If you choose to use it, then mix it with at least 3 parts pine bark, or 3 parts perlite, and one part of that ..Or you could use a pot thai is about 1/2 inch bigger than your root ball, don't over pot, so it will dry out quickly, and so your roots will grow into it quickly, or change the mix out every few months or so..Make sure to flush your salts out often and that your mix dries out well before watering again.)

I'm afraid it is a sad truth that nothing you can buy is worth a darn for potting soil. The stores are only selling the illusion of good potting soil. Almost as bad as the "diamonds being valuable" and the "fabrication of the engagement ring as a tradition" scams. Truth hurts!

You know what I noticed? They sell a potting mix that will only last for a few weeks at best and then kill your plants so you will keep going back for another. In the past I lost dozens of citrus trees because of MG and I always blamed myself...It never occurred to me the mix would have anything to do with it since I did every thing else to the T....

Sorceresslelia. First, hope you're feeling better.

I might get some flak here since most use soil-less mixes. lol

I've been using Miracle Gro many, many years.

For citrus, I use MG Cactus/Palm/Citrus soil amended with bark, coarse sand, perlite, perlite and a little peat.

Soil is well-draining, but compact enough so watering isn't needed on a daily basis.

Good luck, Toni

Mike, which potting soil only last a few weeks then kills plants? lol

Thank you for explaining what you do with miracle grow and how you amend your mixes it shows that you Understand the "concept of porous mixes No flack from me anyways. ) And thanks for sharing it with us. The soilles Mix I'm talking about is straight up MG or any other bagged mix with lots of fine material that's compacts with in a very short period of time and holds salt deposits quickly. If i iwant to use a bagged mix , it's a must to amend it quite a bit to make it last a while to keep it open Much appreciated your idea to amend it as such )

For my seed grown Fukushu kumquats I am using 7 units of pine bark fines 4 units of potting soil in which 25% of of its is perlite giving me a 7-3-1 mix. My 2 trees grafted to a Poncirus hybrid 1) "Kuharske Citrange" 2) "unknown" are in a 4-4-1 mix. They are all doing exceptionally well. Go ahead and mix you cactus mix with pine fines, coarse sand, or perlite.

I would not go so far as to say MG products are no good; what I would say is that I am not a fan of any of the MG products. They are mostly one-size-fits-all, off the shelf products for people who do not want to learn the right way. Having said that, whether in ground or in container the "soil" is simply a medium to hold the roots and the tree; so in truth any "soil" will work; it just depends on how easy or how hard you must work to live with it. Hydroponic growing has no soil at all; but it requires specialized systems and specialized knowledge.

Mike, you're welcome.

Guess it works for some but not others. Toni