A) If the compost is 'finished', the particles are very small and will be very water retentive - IMO, not well-suited physically for use in container soils in any appreciable volume. B) If the compost is NOT finished, it contains particles highly variable in size that break down very quickly into increasingly smaller particles. As unfinished compost breaks down, it does add some nutrients to the soil, but it also promotes the immobilization of N. When it breaks down to the 'finished' stage .... well, see A) above. Compost actually adds very little in the way of nutrients. What it does add can easily be supplied, either macro or micronutrients, by other either organic or chemical supplements. It increases water retention as it fills valuable soil pores and decreases aeration. The question I would beg of myself is: Why choose to use it, knowing there are other organic alternatives with better structural stability and that what it adds nutritionally can be replaced very simply with 1 or 2 fertilizer additives that will be required regardless of whether compost is used or not. If I had to use compost in a container soil, I would limit it's presence, along with peat, in my own bark-based soils to Al

OOOH!! I have half a dozen links in my Favorites. In areas where there is natural rock and the cost of the real thing is too high, the home made rock is great. It can take some time to do though. A really good search line in Google is Creating cement decorations in the garden. I'll come back later with some book names. Some of this stuff will blow you away!! Sandy

hey the more you learn.. the less you know ... you dont mention where you are.. or your zone.. or your soil type ... might help in the info you receive ...... in my pure yellow sand ... i am of the opinion ...that the hole doesnt need to be all that big ... in spring.. i can stick my hand 6 inches into the soil ... so what use would be all that extra digging ... so i do no more than double ... you need that much for proper movement ... and i NEVER amend .... clay is the opposite.. and i would move .. lol .. in fact that was the number one priority when i bought this house... but there are other experts if you have clay .... dig new hole first ...unpot... snip or uncoil roots that circle .. get it in the hole.. refill half way .. fill hole with water... in sand or loam ... refill soil 3/4 ... tamp settle the soil in there ... little more water ... complete the refilling.. tamping with foot... mulch.. and water again when your finger says it needs water ... and no sooner ... with proper watering after planting.. i am nearly of the opinion that it doesnt matter how you plant it [again.. but for clay] ... just do it.. and water it properly for two years ... trees are very forgiving if they have the water they need ... ken

I have a bleeding heart that is 30 years old planted when my daughter was a newborn although I moved it 16 years ago when we moved into our current house I have always treated it like it was made of glass. My daughter now has a son and I wanted very much to give her a piece of the bleeding heart and have been afraid to do so. Thank you for all of your shared experiences now I will have the "heart" to share it with my daughter. <3 Never would of thought they could be treated like my hostas and sedum so very happy! Thanks one and all!