I will give you the link below. I encourage you to read Al's whole opening explanation to understand why he makes the mixes they way he does. But, here are the recipes quoted directly from that post: The 5:1:1 mix: 5 parts pine bark fines, dust - 3/8 (size is important 1 part sphagnum peat (not reed or sedge peat please) 1-2 parts perlite (coarse, if you can get it) garden lime (or gypsum in some cases) controlled release fertilizer (if preferred) Big batch: 2-3 cu ft pine bark fines 5 gallons peat 5 gallons perlite 2 cups dolomitic (garden) lime (or gypsum in some cases) 2 cups CRF (if preferred) Small batch: 3 gallons pine bark 1/2 gallon peat 1/2 gallon perlite 4 tbsp lime (or gypsum in some cases) 1/4 cup CRF (if preferred) I have seen advice that some highly organic (practically speaking - almost all container soils are highly organic) container soils are productive for up to 5 years or more. I disagree and will explain why if there is interest. Even if you were to substitute fir bark for pine bark in this recipe (and this recipe will long outlast any peat based soil) you should only expect a maximum of two to three years life before a repot is in order. Usually perennials, including trees (they're perennials too) should be repotted more frequently to insure they can grow at as close to their genetic potential within the limits of other cultural factors as possible. If a soil is desired that will retain structure for long periods, we need to look more to inorganic components. Some examples are crushed granite, fine stone, VERY coarse sand (see above - usually no smaller than BB size in containers, please), Haydite, lava rock (pumice), Turface, calcined DE, and others. For long term (especially woody) plantings and houseplants, I use a superb soil that is extremely durable and structurally sound. The basic mix is equal parts of screened pine bark, Turface, and crushed granite. The gritty mix: 1 part uncomposted screened pine or fir bark (1/8-1/4") 1 part screened Turface 1 part crushed Gran-I-Grit (grower size) or #2 cherrystone 1 Tbsp gypsum per gallon of soil (eliminate if your fertilizer has Ca) CRF (if desired) I use 1/8 -1/4 tsp Epsom salts (MgSO4) per gallon of fertilizer solution when I fertilize if the fertilizer does not contain Mg (check your fertilizer - if it is soluble, it is probable it does not contain Ca or Mg. If I am using my currently favored fertilizer (I use it on everything), Dyna-Gro's Foliage-Pro in the 9-3-6 formulation, and I don't use gypsum or Epsom salts in the fertilizer solution. Here is a link that might be useful: Container Soils - Water Movement and Retention XVIII This post was edited by Ohiofem on Thu, Mar 20, 14 at 16:39

Ok - warm house bad, freezing root ball solid bad, occasional watering good, having a cold dormancy good. So the garage is it. I can set it out easily whenever I pull the car out, on moderate days, and so it will get some light, but never get too warm. The garage stays in high 30's even when below zero outside, so it will get to be cold, but not freeze the root ball hard. I have it sitting in the overturned top of an old cat litter box, so that watering it occasionally will also be easy. Thank you all for the cautious encouragement!

Banana Babysitter....you sound like a very good friend, that is being taken advantage of big time! I know this isnt the advise you wanted. She dumps some huge banana 'trees' in huge pots on you, and doesn't tell you when she will take them back? She is paying you how much for taking care of them, for the water, fertilizer,new pots, soil etc... they sound like they are getting big and need bigger pots,more soil,etc. And they are going to go back into a small apartment...when? They don't fit now in the pots they are in now, and she cant handle them?...right? How is she going to handle bigger trees? They aren't going to grow in reverse and shrink. So she won't be able to take them back. It sounds like she is taking advantage of your friendship. I mean being a friend is one thing, taking advantage of a friend is another thing. Sure they can live in pots for a long time, certain 'ornamental' ones can live in pots all their lives inside, but fruit bearing ones, and these sound like fruit bearing ones, will just be unhappy and not look good and can grow so many pups in the soil,they can break clay pots easily! And split plastic pots in half. They need to be outside in the ground. Call and tell her to come get her babies, or they go to the dump or a community garden, if you have one near you. Or at least ask when is she coming to get them? As you see they grow inside, sure, but as you also see, they arent to happy, they dont look to good, and to many pups are starting in the pots? Those will crack a pot very easily, so can just the roots! They can grow a long time inside,if you had ornamental varieties, thats one thing, but these sound like fruit type, and they need room to grow and full sun and tons of water, and fertilizer. They wont go into a small apartment. You have a lot of patience.

Coming into this conversation late. I planted a buckeye in 1991, I think it was about 4' high then or so, potted. It is now maybe 15-20' tall and about the same across. My mistake was to buy one that split into two main trunks a couple feet above the ground. Made it look much fuller at the time, but 5 or 10 years ago a big windstorm split the tree in half. I was going to remove it but my daughter begged me not to. So I still have it, but have to do pruning each year to prevent it from becoming too lop-sided. I still think it's doomed, but it's made it this far... As for the caliper trees having different leaves than potted plants... that's nothing to be concerned about. Same daughter worked in a tree nursery for two summers and said customers would always fuss over the calipers having smaller leaves than they were expecting. She could explain a thousand times over that this effect was only because the calipers had severe root pruning to go into their burlap root ball, and within two years or so of growing outdoors they would return to full-sized leaves. But it didn't matter, customers still fussed and didn't really believe her. In the end, either should be fine. If you have the time and willingness to give the caliper tree the care it needs during the first 2 years or so to go from root ball to established tree, then it will establish well and be ahead of any potted tree. If you aren't willing and able to put in that effort than the caliper probably won't do well for you and the potted would be a better choice.