I have some questions on same topic if I may; new to this forum, I spent last 4 days reading Al's extremely interesting/educational posts on container growing/soil/water retention etc. I will ask questions about 1 plant at the time (it may take forever since I have about 58 right now inside & they all need help). I just realized that I have tortured my potted plants & am very grateful that so many have survived for so long. I have 2 olive trees, do not have name since they were given to me (1.5yr ago)potted in 6"pots by friend who just divided/chopped off shoots from their original olive (brought abt.45yrs ago from Italy!). they keep it potted in regular potting soil&only advise I got is "do not water too often". I would think that they would do much better in Al's mixes-not sure if 511 or gritty. Do not know anything about olives.(They may be candidates for bonsai? I do not know anything about bonsai). They are growing in spite of present conditions(heavy soil). Planted in 7&8"pots respectively, 53&55"tall.(Don't know how to post pics). If Al or anyone else can give suggestions, will greatly appreciate. I am in Toronto & they are overwintering inside(warm&sunny-65-70*,south window-during day, abt.55*nights). Thank you. Rina

Reading this post I can only gnash my teeth. Here in the frozen tundra we call Michigan (waves to Annie) I quietly weep looking at the price of citrus. Another use for citrus is homemade skin toner. Combine 1 part dried citrus peel and 1 part oatmeal. Whir in a blender until powdered. Mix with a small amount of yogurt and honey until it's a bit like cold cream in texture. Test a small amount on a bit of skin in case you react poorly to it, though most don't. Gently rub into skin and rinse with warm water. Citrus bath "salts" 1 part dried Orange peel, CS (Cut and Sifted) 1 part dried Orange flowers, WH (Whole) 1 part dried Lemon peel, CS 1 part Comfrey leaves, CS 1 part Camomile, WH 1 part Almond meal (ground almond) Put a large handful in the toe of an old stocking and close the stocking with a rubber band or twist tie. Drop in bathwater. If you can't find comfrey and camomile you can substitute camomile teabags. You can also make citrus flavored sugar. Combine the zest of 3 lemons with 1 cup of sugar in a food processor or blender. Pulse until the zest is finely chopped. Place in a bowl. Add 1 more cup of sugar and mix until well combined. Spread the sugar on a cookie sheet and let dry. Place in a covered jar and put in fridge. You can use orange zest for this as well. (The lemon sugar makes the most amazing ginger cookies you'll ever taste. Well, at least I think so.) Homemade citrus extract- zest of one lemon or 1/2 a large orange (in strips not grated) 1/2 cup vodka 1/4 cup water Chop the zest add to vodka and water in a covered jar. Let flavor develop for at least a week before using. Make sure storage jars are sterilized. Do not store in sunlight. The book I got this from says it's good for a year but I confess I've never tried it.

I'm very glad you started this thread. A few months ago there was another apothecary jar thread that made me wish I had some! I put them on my Christmas list and my daughter gave me these two beautiful jars already decked out for Christmas. She put pine cones and berries in one and greenery with big brass bells in the other. I plan to leave them like this probably through mid February but I'm already trying to come up with thoughts for what they can hold during spring/summer months. They are beautiful empty but it's such a fun way to change things up and bring in color also. I hope lots more of you will share your pictures and ideas. I'm taking notes!

chlozilla (I love your screen name!), the exposed roots are the kind that transport water picked up by those all-important fine feeder roots we all love so much, so don't fret about them. mblan is right. Photos of the whole plant and its roots would be helpful, but that bad smell means bad things are going on that need to be fixed sooner rather than later, the soil has been staying wet for far too long, suffocating and killing roots, and the plant needs to be in a better environment than it is now. That means either replanting in the same kind of soil but with ballast or repotting in a fast draining well aerated mix like 5:1:1. And then there's watering, because the best way to avoid this and other kinds of trouble is to learn how to tell when your plants need water and how to water once they do. Here's Al's thread about ballast. It worked very well for me with an overpotted plant that took forever to dry out, and it might be the easiest option if you can't whip up a batch of 5:1:1. But back to your plant. Lay the plant down and gently pull the soil from the pot, squeezing the pot lightly if it helps. If the roots that are sticking out get in the way cut them off with a scissors or shears that have been sterilized with alcohol. Don't panic if the root ball falls apart; just don't let any healthy roots dry out while you're working, and tear as few healthy roots as you can. Healthy thicker roots look like the ones sticking out of the pot, and feeder roots are white or tan and are very thin or even hairy looking. Rotted roots will smell bad and/or be dark brown or black. Use your sterilized shears to cut all the rotten stuff back to healthy tissue, then stick the plant in a clean pot with some of the soil tucked around the roots for now. If you don't have another pot, stick the plant and soil in a bowl, wash the pot with hot soapy water, immerse it in a bucket with bleach solution for half an hour, wash it again, rinse it very well, and then put the plant in it. It can stay that way for days if necessary. Then, of course, post back with photos of the whole plant and details of what you found!