Why/how are the repots of plants grown in gritty mix easier if it's likely you have to repot even more frequently than you would with a standard potting mix? Hi, M - The roots don't get intertwined with the peat fibers & the larger pieces of grit and bark fall easily off of the roots. You usually need to comb the soil out a little, or use a root pick, which is nothing more than a tool shaped like a pencil. Chopsticks work very well. I can repot most plants under 5 gallons in the gritty mix in 30-45 minutes. That includes cleaning the soil from the roots, selectively pruning the roots, preparing the pot/container, adding all new soil, securing the plant in the pot, and getting it soaking in a root stimulant. I usually use the saw (on left) to cut off the bottom 1/3-1/2 of the root mass; then use the root rake, which is next to the saw, to remove most of the soil. You can use a coarse comb or just the root pick, which is what I use to tease old soil particles out of any stubborn pockets formed by the roots. Would using an organic liquid fertilizer (versus soil amendments) eliminate the possible negative effect on 'high air porosity? It would help. You wouldn't be dealing with the soil amendments (like various meals and such) clogging up the soil's macro-pores (which was what I focused on when deciding on how to build the soil) but you still have the organic component of what you're applying for nutrients feeding and increasing populations of the soil organisms that break down the 1/3 organic component of the soil. This is not near as large a consideration, though, as it would be in a peat-based soil, or even the 5:1:1 mix. The reason is that there is still a 2/3 mineral component in the soil that remains unaffected by biotic activity and is enough to sustain porosity, even in the face of a collapsing organic component. The gritty mix is durable enough that it almost never 'wears out'. Plants generally become severely rootbound and in dire need of a full repot long before the gritty mix has seen the end of a useful life. I'm not attempting to change your ideology when I suggest you try the mix in a side-by-side comparison of non-food plantings, using a chemical soluble fertilizer like Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 on half of the plantings, with the other half supplemented with your program of choice. If your set against the idea - that's fine, but I think it would be enlightening.

Desertdenial, I feel like I'm hijacking this thread but at least I responded to the original line of query. Sorry. The Royals are deep green with a couple of fronds 'drying out' as nutrients are spent (older ones, which is normal for palms). They are a little older now and have started to grow trunks. You just have to get them throught the first two years with cold protection. On the other hand, if you really are in 8b, you will have some trouble with them. They say 28 degrees is their limit but that depends on duration, etc. In the winter, I string Christmas lights on them as a precaution (I'm not in the warmest area, but not the coldest either) and I treated them with Anti-transpirant (Anti-stress) this season which seems to work really well for palms but not for much else (1st season I have used it) as I have discovered. Foxtails are doing well. I have them on a north wall with eastern exposure along with the rest of my palms. It is the 'coldest' part of my yard though. They are more sensitive than the Royals when young despite what you might have read but 'toughen up' as they get older (like everything else, really). I would agree that they need AM and early PM sun and shade from late afternoon sun. Foxtails are doing well and grow under the filtered canopy of the Royals. I saw one in full blasting sun at Paddock on Thomas Road in Phoenix a while back, but it isn't the best looking one. Some mulch would probably help (hint, hint, Paddock!). For the record, I don't expect my Traveler's tree to look like that beauty in Tahiti (if it lives). Wow! Good luck with the Royals. You first frond may come out yellowish from cold damage but then the ones after will be OK if they come back. Remember lots of water and small doses of monthly fertizer in the warm months. A few good doses of superthrive might help too. I hope they recover for you and wish you best success!

I've never rooted any, but wild blueberries/vaccinum elliotti grow all over my wooded property, and I've thought about trying it in the past. Your post has reminded me about it, so I think I'll try it. The bushes here are putting out new growth, so I think I'll wait until later in the spring and get a semi-hardwood cutting - that's what usually works best for me. I've successfully rooted cultivated blueberries before - hopefully, wild ones will be as easy. I'll try to remember this thread and get back with you with the results. Sherry

Isabella...I'm glad to know you haven't had winter burn, and you are in a zone colder then me. I hope I can say the same next spring. :-) I've seen the rainbow and it is very attractive. If this one works out for me, I may try that one too. Ego...I do have the Butterfly bush that gets leggy and that is one reason I want to add it there. I am just hoping it won't be too much sun for it. Right now, the angle that the sun is in the sky with all the large Silver Maples around my yard, there is no sun there after 12 noon to 1pm. I'm not sure how much winter sun it will receive. I hadn't thought of using it that way for other broadleaf evergreens too. Good idea! Thank you both!