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Question about Miracle Grow Potting Soil and planting...

10 years ago

Ok, so about the Bartzella I planted recently under less than ideal conditions(wet clay soil)...Two days ago I dug it up, rinsed it and put it in a pot of (regular) Miracle Grow Potting Soil(5 gallon pot)along with a Red Charm tuber and a Felix Crousse tuber. Originally I was going to let them grow in the pots till fall and then put them in the ground. My husband tilled up an area in our side yard yesterday and I picked up a potted Felix Crousse and Dr Alexander Flemming, 2 Autumn Joy Sedums and a bearded Iris at Lowes. I would like to go ahead and plant everything(along with a potted Russian Sage I have left over from last year) in the bed before it rains again. I'm worried about the roots staying in Miracle Grow and growing mold or something...Should I just stick my hand in the pots and pull them out since they haven't been in there but two days and mound them on the new bed? Our clay soil sometimes has drainage issues so I now plant all my new tubers this way. Or should I try to plant them with all the Miracle Grow intact assuming this is possible since it probably hasn't hardened much yet? Or should I continue to let them grow in the pots and hope for the best?

This post was edited by cherry67 on Sun, Apr 20, 14 at 17:21

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Comments (5)

KarenPA_6b
10 years ago
Can I ask that when your husband tilled the planting area did he amend the clay soil with anything such as compost, sand, or peat moss? If he did amend the soil, you can go ahead and plant the peonies. If he did not, he should amend the soil to improve drainage before planting. In this case, it is best to leave the peonies in the pots until fall for planting. If you plan to have the Bartzella in the pot, I recommend that you mix 1/4 part sand, 1/4 part perlite and 1/2 Miracle Gro Potting Soil to improve drainage. The Miracle Gro Potting Soil retains too much moisture and as a result it can increase the possibility of rot.
cherry67
Original Author
10 years ago
Kousa, thank you, he added some bagged composted manure to it. I guess it's okay to plant then? I will take notes of the ingredients you mentioned for next time I pot some up. What sand would you recommend, I know there's builder's sand, sandbox sand, etc?
Oh and thanks again for the help!
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KarenPA_6b
10 years ago
The coarser the sand the better. I guess that you can mix some sand in the spots where you plan to plant the peonies.
amhkgn
10 years ago
We have red clay in GA. I always amend the soil with composted manure and a good amount of soil conditioner before putting in any plants, and my plants have done fine. Because it is so hard to get very deep in this clay, I tend to put my plants in raised beds to help with the drainage, otherwise, the clay gets compacted and doesn't drain well, which then puts the tubers at risk for rotting.

I've planted peonies in potting soil and kept them in pots to give them time to mature and they have also done fine. I've never had a tuber get moldy from the potting soil. I put the tubers individually in 2 gallon pots, and I amended the potting soil with composted manure, and I also add soil conditioner to the pots to help with drainage as well. I've left them in pots for as little as 6-8 months, to as long as 1 1/2 years outside, and this year, a Festiva Maxima that was grown from a very small tuber in a box has buds.
cherry67
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you both for your help!
Kousa, I'll try to find some course sand soon. I wouldn't mind potting some more up in the future as long as I can feel pretty confident that they won't rot.

amhkgn what soil conditioner do you recommend? I've never tried any...I'd love to do raised beds, but when I called a local place about having topsoil delivered it was pretty expensive so I've kind of given up on that idea for a while.

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