Dutch roses are simply the finest quality flowers available, and the Dutch growers have finally revealed the secrets of their success... they use Coconut Fiber for a growing medium instead of soil.

Coconut Fiber or Cocopeat, is a major step forward in organic soilfree potting mediums. It has the water retention of vermiculite, and the air retention of perlite. However, it is a completely organic medium made from ground up coconut husks! (see our feature on roots!)

Why are coconut husks the ideal potting medium? The coconut husk serves its seed in two important ways:
1. The husk protects the seed from the sun and salt while floating around the ocean.

2. Once it washes up on shore, the husk is a hormone rich, fungus free medium for germination and rooting. Ground up and sterilized, cocopeat offers plants the perfect rooting medium and protection against root diseases and fungus infestation. And unlike peat moss, which is rapidly becoming depleted from overuse, cocopeat is a completely renewable resource.

In this next section, we'll show you how to repot your favorite flowers in this incredible organic growing medium. The products we used are listed below:

Here's what you'll need to get started repotting your babies. If you don't have some of these supplies, we've provided links where to order them on our site at the end of this article.

• Your favorite flowers
• Your favorite flower pot
• A clean 1-2 gallon pail.
• Cocopeat organic soilfree medium (1 small brick expands into 2 gallons of soilfree medium)
• Expanded clay soilfree medium (enough to line your pot to a depth of 20% its height)
• High quality nutrient (suitable for soilfree or hydroponics gardening)

1. Begin by filling your pail with clean, lukewarm water which we will use to wash the soiloff your plants' roots. Carefully remove your plant from its rootbound container by turning over your old container above the pail of water. Gently squeeze the sides of the pot and work the plant and soil from the old container. After is comes free you will need to soak it in the pail to loosen soil around its roots. Gently use your fingers to loosen and remove all the loose soil.

Once the old soil has been cleaned out of the plant's roots, dump out the soiled water and refresh the pail with clean, lukewarm water. Let your plant soak in the clean water while you perform the next step.

2. Preparing your new planter requires that you line the bottom with a porous gravel material. Natural gravel is not porous enough, so we recommend expanded clay pellets, also known as Grorox. We prefer Grorox over regular pea gravel because the pieces are semi-porous and irregularly shaped, which maintains proper drainage and root zone aeration. Use the 20% rule, which means if your pot is 10" tall, you fill the bottom 20% or in that case 2" with Grorox.

3. The Cocopeat growing medium comes in dehydrated, compressed bricks. This method of shipping and storing Cocopeat protects it against infestation, mold and fungus, as well as cutting costs by decreasing its weight and size. You'll need to re-hydrate (soak) the bricks with a blend of water and soilfree nutrient. It is very important that you utilize a nutrient expressly designed for soilfree or hydroponic cultivation. Common fertilizers such as Miracle Grow® and Peter's® do not contain the micro nutrients and trace elements that a proper soilfree or hydroponic nutrient formulas contain. (For more information, see FG Nutrients)

Simply follow the directions on your nutrient label for the exact type of plants you are growing and mix one gallon for every brick of Cocopeat you need to re-hydrate. Simply let the brick(s) soak in a pail of nutrient solution for an hour and then break them up by hand. Mix in one handful of Grorox for every four handfuls of Cocopeat. (Cocopeat is so clean your hands need only be rubbed briskly together to remove it!)

4. Next, place your plants in the container and backfill around the roots with your Cocopeat/Grorox mixture. Be gentle and make sure you cover the roots completely. It's a good idea to pack the mix down with light pressure as you proceed.

5. Now that your plant is repotted, give it a good watering with the same nutrient solution you mixed up for step three. Allow it to drain through the bottom before carrying your plant or placing it in its new pot. We like to add a thin layer of Grorox to the top of the medium to keep out bugs and improve the look of the plantings.

After its ordeal, your plant will probably exhibit some mild shock symptoms. Don't worryif these symptoms include wilting and dropping leaves for a few days to a week. Keep it out of direct sunlight until it recovers. Once it's used to its new home and nutritional system, it will flourish like never before!

Additional Care: From here on out, you only need to water your plant with nutrient solution as described in step three. Always allow excess water to drain through your container. And that's it! You have now made your flowers very very happy because they will be getting the purest form possible of all they need to flourish.

Additional links of interest to readers of this story: