Justaguy, my soil mix was mainly organic potting mix (whatever brand they have here - it wasn't Miracle Gro), some manure compost and Perlite. The guy at the garden center said that's all I'd need. Every couple weeks I'd add some organic fertilizer. Sounds fine except the manure part. Of course I have no idea what was in the mix itself. The fungus gnats love decaying, moist organic matter and roots do not :) If you have a serious problem with gnats that is a good indication the potting mix is holding too much water and the manure by virtue of it's small particle size will do this as well as feed the gnat larvae. I recommend leaving it out of containers. I just got back from the store and $150 later I found all of the ingredients in Al's Mix with the exception of the lime. That is really unusual. Usually people have trouble finding the pine bark fines or perlite in bulk or something like that. Lime, at least in the US, is nearly ubiquitous. Does the island tend to have ground soils of high pH? If so that would explain why locals haven't heard of lime, it would probably never get used. Ask for dolomite lime and if you just get blank stares maybe order it online, you won't need much. Bite the bullet and buy a 5lb bag plus shipping and you should have enough to last several seasons. I feel for you if you actually have to mail order it as in the states we can just buy 50 pounds of it for a couple bucks. You really do need it to counter the pH of the bark/peat acidity and supply calcium to the mix so some is available to the plants. If you can't find some locally click on my username and email me, I will ship you some. I noticed Al's Mix doesn't call for any type of dirt or pre-made soil. Could that be right? Yes, and the reason is all about particle size. If you use dirt it will always be super small particles and in containers they hold way too much water. Holding water is good, but the problem is that small particles will hold water in the spaces between particles that would otherwise hold air which roots are going to need. It's a balancing act between those spaces holding water and air and soil/dirt will hold all water and no air in containers. Al's 5-1-1 mix is well tested by forum folks and I have yet to hear from anyone who thought it resulted in poor plant performance. I know you might be reading this with some doubts, but if you read through the water/air movement threads on this forum you will find so many testimonials as to it's success that your concerns will be laid to rest.

Sneaky little thing, huh? I haven't had to trap one of those but did have to use glue traps for field mice some years ago, had to because we had small children and anything else was dangerous for them. Our squirrels won't go after peanuts or pb but bird seeds (black sunflower currently) will lure them into the havaheart trap (we release them into the big park a couple miles away). Good luck getting that thing John, he's eating you out of flora and fauna! ;)

Thank you Marlorena, I have posted some of them on the antique rose forum. ;) I took a look at your profile and see you have some beauties yourself. :) I wish I could grow bourbons and Austins here. Yours are beautiful! Schoolhouse thank you, to be honest I don't hardly do a thing to mine at least not in the last 3 years due to being so busy with so many other things. I just lightly prune them and give them maybe a little liquid fertilizer a couple times a year. I think a lot has to do with my climate maybe? I do wish I could get back out to my garden and devote more time to it. I do try to pick roses that thrive in my warm humid climate and stay away as much as possible from fussy roses because I too just don't have to deal with it. I don't know what your zone is but you might want to look up a rose called Peggy Martin, I posted a story and picture about her on the antique rose forum, if I had to choose one rose to recommend to anyone especially someone who just hasn't the time to deal with roses but would love them in their garden it would have to be that one. A woman in Mississppi (I believe) had something like 200 or 300 roses and when the storm surge from Katrina flooded her property the only rose that survived was that rose which was a found rose and named after the woman. It is one amazingly tough rose that seriously I believe thrives on neglect. :) thank again for the kind comments.

You all make me smile about the stumps and elevated hosta. I catch myself imagining ways to raise them ALL up higher so I don't have to bend over so much. I am a happy camper today, sitting here at the bar with my laptop, looking out the back windows to the hosta garden through the lattice shade screen. I must get mosquito spray before spending much time out back when the wind is not blowing. They eat me alive. Donna, Dark Shadows is a pleasant surprise this spring. Yours will do the same....rock along mild mannered, until it reveals SUPERhosta one fine spring morning. Maybe I learned something with Squash Casserole about exposing the hosta to more sunlight, when I can provide adequate water. Now I do not seek shade as much (except for the blues, and those with white margins) and the hosta respond with quicker growth. Perhaps if I had followed this habit from the beginning, my 2012 hosta which languished during my "learning period" would be larger already. Too bad I lost all the photos of 2012 except for those uploaded to Flickr under my MoccasinLanding account. When most arrived here, they were living off the nourishment stored from the nurseries, and my ignorance set them back for some period of time. Now those 2012 hosta (over 200 of them that first year) have either flourished or faded away. Repotting last spring to improve drainage helped them leap this year I believe. I am particularly thankful for the advice given on this forum, and in the various hosta resources online. Here is a shot (sideways of course!) of a rotting pine stump section. Guess I'll learn to take LANDSCAPE FORMAT SHOTS.