As always, thanks for the info, Al. I'll try watering in smaller measures rather than flushing the soil every watering. But I'll make sure to flush every month or so.

once I can get the tree out of its current potting mix and into the 5:1:1, things will be a lot easier/better.

I think I left you a link somewhere that outlines some things you can do to encourage excess water to exit the pot w/o having to go to any great lengths.

Click me in case you missed it.

Al

Perfect. I'm going to read through all of that tomorrow. And I do also try to tilt the pot 45° too.

if I do have to water in sips, how can I ensure I'm even reaching the lower roots in the pot?

I'm not sure how much container growing you've done, but after a while you develop a sense of what's happening below the soil line. E.g., if I'm watering a plant in a gallon of medium and it's nearly dry, I can usually predict within an ounce or so, how much water it will take to saturate the soil (so water starts to run out of the drain hole). In your case, you should be able to consider how wet or dry the soil is, what the soil volume of the pot is, and about how much water it will take to moisten (as opposed to saturate) the medium. Next time your plant needs water, you might need to fuss a bit by adding the water slowly enough that hydrophobic tendencies don't thwart your effort to moisten the medium, but pay attention to how much water you're applying. I'd guess that in a water-retentive mix, it might take 12 oz of water to rehydrate a gallon of medium so it's moist instead of wet. By simply paying attention to what you're doing, it should take only a couple of waterings to get a feel for the difference between too much and just enough.

Honestly, unless you enjoy being passionate about trying to make everything as perfect as possible, you're probably wringing your hands too much. You know I said that in a friendly way because there was nothing critical about it. If you're having fun - that's what matters. If you're creating stress by trying so hard, I'm just trying to let you know it doesn't have to be stressful.

Al

With humidity that high, I'd be worried about too much moisture in your walls.

I open the door fully at night to air it out. The level near the humidifier drops to about 55% and the rest of the room drops to 45-50%.

And thank you Al, that makes very good sense! I do know just about how much water the tree takes before it starts running out of the drain holes, so I guess I should be able to figure the rest out too. Thanks again!

First time I've watered in sips. As you can see, I let the soil dry out pretty well before adding any more water. I have to direct the water to the center of the pot. Otherwise it'll just drain out of the 100+ holes on the sides.

Sounds like you might have dry pockets. Been there done that, not easy to realize.

Considering I have 100's of holes drilled all over the sides, I'd agree with you.

i figured that out before anyway. Watering is trickier, you have to give a little, wait, give a little more, wait and repeat that process until it drains from the bottom wicks. If you just pour a gallon in there, it'll come out the sides and never reach the bottom.