fill with substrates like spag moss or fern fibre. Think brands like Canopy, Grow Vertical, Our Gentle Garden, Thiccly and similar.      

 How much do you need to fill a pole? 

A medium pole (around 40cms tall), will need around 1.5 litres of Wildvine Grow Pole Blend. That's if you fill the pole to the top. There's also the method where you fill the pole only to the current height of the plant, and top the pole up with more substrate as your plants grows taller.

So 2 litres will fill 1 to 2 medium grow poles, and 6 litres would fill 4 to 5 medium grow poles. Of course that's just a guide as how high you fill will change that, plus different brands have different volumes.  

 What makes this blend so good for filling grow poles? 

MAKES POLES LOW MAINTENANCE 

Until this blend came along, most of my poles were just filled with spag moss. Great for my plants, but so high maintenance for me. This custom blend provides increased slow-release moisture retention for reduced watering frequency without sacrificing oxygen for roots. And if it does dry out, it resists becoming hydrophobic like spag moss can. If you've ever had to water a crispy spag moss pole, you'll know the hassle and mess when water just bounces off and goes everywhere! 

MINIMAL FALL OUT

 
The carefully balanced ratio between chunky and fibrous ingredients means the substrates mesh together beautifully to help avoid pole fall out. I do love a pole filled with fern fibre, but I really don't love the high fall out. What a mess. The short-strand spagmoss and fern fibre hold on to the horticultural bark and chunky perlite. It's actually a joy to fill a pole with this blend. 

HEALTHIER ROOTS, HEALTHIER PLANTS

This blend gives aerial roots the same love and support as soil roots. Large-grade horticultural orchid bark and chunky perlite increases oxygen for healthier roots with plenty of space for aerial roots to get in.

Roots LOVE spag moss AND fern fibre. With this blend you don't have to choose. Now you can give your plants the best of both without the downsides of each by itself. The horticultural orchid bark emulates the natural surfaces aerial roots adhere to and climb up in the wild. And when it comes time to upgrade your pole, or propagate your plant, aerial roots are SO much easier to remove from this mix than they are with poles filled only with spag moss (what a pain that can be!). 

NZ MADE AND SUSTAINABLE

Wildvine Grow Pole Blend is not just hand-blended, fresh in small batches by a fellow NZ small business owner, but also made with a focus on sustainably sourced NZ ingredients from NZ companies. There's Fernwood's sustainably sourced NZ fern fibre. NZ spag moss, also from sustainable, renewable sources. And world-famous Kiwi Orchid Bark from raw, un-aged, sustainable Pinus Radiata plantations right here in NZ.  

 Storage 

I prefer to buy only what I need and use it fresh, but if you have any mix leftover, shift it into a sealed container to extend the life and retain all that natural organic goodness for as long a possible. Best stored inside at room temperature in low'ish humidity and out of direct sun.