hey song I wish I could find out who started the idea that adding rocks to the bottom of the pot helps drainage. I mean simple physics answers that question. The smaller particles of soil will always fill the voids causing the perched water to be no different essentially than using the soil only. It bothers me that places still send that as instructions. Anyways I would get rid of that soon. Granite grit is chicken feed. The size for the gritty i believe is #2, could be wrong there. You can find Manna Pro chicken grit at Tractor supply stores. Look at some of you landscape supply stores for Turface. Ewing irrigation and some John deere stores have it. If you have no luck with that go to some of your local baseball and softball complexes and ask them. 99% of all baseball and softball field maintenance crews use it to dry the fields. They could help you find it. You want Turface MVP. Also there is a Napa Auto parts floor dry that is a good substitute for Turface. It has a specific part number youll get but I dont remember it. Search the forums and it should pop up. Mike

A large 5-gallon bucket with water like Mike said works best for me. Let it sit in there for a while, and then slowly swirl it around until soil falls away. You want to keep as many of the fragile roots as possible.

Getting the pH right is important before you spend good money on fertilizer. If the pH is too high the micros will get tied up in the soil as metal oxides or carbonates and never become available to the plant (unless they are chelated, and alkaline soils require special chelators) If you know what is causing the high pH you might be able to treat it more effectively? Also pine needles or bark will eventually cause the soil to become more acidic. That aside you can use dilute phosphoric acid which provides soluble phosphorous to your plant, or you could use elemental sulfur which will slowly and safely acidify your soil. Also you could try ferrous or aluminum sulfate both which can quickly and less safely decrease the pH. If you have some vinegar you could dilute that when watering. However vinegar will not provide any nutrients to the plant, however this is both inexpensive and convenient if you have vinegar on hand. If you are worried about this in the future you could try soaking your potting mix in an acidic solution overnight to neutralize/acidify any alkaline components before you repot into it of course your should allow it to dry out and water with neutral water first so as to not expose the plant to acid directly. Good Luck, Mick

Laura, any success thus far and down the line is mostly a result of everything I've learned from first, the people on the Container forum (Al and others), who taught me how to make my own mix, and from you and others--John, Mike, Vlad, and more--here on the Citrus forum, who inspired me to take another chance on a Meyer and have given me the knowledge I need to care for it. I've wanted a Meyer, and roses, for so many years, but felt it was impossible here; my first Meyer, some 4 years ago, was miserable almost from the start and died--I didn't know what to do for it and was terrified to re-pot it. I would never have had the nerve before to mix my own planting mix, or to bare-root a tree when re-potting, for example, and I've done it now with all my formerly sad potted roses and my two new citrus, thus far with great results! I've read both forums for days (mostly nights) at a time! and admired your beautiful healthy citrus trees--yours are gorgeous!--and learned so much from your experience. I hadn't gardened in years, and I have a very small very challenging spot, but these forums (also Antique Rose forum, where I'm spending a lot of time now) are the reason I am gardening now. My dreary little space is already transformed, since April, with herbs, strawberries, blooming and budding roses, flowering/scented perennials, and my citrus trees, and already I find many bees and butterflies visiting. It's incredibly rewarding and a great little retreat for me. THANK YOU ALL for your inspiration and help! Sheba