Anyone who follows the Container Gardening board here knows that much of the discussion about pine bark fines is regarding where to find the damn stuff. Obviously it is not easy to find for most people, and it is not available in most big box stores. The pine bark mulch sold in most big box stores is not fines. Most the discussion on the Container gardening forum stems from the fact that most people don't even know what they are looking for, even know what bark fines are despite all the info available about them on the web. And yes I know that the bags of pine mulch sold in the big box stores is not the same thing. Pine bark fines are not sold outside in the mulches section. They are sold inside the section devoted to starting seeds and growing plants. In the Lowe's here, just there yesterday, they are inside on the shelves next to the exotic plants section where the big containers, container plants, cactus mix, the violet mix, the perlite, vermiculite, decorative container gravel etc. is located. At Home Depot, in both of them here, they are just outside the door into the gardening section (not with the bags of mulches), the section on the shelves next to the super sized containers and the similar exotic soils and mixes. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Pine bark fines pics compared to pine bark mulch

How the soil is labeled is pretty inconsequential. What it's made from is also a distant consideration except that it should be made from components that will insure the soil retains its structure for as long as your intended interval between repots. The most important considerations are how well it drains and how much air it holds. These two properties will be found in an inverse relationship in soils, though there a few things you can to to increase water-holding ability w/o compromising aeration too much. So yes, you can use it of course. If you think it will fit the plants needs, there's no reason you cannot use it just because it's labeled "Cactus Soil". Nutrients are also a very minor consideration. You add the nutrients with your fertilizing program as the plant requires them. If your plant is not too large, I'll send you some soil that will be a very good choice for your Ficus e. Just contact me off forum. PS - it's pretty early to be thinking about repotting your tree. In your zone, early July is the best time. Al

Petrushka that information was so helpful! Thanks so much for taking a look at the link for the soil mix and weighing in. I went ahead and ordered three bags of it based on your assessment. I have three 3-foot plastic window boxes that I will place side by side across the ledge. They will definitely be heavy once full, but the reservoir is refillable from the top so hopefully I can just use a watering can to do that and it won't be necessary to move them. The ledge is simply a visual divider between by living room and dining room which both have 2-story ceilings, so there will be open space on both sides of the planters as well as lots of open space above them. While I know I'm pushing my luck with 12 feet between them and a light source, there are large windows on both sides of the ledge (a large one in the dining room and two on the opposite wall in the living room), so at least they will have light coming in from both directions. There is also a very large wall-sized mirror on my dining room wall adjacent to that window, and my walls and ceiling are a pale cream color so that all helps reflect natural light and make the room a little brighter. To give you a better idea of how much light I'm working with, throughout the day it stays light enough near the ledge that one could read comfortably without switching a light on, but there are never any spots of concentrated light on the walls at any time during the day... It is all very filtered (and dim enough to feel slightly gloomy, so I always have lamps on when I'm in there even though I can see fine without them.) After doing some more research I'm now leaning toward buying Philodendron hederaceum (which I had thought was called Philodendron scandens until I read more of that very informative blog you linked to!) instead of the Syngonium I originally asked about. The sunlight issue is my biggest concern at this point, but I've been encouraged by several anecdotes about P hederaceum thriving in conditions even dimmer than mine, so I'll give it a shot (and probably have my husband remove the solar screen from the dining room window for an extra light boost). Cautiously optimistic!

Jef, As a fellow Amazon addict, I feel your pain. The answer is: "not really." There is, but you'll pay out the nose. Pine bark fines are going on Amazon for $11/quart. Offline, I get that at my local chain nursery here in Los Angeles for $3.99/1.5 cubic feet. So that's almost 1/3x the price for 44x more product. Interestingly enough, this product actually looks rather similar in composition to a 5-1-1-1 mix (it has Turface), but again is overpriced: http://www.amazon.com/Eves-Special-Canadian-Perlite-Turface/dp/B00VAQ3RNK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435781535&sr=8-1&keywords=bonsai+soil+bark. You're anti-mixing (and frankly, I was too) but if you want a quick draining soil, you're going to have to end up amending any bagged product regardless. That Eve's mix product looks surprisingly good, though if I were you, I'd pick up some potting mix from whichever nursery is nearest you in NYC, along with some fine-grade orchid bark (any nursery will have this in stock) and perlite.