Please be careful not to turn my words around. I said, "I don't think you understand nutrition and soil science well enough yet to make the judgements you're making", which is quite different than insinuating you don't know what you're doing. Just because event B follows event A, is not necessarily evidence that A is the cause of B. Evidence, because so many have started and transplanted seedlings into the gritty mix and the 5:1:1 mix, strongly supports the idea that you're doing something wrong or inconsistent with a favorable outcome using a well-aerated soil, and I can say the same thing for Buzzsaw. I would be telling you the same thing, whether you were using MG soil, your own mixture, or any other soil. I have no idea how you made the soil, but if it contains ingredients other than the ones listed, it's not one of the soils I recommended. You mentioned coffee grounds in the soil. Here is something I left only a few days ago on the soil/composting forum: Forum discussions frequently center on the question of adding dilute coffee/tea or grounds to plants as a 'tonic', but Arabica (coffee) and Camellia (tea) are known for their toxic alkaloid (caffeine) content and their allelopathic affect on plants as well as autotoxic (poison to their own seedlings) effects on future generations. Caffeine interferes with root development by impairing protein metabolism. This affects activity of an important bio-compound (PPO) and lignification (the process of becoming woody), crucial steps for root formation. We also know that the tannins in both coffee and tea are known allelopaths (growth inhibitors). There are ongoing experiments to develop herbicides using extracts from both coffee and tea that cause me to want to say they might serve better as a nonselective herbicide than as a tonic. I would not use either (stale coffee or tea) by applying directly to my plants - especially containerized plants; nor would I add tea bags/coffee grounds to my container soils. It's entirely possible you've compromised your plants ability to grow to their potential via your inclusion of the coffee grounds or one of the other extras you're using. Al Here is a link that might be useful: The thread I quoted from

Well, many of you were right - who knows what will happen in 5 years - let alone the last couple of months. Plans have changed rather dramatically! We're now purchasing just under an acre to build a new house instead of renovating the existing one. If all goes well we will build in the next 12 months or so. We're very excited about the possibilities ahead of us! In anticipation of the extra space we will have we went to Magic Garden Roses in Healesville on the weekend and purchased La Minuette (the roses I carried at our wedding), Brandy, Angel Face, Maestro, Mister Lincoln and another whose name escapes me at the moment. If the land purchase falls through (it's subject to planning approval by the local council) I will plant these in our existing yard while we look for another block....or see what other changes come....

I can relate to that! :-) I've used so many different materials to make tags with over the years... and not many seem to weather well or hang in there when attached to branches, or stuck into pots, etc. The plastic ones become brittle after time, markers fade, and forget wooden stakes which just decay along with the mulch! I finally ended up, about 8 years ago, buying a roll of aluminium flashing and some suitable metal shears to cut pieces of it into the size(s) I wanted. I borrowed my husband's tool engraver and made some nice, serviceable tags. I drilled a small hole at one end with his Dreml tool on it's little drill press stand, then used long pieces of heavy gauge wire, more like some of the thinner welding type rod, (similar to your older coat hanger material), to bend into what are doubled loops at one end to hold the tag, and sink the other end into the soil next to the plant fairly deep. One could just buy those nice metal engrave-able tags, but they're very costly. The copper ones are nice, but again, they only come so many in one package and they cost an arm and a leg! I figured it would be better to make my own. I also use the welding rod-like wire to make stakes with loops that effectively hold the leaves and flower stalks of my Amaryllis bulbs more upright in their containers while they're blooming. Again, I can buy those... but the loops are always a little small for my application, or too big, or rather costly, and I end up having to cut off half the height, anyway. Most of the tags hung in there nicely... and many are probably still there, under what are now massive ramblers that have taken over fencing, or climbed the side of the house. On the west side, we have a massive Paul's Himalayan that has taken over part of the porch and a doggie door with an extension exit that was built onto the house to help mitigate dirt from paws and the entrance of cold winds, etc... and that moves right into a row of alternating Rugosa Rubra and Alba roses that run along a fenceline that contains a small herd of goats. The goats keep the roses trimmed on their side. :-) Those are the hips I use for making jelly with. They mix nicely with organic Fuji apples we grow elsewhere on the property. It's a farmette, you might say. Not big enough to label a full fledged farm, but not small enough to call a "city lot", either. My husband and I actually help care-take the property for its elderly owners, but we're reaching retirement, ourselves. We're very slowly paring down our material possessions and readying for a move to live with our son and his family. I plan on taking some nice rose starts with me, along with all the knowledge I've gained. We hope to live out in the country with our family, grow an organic garden and small orchard, and teach our grandchildren about self-sufficiency and living close to the land. :-) If you have the ability and tools, you may want to look around your local home center type stores, like Home Depot, Lowe's, or Menard's, and find items that will make better, larger, longer lasting tags for your roses. I had thought about going over the engraving work with brightly colored paint or some other permanent type craft paint pen meant for outdoor use... which might make the names easier to see or read... like in a white or bright yellow or other color, but I never got around to it. I'm sorry... I do get carried away. I love getting up early and using my quiet time to visit these forums while having my coffee. Happy Gardening!

Yes, and using mixes specifically for 'potted' plants can be quite tricky to say the least. A balancing act too that is one does not master, your growing experience can be quite limited or very rewarding. For me it's all about sacrifice's, sacrifices made in order to attain the best possible growing experience possible without sacrificing the integrity of the mix and the vitality of my trees and their root systems. One has to be able to foresee any potential issues before deciding what to use. What might do a great job in the 'summer' might be the death of your trees in the 'winter' months. For instance: One could use a mix that hold much more water for the summer while in the end could kill your trees holding too much water come the winter and shorter days. One could use a mix that holds PWT that can be used to your advantage and disadvantage if it rains too much, stays cold for long periods of time, or gets worst as the mix break down. One could use a mix that dried out very rapidly, almost too fast for the summer and in the winter and then in summer loose their trees to not enough moisture. One could also use a mix in which you have to check the moisture levels quite often in each and every pot, for some hundreds, or use a mix that you can water every time you water for all at once without fear of root rot without having to check to see if they need water. The 511 to me is a good balance. You can add just enough smaller particles to keep the soil mix moist longer in summer while reasonably dry out in the winter in a good amount of time. You can use it on all your plants and water all your plants at the same time whether they are still moist or not. The 511 also allows you to store your trees at very cold temps, even though the pots are still moist without fear of rot. The 511 also dries out evenly and holds its structure much longer than peat or fine particle based mixes.. So If I were to match up the 'pros' with the 'cons'. I'd say the 'pros' far outweigh using a 511 mix or the like in my favor. It might be a great idea for each of us to decide what you are willing to sacrifice in the winter or the summer and find a happy medium that will work for ALL seasons to save yourself a lot of headache and certain trees their demise. What is forgiving in the summer time or in a nice warm brightly lit greenhouse structure might not bode so well for trees in less than ideal conditions come shorter colder wintery days indoors. MIke