From experience... Mix the UCGs with some of the mulch then leave it be. The worms will make their way up to eat it hence aerating the soil for you. You can remove a bit of the mulch and lay it back on top to provide a bit of shelter for them but it's not necessary. If spread to thick, UCGs may dry out and actually repel water, but if mixed this will not happen. Also, if you do this just before a rainfall or watering, again, less chance of the repelling factor kicking in. You are in a zone 8 so using plastic to warm things up for the worms is futile. They are already active in your soil and with time will come up to do their job - or your job for you. I have been gardening using UCGs as my main 'green' source in the compost for a few years. I bring home about 250 lbs. of wet UCGs weekly. Some of it is used in the compost, some on the lawn, and the rest is used to make mulch for the gardens which I apply year round. The mulch is basically a mixture of UCGs, shredded leaves, and pine needles. Here's a photo of a garden just mulched with the mix. As you can clearly see, the addition of UCGs to the gardens has no ill effect. :O) I do this yearly to keep the weeds down but also used to have crappy soil which now is kept up to par with this simple addition. If caffeine was detrimental to the gardens, I would have a major problem but I believe that most of the caffeine is probably removed from the UCGs in the brewing process so in essence it never is there to create a problem in the gardens. There was not a shrub nor a flower on this property when we bought it in late 2001. The lawn was yellow by mid-June. Following is a photo taken in 2003.

Water uptake and therefore nutrient uptake is energy driven, i.e. it takes energy to absorb water and nutrients, and the roots need oxygen to turn the carbs the plant makes (its food) into energy - just like you do. When your plants wilt while the soil is still damp and the problem persists more than a day or 2, you can be almost 100% certain it's a root problem - probably related to excess water retention and the dearth of oxygen that comes along with it. Roots are opportunists - they don't/can't "go looking" for water, air, and nutrients, they simply grow where conditions are favorable ...... and don't grow where they aren't. In your case, the roots are probably growing deeper into the pot when the water supply is at its lowest, then dying back again when you water. The cycle of death and regeneration of roots not only impairs root function, it's very expensive in terms of energy outlay as well. What it takes to regenerate roots killed by a lack of air might have been spent on things more productive - like an increase in plant mass, blooms, fruit ...... Your soil choice has a very significant impact on how easy/difficult success is going to be, and on how wide the margin for grower error is. My take on what constitutes a good soil, at a minimum, is one you can water to beyond the point of saturation, i.e. until at least 15-20% of the total volume of water applied exits the drain, carrying accumulating salts with it, this, without the grower having to worry about root rot or impaired root function. In most cases, the inability to water correctly also prevents you from being able to institute a nutritional supplementation plan that works well because nutrient ratios quickly become skewed if you can't hit the 'reset button' by flushing the soil regularly. Dennis is right about tight little root balls, too. If I get sets that have congested roots, I rip the bottom half of the roots off the plant and use as nylon pick to tease the remaining roots apart before the set gets planted. I also remove the lower leaves of the sets and plant very deep if in a pot, and deep and at about a 30* angle if they get planted in the ground. Often, roots allowed to remain in a tight little wad end up staying in a tight little wad with the plant suffering for it, and that's something you want to avoid. Roughing up the roots actually sends chemical messengers to the rest of the plant, telling it it needs to direct energy to the root mass. Plus, the closer roots are trimmed to the stem, the more juvenile and vigorous they are (look up 'ontogenetic age'), so make sure the roots are going to be able to easily colonize your soil mass by correcting congestion before planting and using an appropriate soil. Al

Just a point to keep in mind: A rootball whether b&b or out of a container is already different from the soil you are planting in. The question then becomes whether it is best to be in that very small isolated soil root ball or a larger one you create by ammending the hole. I'm not telling you it is, just thinking about it. It makes perfect sense that two soils of different structures is not going to have the same type of exchange as if it were all consistent. That does not make it inherently wrong. There is enough situations and experiences listed in the 50 posts above to make us all realize one thing. That is that this soil interface is one situation in the dynamics of what it is to make one individual plant survive in its individual circumstance. Factors outside of this soil interface sometimes overide it. There is no definitive across the board answer. It is case by case.

Vap, they are so huge. It's been raining so bad here. I took quick pics of them. I heard they are really expensive Bec of their size and I bought 10 . I know I drop his ball into the pot since I was playing with him. This is L. D Braithewait rose that is over 2 feet tall. I can't put anymore in ground Bec it takes too much time digging. So many underground roots and my back is shot. So, I postponed in ground roses until I hired someone to basically scoop the ground..if you know what I meant. It is too much for me . It has design all round the pot. It is heavy duty plastic pots that won't get overheated like clay pots or ceramic. I choose this Bec of our weather and heat. Vap, I hope I answered your question. I don't know how many gallons Bec I am so clueless. I will try to inquire the size since I am off like 5 days ( requested). Carol, I am so happy but it is just luck I think....lol. You know so much more :) Jin