Hey folks, Been awhile since I dropped in. Now that spring is practically here, I'm going to be in need of some new potting media for some re-pots that are badly needed. I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in some kind of arrangement where I pay for ingredients or pay for the mix that you make. I live in the middle of Seattle, but would be willing to drive a ways for this, if I could bring back enough mix. The reason for this is that I have a disability that makes sifting ingredients nearly impossible to do myself without causing some strain. Living in an apartment doesn't help much either, although I've made that work. I've tried some labor saving measures mainly by designing some simple conical basket sifters that can be spun, but that still wasn't enough, and the sifters aren't that effective or all that reliable. (I've thought about trying to motorize this or another setup, but doesn't really seem worth the effort involved when handling the sifted ingredients can still be trouble.) By the way, I already have some ingredients (partial bag of turface, repti-bark, some properly sized grit) and mostly know where to get them locally. If anyone has come up with some good "lazy" alternatives to Al/tapla's gritty mix, that'd also be useful. I'd considered just getting a bunch of pumice and trying to use that with minimal sifting, but looking into water retention tests that have been done on this forum, it probably wouldn't be up to the task. Weight of the medium in a pot is also a consideration, as my poor lifting strength is one of the issues I deal with. Failing any of this, I'll probably just try to get a higher quality (and lightweight) store bought mix of some kind, in spite of the drawbacks. Probably heavily amended, in any case. Thanks, -Bryan

It's not the gritty mix that causes the stress, it's the barerooting. When you work away the old soil, especially if it's caked on pretty good, you end up damaging a lot of the fine feeder roots. This will happen no matter what mix you repot into. I bareroot by first gently working the old soil out with my fingers first, and then resort to the bucket of water. I submerge the rootball, and wiggle my fingers around, loosening the soil. It can be a long process, but it's worth it once you're done, and your plant establishes in the gritty mix. Repotting will be a breeze in the future. For now though, just make sure to keep it moist, and also mist the leaves to reduce transpiration. Joe

I was wondering where they were to be planted and was thinking you were amending outdoor soil. I've never ordered cuttings this way, but I would think the cut ends would be adequately hardened off by the time you receive them. You'll want to plant them in your mix and not water until they have roots, maybe a couple weeks. If you like, post a pic of the cuttings you get before you plant them and you'll get feedback from experts (not beginners like me).

As for the perlite, did you sift and catch between 1/4 and an 1/8? Oh and did you end with the insect screen, thus using everything between 1/4 and a 1/16? You are probably right about the "small leaf jade" being Portulacaria afra. That same cousin gave me a clipping of it when she gifted me the large jade. I just assumed it was the same only smaller. She has done really well in the tiny bonsai planter on my window sill. But it now seems time to move on up. Here is a picture of said small leaf jade next to large jade. Also pictured is what I believe is known as hen and chicks. We bought her in Maine while on a road trip. I thought it would be nice to have a plant on the dashboard while we drove across the country. Almost died but now she seems unstoppable, despite her non-draining planter. (One of her chicks has already been replanted and has had a chick of her own...). Needless to say, both are part of the aforementioned group needing new planters.