your title.. you mean what 'media' .. i agree on the cactus mix.. or if you have some mini bark chunks around.. just mix 50% with high peat mix.. and make your own ... ken

Well given your list of things here is what I would do. 1) I don't think you'll have enough of the potting mix to fill all your pots even though they are relatively small and personally I don't care to use compost in containers as it doesn't drain as well. But I guess you'll have to in order to stretch the mix. So mix the MG and the compost together well and fill up to 1" from the top as many of the pots as you can. You may only have enough to fill 4 pots. Wet it well, compress it gently, and add more mix if needed. Mix into each pot 1 cup of the EB Stone SureStart fertilizer. Mix it in well and plant 1 plant in each pot. Plant it deeply. 2) You don't mention the variety names so I don't know if they are indet. or det. varieties so you will just have to add stakes or support for them as needed. For that size pot I hope they are determinate varieties. 3) I don't see a liquid fertilizer - at least none I recognize - on your list except for the fish oil but some is needed so use that. Once a week when you water the plants include a 1/2 strength dose of it. Nutrients leach out of the pot every time you water so they have to be replaced regularly. 4) AVOID OVER-WATERING. Get used to sticking your finger deep into the soil to see if it is cool and damp. If it is don't water. As the plants grow and the weather gets hotter they wlll need increased watering, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day in such small containers, but the tendency is to water too much so take care. 5) Use the Thuricide (BT-K) for any hornworms or caterpillars you see on the plants but only IF you see them. Use the Capt. Jacks per label directions for any other pests. But FIRST make sure they really are a pest. Just because you see a bug on the plant doesn't automatically mean you have to spray something. Watch it, see if it is alone or has friends, is it just passing through or staying to eat, and what is it eating the leaves, the fruit or the bad bugs. :) 6) Use the FungOil and or the Seranade for any fungus diseases IF they develop. At first sign use it regularly as neither works well as a preventative but will slow it down. If you avoid hosing down the plant (water at the soil level only) and make sure it has good air circulation around it you can reduce the odds of getting Early Blight or Septoria the 2 most common. 7) After the plant sets its first fruit do a side dressing using the Master Nursery Tomato/Vegetable Food 5-10-10 or the Tomato Tone. Lay a 2" wide band of it (about 1 cup full) in a circle around the inside rim of the pot and work it gently into the top 3-4" of the soil. Repeat that 6 weeks later. After that the weekly dose of fish oil should be enough. Please know up front that this is far from ideal but based on the info you have provided it should work fairly well IMO. Dave

They will be fine. The vegetable mix just has some added nutrients, which the hydrangeas won't mind at all. You do need to be cautious about amending individual planting holes. The recommendation is not to, as it creates pockets of highly enriched soil within regular garden soil and that can affect how easily the roots will spread and establish and how well water moves through the soil profile. And it can creates overly wet pockets (known as the bathtub effect) if you do so in poorly draining clay or heavy soils and that can lead to root rots and other fungal diseases. If you feel you need to amend, do so over the largest possible area, not individual planting holes.

I planted my poncirus trifoliata in a spot of pure clay orange and yellowish color. I dug the hole and let the clay dry out so I could break it up and powder it. the dirt was that hard. I placed the tree in the hole with the root base to trunk 6 inches above the surface and poured the clay bits and dust into the hole to cover the roots. I toped it with compost. The tree settled in it pure clay habitat and has been doing fine over th past 3 years. Plant your tree in the exact type of soil that is in the ground. You can provide compost and mulch over the surface and let the earth worms work it into the soil. 6b Steve