It's pine bark, but it's hard to say by the picture if the size of the bark is appropriate. It looks like it's quite large. If you read the link Jodi left for you upthread, you probably realize that particle size and distribution is very important to how a container soil performs. Here is something I wrote to illustrate the importance of particle size/distribution: Obviously, I think the grower's soil choice when establishing a planting for the long term is the most important decision he/she will make. There is no question that the roots are the heart of the plant, and plant vitality is inextricably linked in a hard lock-up with root vitality. In order to get the best from your plants, you absolutely must have happy roots. If you start with a water-retentive medium, you cannot improve it's aeration or drainage characteristics by adding larger particulates. Sand, perlite, Turface, calcined DE ...... none of them will work. To visualize why sand and perlite can't change drainage/aeration, think of how well a pot full of BBs would drain (perlite), then think of how poorly a pot full of pudding would drain (bagged soil). Even mixing the pudding and perlite/BBs together 1:1 in a third pot yields a mix that retains the drainage characteristics and PWT height of the pudding. It's only after the perlite become the largest fraction of the mix (60-75%) that drainage & PWT height begins to improve. At that point, you're growing in perlite amended with a little potting soil. You cannot add coarse material to fine material and improve drainage or the ht of the PWT. Use the same example as above & replace the pudding with play sand or peat moss - same results. The benefit in adding perlite to heavy soils doesn't come from the fact that they drain better. The fine peat or pudding particles simply 'fill in' around the perlite, so drainage & the ht of the PWT remains the same. All perlite does in heavy soils is occupy space that would otherwise be full of water. Perlite simply reduces the amount of water a soil is capable of holding because it is not internally porous. IOW - all it does is take up space. If you want to profit from a soil that offers superior drainage and aeration, you need to build it into the soil from the start, by ensuring that the soil is primarily comprised of particles much larger than those in peat/compost/coir, which is why the recipes I suggest as starting points all direct readers to START with the foremost fraction of the soil being large particles, to ensure excellent aeration. From there, if you choose, you can add an appropriate volume of finer particles to increase water retention. You do not have that option with a soil that is already extremely water-retentive right out of the bag. I fully understand that many are happy with the results they get when using commercially prepared soils, and I'm not trying to get anyone to change anything. My intent is to make sure that those who are having trouble with issues related to soil, understand why the issues occur, that there are options, and what they are. Many use their current potting soils (like MG or used soils as a smaller fraction of a new media they put together specifically to improve drainage & aeration, so yes - you CAN use some of the soil you have as a fraction of a new soil, but keep in mind that you aren't going to rid yourself of the drainage/aeration and high PWT issues problems unless your soil is weighted heavily toward larger particles than your current soil is currently comprised of. When you add a little extra perlite and/or pine bark to a peat-based soil, you don't change the drainage characteristics, the height of the PWT, or aeration. You DO decrease the total volume of water the soil CAN hold, and that IS a plus, but that's about all you really accomplish. Add a LOT of (appropriate size) bark and perlite = job done. The physics of how water behaves in container soils doesn't change because someone might assure you it does. As surely as the cow is barred from jumping over the moon by the law of gravity, soils are bound by physical laws to exhibit rather specific and predictable characteristics based on their particle size and distribution (enter the pudding analogy into evidence). If you choose not to go with a soil that has a considerable fraction of larger particles, there are ways to help you deal with excess water retention when it occurs. There is a lot of good information about dealing with water retention if you follow the embedded link. When you get to where you're deciding about how you want to proceed with your soil, we can talk more specifically about tailoring a plan that best supports your methodology. Take care. Al

I'm new here and just read that long thread on container drainage and now have some ideas for improvement. I always recycle soil. There is no way I could possibly mix new soil for my entire container garden each spring and expand it. This year I have already bought over 130 40 lb. bags of dirt for the installation of new planters! And that was a lot of work. My big wildflower containers which are 8'x2'x12" deep hadn't been changed in 4 years. In the fall I amend the old soil with compost, get rid of the old plants and rootballs, loosen it up, and plant the seed. For containers that don't have perennials, in the spring I empty them into my dirt mixer (which is one of those large Rubbermaid storage things I found in the alley a bunch of years ago), add some compost and new soil and perlite, mix it up and it's ready to go into a new planter. So far I found Menards to have pretty decent dirt and I've tried dirt from all the places around here. I mix one bag of their cheap topsoil (which is pretty good with very few clayballs) with one bag of potting mix with 1/2 bag of mushroom compost and a coffee can of perlite. It may not be the best soil but it works. I grow wildflowers, veggies, herbs, and only a couple of annuals. Last fall I had a big ficus tree and a 2 year old rosemary that I grew from a seedling die on me after bringing it inside last fall. I now think my soil mixture and lack of drainage had something to do with that. These discussions here have been very helpful and I'm going to experiment using wicks and maybe there are other things I can add to amend the soil to make it better.

Add some good old garden soil to give it some texture. That's terrible advise IMO. Actually, taz, it isn't, at least if the soil is very loose. IME, potting soil is great for seedlings but won't hold moisture during the growing season. Dirt does! I mixed up some large pots of loose soil, compost, aged horse manure and potting mix last summer. The idea was to grow tomatoes in it, but I never got around to actually doing it. Last week, I emptied the pots full of this mixture in the garden - Seventh Heaven! I did try the same method a coule of winter ago, when I wanted to try maters in a greenhouse. The soil was perfect in containers, though I did bury them in the dirt inside the GH. I had to water maybe once every two weeks - a half-gallon at a time, but the plants were everything I could hope for. Alas, the growing conditions (sunlight and heat) were not. Mike

Hey Mike. Root pruning was a little nerve racking for me but I have done it with tropical fruits. I root pruned a mango tree, and yes, I was nervous but it worked just fine. I have not tried this on any of my citrus trees yet but my 'OroBlanco' grapefruit will probably be the first I tree I try it on. When I did it to my mango, I used a sharp knife and cut off 1/3 of the entire root ball. The only other thing I did was moved the tree to shade for a few weeks to recover, and the tree was fine. I would think it would be the same for citrus also. When I do this to my 'Oro Blanco', I will let you know how the tree does. Andrew