How the soil is labeled is pretty inconsequential. What it's made from is also a distant consideration except that it should be made from components that will insure the soil retains its structure for as long as your intended interval between repots. The most important considerations are how well it drains and how much air it holds. These two properties will be found in an inverse relationship in soils, though there a few things you can to to increase water-holding ability w/o compromising aeration too much. So yes, you can use it of course. If you think it will fit the plants needs, there's no reason you cannot use it just because it's labeled "Cactus Soil". Nutrients are also a very minor consideration. You add the nutrients with your fertilizing program as the plant requires them. If your plant is not too large, I'll send you some soil that will be a very good choice for your Ficus e. Just contact me off forum. PS - it's pretty early to be thinking about repotting your tree. In your zone, early July is the best time. Al

Goodmorning all your tropical nuts! (I mean that kindly hahah) Regina you have a lot of babies there...I think I have my first plumie seedling not sure though the tag was lost...I have only been trying since last winter..hahah Thanks Mariann Those are some great prices...I hope you and hubby stay high and dry! I will be thinking of you..Please check in so we know you are alright :) Amy those tornadoes missed you shooo...That was some bad damage on the news this morning....Dee sends wonderful stuff..I have her gardenia she sent me last year... Frances bodaius pics..I cant wait for the daylilies...I can enjoy your beutiful flowers..:) Eye candy for sure! Ruh roh computer woes...Get it fixed so we dont miss you...Did you get a laptop fro your vacation to take us with you? hahahh Mariann I take 6-10 inch cuttings put in a glass canning jar and place on my dinner buffet table all winter...Just pull the little leaves as they emerge...I even forget to change the water...hahahha Them turkeys still live...In spring I pot them up and wa la they grow.... I also took my plant last year..Chopped her down to two feet and placed her in the very cold basement off the floor with hardly any heat down there and no light (we heat by wood upstairs) Well I brought her out in spring and now she is three feet in the same soil..hahah I need to give her new soil..... I only gave her a cup of water every now and than...They go dormant in winter if you make them...... I have a picture of my cuttings I will dig for it....With all of us growing them you sure know where you can get some cuttings for sure this fall..:))) We dont cut them know because we are waiting fro them to flush... Frances seedlings bloom the second year from what I was told...I have quite a few of them growing....Same with daylily seedlings for us up north..:)) Barb

Ah, another thread on religion. My vote for the best and most rational conclusion? "When making fuel decisions, one has to consider his/her own situation." Exactly. If you're on a farm and you have a 1,000 gal tank of diesel fuel for your heavy equipment, diesel is a no brainer. If you have a townhouse with natural gas and you're petrified at the prospect that all 2400 of your tropical fish would die if there was a five-day ice storm, then get a natural gas standby genset. If you're me (translate: cheap as hell), you get a cheap gasoline-powered genset, two 5-gal jerry cans, a transfer switch (all for $1000) and try to keep both your cars filled up to the brim with gas when bad weather threatens. Footnote: I can live without air conditioning for a couple of days every three or four years. Honestly, I can.

My statement that pine bark is close to neutral must be incorrect. A few years back I had done some some quick tests and perhaps (most likely) they were wrong. I should do some more tests since many here and published papers assert that pine bark can vary wildly in acidity. These are my thoughts regarding container Ph: Let us say you start with a soil Ph of about 6. If neutral water is used then the soil Ph should remain at 6 for ever. However, bark will decompose and move towards neutral over time. If alkaline water is used then the soil will move towards neutral quicker and over time it will start becoming alkaline. Conversely, water Ph will drop in the beginning and over time starting water Ph will start dominating. How quick is the process? Depends on the buffering capacity of the soil. Higher the buffering capacity, the better is its resistance to Ph change. I think, not entirely sure, bark/peat based soils do not have as good a buffering capacity of clay based soils. Sand/grit have the least. Composted matter also have a high buffering capacity. The addition of lime to 511 probably improves its initial buffering capacity too. Nutrient availability is best around neutral or slightly acidic. Looking at the charts it seems 6.5 is ideal. Our tap water is nearly neutral although I should do that test more frequently. Being neutral I have stopped bothering with Ph altogether. Rainwater will test a bit acidic and so will distilled water. Distilled water will absorb CO2 as soon as it is exposed to air and become tad bit acidic. Both distilled water and rainwater have no buffering capacity at all.