I have a bale of chc's that was graciously provided by a friend that I haven't tried yet, so I have to refrain from offering much in the way of comment until I do. Sapwood shavings are a poor choice for container soils, They break down quickly (search this forum using "suberized" or "suberin" w/o the quotes for info on why bark is better) and tie up N excessively. Yes, the mix I use is light in weight to begin with and holds much less H2O than almost any commercially prepared mixes. Wishing you lots of success. ;o) Al

I am at at Tim Horton's parking lot (free WiFi) so that I can get on my macbook to find a thread in the Hosta forum somewhere that could help me remember exactly what size pine to use in my media for my pots. Well, lo and behold I found this perfect thread and I thought it could use a 'bump' for this season considering there have been media questions. Anyway, now I can go back into Canadian Tire feeling confident that I will buy the right stuff. You should have seen the young lads face when I couldn't decide what to buy and I told him that I would be back after I visited my forum and asked my hosta friends :) Again...thanks so much to all of you really experienced folks who share your knowledge with the rest of us!

Bruce, I was just reading your post in this thread. You mention screening out the particles less than 1/8". BE CAREFUL!! Remember you NEED at least some fraction of those particles in the 1/16" - 1/8" range for the mix to bind (and for retention). My mix calls for 1/2 part of bark in that range to be included, but that can be altered to increase the retention - if desired. Also, I'm seeing quite a bit of large diameter particles in your mix...beware of the ping pong balls dude! Are you passing it through a 1/2" mesh? If your product is comprised of too high of a concentration of larger particles...you may have to add another intermediate level of screening...say 1/4" to ensure that your larger pieces comprise only a moderate fraction of the total mix. Notice the amount of chips that are equal to or larger than your quarter? Quite a few, right? Notice mine. There are only a few pieces that are even half the size of the quarter. The more particles that you have in your mix that are similar, the better. You want to avoid too many large particles and too many small particles...the goldilocks zone is what your looking for....juuuuuust right. PJ

Container depth is an important factor in providing good drainage. Rhododendrons will adapt to the horizontal dimension of a container within reason. If you have to move the containers into another area for the winter, weight also becomes an important consideration. I would not want to be wrestling with an 18 inch by 18 inch oak wine barrel filled with moist planting medium. If there's easy access to the winter storage area and you can use a hand truck for the moving, things would be easier. I use the terra cotta colored Panterra plastic pots available from Greenhouse Mega Store.These are a pleasing shape, light in weight and last a long time. Don't be tempted by putting a small rhododendron in an overly large pot to save steps. Repot into a larger size in gradual increments. My largest rhododendrons are in 12 or 14 inch pots. These include r. cinnabarium, r. sanguineium and the beautiful hybrids, Coudburst and Orange Marmalade. Roots can be trimmed at repotting time when the plants need it. Good for their overall health and enables them to keep growing in a manageable sized pot. No vireyas. These would require too much artificial heat in the winter. Rhododendrons are kept in a lean-to greenhouse for the winter maintained at just above freezing. They are allowed to go dormant, as much as rhododendrons ever go truly dormant, outside before being moved in.