Both peat and pine bark become hydrophobic (water repellent) when the moisture content of individual particles drops much below 30%. When this occurs, it's difficult to rewet. The best approach is to dump the dry soil into a wheel barrow or tub, add what you think is enough water to dampen the mix, mix the water in, and allow it to set overnight while, through diffusion, the water moistens the soil evenly. The mushroom compost may not have been the best idea. It breaks down quickly and is usually very high in soluble salts from the heavy urea feeding it received before it made its way into your pots. Additionally, when the moisture control feature of the soil kicks in, the addition of the compost may turn an already heavy soil into a very heavy soil. You may find it helpful to wick your containers until roots have fully explored/colonized the lower parts of the container & the length of time a perched water table affects the root system is diminished. Al

I am bumping this thread. I have hellebores in two areas of the garden; one with mature plants and the second in an area where I've been scattering seeds occasionally. This year, I found hundreds of babies around my mature plants. I transplanted around 300 of the babies over to the other area and now have collected seed to scatter in the same area. The new area has partial sun. We are in New England. My questions are: 1) Should I scatter the seeds, scatter and rake in lightly, or scatter and then cover with a light layer of something? I would prefer not to pot them and then have to plant them later. (Too much chance of me forgetting about them!) 2) When I see a baby ( around an inch and a half tall, with a 4" root), did that sprout from last year's seed or this year's? And as a followup, is the young plant (around 7-9 inches, with larger leaves), a 2 year old? Thanks, I do love these plants!

This stuff becomes unbelievably hot and cooks the plants!!! I have 4 enormous ornamental planters in my gardens, which I have planted with purchased annuals for over 20 years. I am very experienced, and these planters have excellent drainage. This year, I switched the potting soil out for Miracle Gro Moisture Control. I flooded the planters before putting the plants in - several times. I planted them, and was surprised to have to water every single day. This soil product felt moist, but none was shared with the plants - their soil root balls stayed bone dry. The 2 planters in full sun had dying plants. I plunged my arm at least 25 inches down into the planters and the soil was hotter than beach sand, all the way down. This product somehow retains heat and was cooking my plants. When I removed this soil, I was surprised to find big pockets of it that were dust dry. The 2 planters in shade did a little better, but no plant growth whatsoever. Maybe if the plants grew in this from seed, they would do better, but you can't put plants in root balls into it - this soil just won't let the moisture leach into adjacent soils. And it cooks them. If your plants are still alive, rescue them and replace the soil. I don't know what this stuff is, but I would definitely not eat anything grown in it.

Only thing I see is a dinosaur crazy, wonderful young man, who will soon be going through his own growth spurt ! No fertilizer needed for him, just plenty of food ! Wishing him, and the cactus, continued success !