Let's hope someone comments... I'd like to know also. My only complaint of the gritty mix so far is its weight. My trees have adapted well to both mixes, but I do not have side-by-side, scientific comparisons.

Gritty and 5-1-1 are slower to establish. But take off a lot more when established. It seems that it's hard to keep the al mix plants watered while the roots grow into the media. I've found that detangling the roots and painstakingly spreading them throughout the media helps a lot.

Because standard soil holds moisture so much more they don't suffer from thirst as much in the beginning.

but once the time goes by gritty is still well aerated and standard soil is dense and anaerobic.

Gritty mix isn't as great as I thought. I love the stuff but the bark is unnecessary and only hurts the mix. Al himself said it does nothing besides serve as a filler that's light and has about the same water holding capacity as the average of the other two materials. If you skip the bark and only use grit and turface the mix will never go bad. You should still remove it every few years and repot but that's to root prune. You would be able to sterilize the old mix and reuse it forever. Preferably with heat and not chemicals.

i plan on removing the bark at repot and keeping the other components. The bark should float and sift away.

I still feel the weight of gritty is a positive and it's still too light. Do the math on how much pressure the wind can put on a large canopy. I'd rather have a heavy pot I have to move twice a year than continually standing up tipped over trees and cutting off broken branches.

but everyone has different priorities.

That's true about the wind Pip, but around here wind is not much of an issue. I am not very big and it is so much easier to move the the pots with the 5-1-1 mix. However, I can totally see your point about their stability.

Everyone has different priorities. I care a lot about not having large years old branches break due to the loss of time represented. But we do occasionally have 40+mph gusts. And the idea of the gritty spilling on the ground makes me want to cry just thinking about. All that time sifting and gathering the materials. I actually lost more turface than normal by screening everything under 1/8 inch. Which is larger than al recommend. Just to get that extra bit of aeration.

Others need to put the priority on the weight but I'm a young guy with these wheeled cart things that I have. So struggling to move them is less of a concern.

Again, my question is: "Which mix results in best tree growth?" I bring this up because many of us, me included, have taken the advice of others to use gritty or 5-1-1 and have gone to great lengths to get the ingredients and yet we do not question whether either mix results in better tree growth than some other potting mix.

It's true Vladimir, I am going off the expertise of others on the 5-1-1, however I have seen firsthand the nasty root rot you can get after a year in bad mix so I 100% believe any type of potting mix combo is a death sentence. Unless you have a greenhouse or perfect year round conditions that is, it seems those people have more luck with soil mixes.

You do pose a great question, why don't you ask Al he is super nice! He's the mix guru who is always posting and offering advice on the container forum. Here's his current thread.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/2842847/container-soils-water-movement-and-retention-xxii?n=493#addAnswer

That's a great suggestion Hobby...perhaps Al has done scientific comparisons...

If he has not, we could always design a small study. I would be willing to grow some identical plants from seed in each mix. Vlad and Hobby and anyone else could do the same. With multiple people in various conditions, our results would have more power (not to mention a larger sample size). It would be interesting....

Hobby and Laura, thanks for your comments. Hobby I did as you suggested and posted on the Container forum (http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/3932997/m=23/is-als-gritty-mix-or-5-1-1-mix-really-any-better-than-other-mixes), knowing that Al frequents it and so expect him to reply to it. Laura, good idea. I would like to see what Al says before going any further.

It would be much easier if Al had data....

Out of curiosity what do they recommend for mix on that other citrus site you mentioned Vladimir?

I have a couple in cactus mix with perlite. Definitely does not drain as well, but the plants are happy outdoors. I have a calamondin in that which has almost doubled in size in the last two months. I wonder though how well they will hold up over the winter indoors.

The winter indoors is something to worry about but more like how will it act next year? Even in summer

Thanks Vladimir, interesting. Millet must be in a very favorable zone to be able to use that mix successfully.

I just got a few new trees from Briteleaf. They seem to be quite good trees, I got some last year too and they are doing well.

They came in those foot long skinny nursery pots and seemed to be entirely in peat or coir. The roots were all quite white, thick and seemed extremely healthy.

How the heck can they get away with that? If I tried using that mix I would have rootballs of mush in no time I'm sure. Because of the greenhouse, the pot, the watering routine? What could it be?

Millet is in Colorado. I believe one can use mixes like his as long as one knows how to avoid root rot by not over watering, using appropriately sized pot, etc.

i use a cactus mix with some perlite in it, i change it out 1 time a year usually in late december early january before temps start to go back up, i like this mix for me because it holds enough water so my trees dont get too thirsty. i live in socal and my containers get total sun from sunrise to sunset with no shade so i feel gritty mix i would be watering too often. my trees are doing quite well in this mix for me and i have had no issues with root rot.

Millet has in ground citrus in Colorado? He must be good! I think a lot of the problems for us cold climaters is a cold rot zone..... coupled with mix problems is a recipe for disaster.

Millet may have moved to Colorado or has trees planted in ground in green house.