It wouldn't hurt or maybe it would? To experiment. I myself find that cacti, succulents respond well to soluble fertilizers Traditional mineral cacti mixes are pumice and pine bark, or pumice, peat, and pine bark.. They work well with other succulents too. I have been experimenting with coir too, seems like a nice product. Lasts longer than peat. But is neutral which is great in some cases, not so great in others. Plants that come form desert regions really do not respond well to any compost, as it is not in the environment. Also plants that come from sandy soils same thing. Some tropical succulents will like the compost. The gritty mix would probably work well with some succulents. Bigger cacti require very dry soil most of the time, and the gritty mix can get dry fast, so is a good choice. I myself don't like it for some plants like fruit trees, but any gardener that pays attention can grow plants in anything. If you decide to use compost, go light on it, as it tends to stay wet a long time, it doesn't drain well either. Be careful not to over water.

Cutting the roots before planting to me would be a matter of preference... I think some due this quite often. I persoanlly do not. I do remove ALL soil to bareroot and rinse most out with an easy jet stream of water from a hose.. Sorry, not sure of the other questions..:-( Mike..:-)

I face this issue all the time because I use cut down (ht) nursery cans as training pots for bonsai. Since I own a class company, I have unlimited access to screen material, but it's inexpensive & won't break the bank if you want to try this: I cut strips of screen about 2" wide and several inches longer than the pots diameter. I position them so they cover 2 holes each, on opposite sides of the pot. This means the strip runs up the side to cover 1 hole, then across the bottom of the pot and up the opposite side to cover the hole there. I use a thin stick that's flat on the end to hold the screen in place temporarily, and I just place a small pile of soil on the screen to hold it secure while I fix the other 1-2 screens in place in the same manner. The screen strips are reusable if you wish. You can also do the same thing using 1 piece of screen for each hole, but I find the '2 for 1' application easier. AL

Well, yesterday I used the gritty mix for the first time. I put a persian lilac seedling in the gritty mix (3-4-2) and a spider plant in 1-1-1. I am a bit scared as to how often to water since within a couple of hours the wick on the bottom was dry. I watered again and this morning dry again, so I watered again. Is this normal? The summer heat is not here yet and I am a bit worried about watering. Also the spider plant does not look too good, it is wilted quite a bit. I plan on putting some vincas in the 5-1-1 and see how that goes. I totally understand the benefits of the gritty mix but...are the plants going to make it if I water once a day? Also when is good time to start fertilizing the new potted plants and how much. I also plan on moving my african violet and the peace lily in the gritty (1-1-1) but they will be inside. Please someone help and build my confidence up...:( Michael