Hello all, I'm New to the forum and I have already found tons of useful information. Which is leading to a lot of questions/confusion. I have read a lot about Tapla's Gritty Mix and I'm about to start moving my container plants into it and I have some questions. I have a Kumquat tree that has been on a steady decline for the past few months. At this point, it has lost all its leaves. About a month ago, I tried adding fertilizer sticks (no luck) and 2 weeks ago I added grow lights. The light has always been sufficient but I wasn't sure what else to do. It is still not showing any signs of life/improvement. Now I have come across Tapla's Gritty Mix. This is a new twist to my whole container gardening experience. I'm really excited to start moving all my plants into the Gritty Mix and I have some questions. 1) Is it worth replanting the Kumquat in the Gritty Mix? Is the the Gritty Mix the right Mix or is the 5-1-1 better? It has no leaves at all but I'm not sure how to tell if it is completely dead. 2) I haven't had any luck finding the Pine Bark Fines or the Turface locally. I have tried Home Depot, Lowes, and a local gardening store. I did find the below website that has both the Turface and Pine Bark Fines. Turface Standard Bag $26.00 2.5 gallons (10 quarts) in a resealable bag. http://www.repotme.com/orchid-potting-media/Turface.html They also have these Bark Fines, but again I am not sure about the price and if they are the correct size/product. Small Orchiata Monterey Bark Standard Bag $28.40 2.5 gallons (10 quarts) in a resealable bag http://www.repotme.com/orchid-potting-media/Monterey-Pine-Bark-Small.html Combined Shipping is an additional $19. Basically $74 total. Is the price reasonable for this quantity? Otherwise, any recommendations on where I can buy the Turface and Pine Bark Fines in the Merrimack Valley area? 3) Lastly, I also have a couple of Snake Plants in 4" containers that I want to move into the Gritty Mix. Is there a rule of thumb for container size I should move into? I was thinking I should at least double it. Thank you for your help and all the helpful information.

Well put, Waryap... I agree. I don't think it's gardening that attracts those few exceptions, either... I think it's more a message board thing. You'll find that every message board has its typical, recognizable players. But that aside, the majority of folks are simply wonderful. Most are not only plant lovers, but pet lovers, too, the ratio being interestingly high. I await each of Al's articles with bated breath, knowing there will be a wealth of information contained therein. And I don't have to worry that it will be too technical or scientifically complicated for me to grasp. I know that each writing will have meritorious information that I can use... and whether I grow bonsai or not, a good portion of it will translate nicely to the plants I do grow and the trees and shrubs in my yard. Some of the ideas are so common sense that I'm surprised they didn't occur to me long ago, proving how filled with misinformation and wive's tales the world of gardening really is! I don't know... maybe I just thought some of it was a lot more complicated than it is. Take fertilizer, as example... the store shelves are loaded with different formulas. But when it comes right down to it, most plants require basically the same things, so why would we need so many different mixtures? We don't! Al has become my mentor, and the work he's done and shared has opened up the world of growing for me exponentially. My previous failures have become today's successes, and learning what I have has made gardening all that much more enjoyable! Anyway... we're glad to have you join us. To tell you the truth, I've been thinking about trying bonsai, myself... Al makes it look and sound a lot less complicated than I had originally thought... plus, I have a gorgeous little Japanese Maple that I'm not sure what to do with... a candidate for bonsai, perhaps? Hmmm!

Nil is correct, method 1 is standard for planting into the ground, and method 2 works for pots. However, what should be added to that is that when you root prune, your goal is obviously to reduce the space the roots take up, so eliminating the least useful roots is what you want to do. The larger the root, the less useful it is, being that large roots are more of an anchor, which is great in the ground, but not necessary in a pot. The small feeder roots are what you want, as they do all the work of taking in water and nutrients. I have a rather large ficus 'alii' that I got free from a plant shop, because it was "dead". I literally grabbed it out of the rolling dump cart on its way outside. It was so root bound that the plastic pot was severely bulged, and it probably couldn't take up water, as there was hardly any soil. Long story short, it is now a beautiful tree, thriving in barkless gritty mix. What I did was grab a pruning saw, and cut out ALL roots larger than about 3/4", clipped any dead branches off, clean the old soil off the roots, fill in the gritty mix, and wait. After a few months it sprang to life, and has only improved from there. As for upkeep, I repot it every couple of years, as needed. I basically scoop away the loose gritty mix, pull the tree from the pot, and most of the mix will easily shake away from the roots. I remove about 1/4 to 1/3 of the roots, targeting the largest ones. I usually prune out some foliage to maintain a good form too. Better for you to choose which leaves go, rather than let the plant choose. I know I said long story short, so I guess I got a bit carried away. Anywho, the gist of it is to cut out the large anchor roots each time you repot. Good luck, have fun, and enjoy the benefits of a job well done. Joe

You can certainly do all those things, but timing has an effect on the results you can expect. The likelihood of your being pleased with the results of your efforts begins to increase dramatically after the vernal equinox, and peaks around the summer solstice (Father's Day), with increasing day length (more accurately it's the diminishing length of the dark period) being the key factor. IOW - make your plans, but be patient. Al