When it comes to root health, pots with gas permeable walls carry the day. Terra cotta clay pots are better than plastic or vitrified clay pots and fabric pots are better than terra cotta clay. The reason is greater gas exchange through container walls and the fact that an increase in gas exchange comes with an increase in evaporative water loss, which can be a lifesaver when using water retentive media. There will still be a PWT in these pots, and for any given medium it will the same ht in a pot with rigid sides as in the fabric or air pots at container capacity. Container capacity is a measure of how much water the grow medium in a pot or container holds at the moment it has stopped draining after having been watered to the point of complete saturation. The ht of the PWT and how long it affects root function is usually key/critical in determining what opportunity a plant will have to realize as much of its genetic potential as possible (within the limiting effects of other cultural influences). The factor that most affects the ht of a PWT is the size of the particles from which the medium is made. So, reducing the duration of PWTs limitations increases the opportunity for plants to realize a greater measure of their genetic potential. But wait! There's a more important consideration. If you place your fabric containers directly on the ground/soil, from the perspective of hydrology it changes the fabric container to a raised bed; this, because water is free to move through the fabric between the grow medium and the earth, with the earth acting as a giant wick. This means, because of the increase in the force of adhesion in the mineral soil beneath the pot (due to a mineral soils much larger o/a surface area on a per volume basis), water in the soil will be pulled downward with enough source to overcome the capillarity holding it perched in the container. As long as you don't place the fabric container on coarse sand, peastone, or other large particles, the earth will likely pull all perched water from most media one is likely to use in a container. I've mentioned this and the fact that healing in your pots situating them directly on top of soil turns them into raised beds. the only caveat being it's essential that there is a 'soil bridge' so there is continuity of the soil column between the soil (earth) and the grow medium in the container, through the drain hole(s), so water doesn't have to jump an air gap to exit the container. This applies more to pots with rigid walls and is not a factor when discussing fabric containers. Al

My mother has a Tulip tree that is pocked with holes. Lines and lines of holes all over the trunk and large branches. She really loves this tree, has got 16 years into it, reaching a nice size finally. Tree LOOKS fine, lots of leaves and blooms in spring. Not much sap dripping that I can see. I did drag her out, showed her the tree and holes. She was quite amazed at the number of lines and holes. Tree was planted about 17 years ago, but has grown very well. She is going to have her friend, the tree manager for the city, take a look and see what he says. With the good looks, I am not sure there is any damage hurting tree yet. Not sure if holes are sapsucker or woodpecker damage. Not the bigger round holes I think of with woodpeckers. Tree did have a scar on lower trunk which is growing over as the years pass. May be weakened, have bugs inside that are not evident to my untrained eyes. Woodpeckers go after problem bugs, don't usually start trouble in the tree. Anyway, I have warned Mom that tree may get weakened, have to come down with all the damage it is showing. She has a second Tulip going in the yard, which has grown 5ft in the couple years since planting. She will have at least one left.

I'd probably have to say that trees with exotic trunks, bark or flowers are the ones that I prefer. One tree that combines all of these attributes in one tree is Brazilian Floss Silk tree, Chorisia speciosa. I find the sculptural bright green trunks with heavy thorns, towering size and vivid orchid pink blooms in winter when the trees are almost leafless is something that appeals to me in winter. Another similar blooming subtropical tree is the entire Tabebuia genus, which has so many species that light up the forest when they bloom at the end of the dry season in places like the west coast of southern Mexico or Brazil. Tabebuia chrysotricha and T. impetiginosa are pretty magnificent even as ordinary street trees as seen around southern California. But perhaps my most perfect tree is actually a palm, Cocos nucifera, which is the essence of the tropics, and looks as good as a young plant, or by the thousands lining tropical shores. Not only is it beautiful, but so supremely useful for food, water, building materials, and to string up a hammock and enjoy the shade and breeze off the ocean. Favortie trees that are less tropical, would include those with such beautiful smooth bark as our native Madrone, Arbutus menziesii, or the much easier to grow hybrid, A. 'Marina', which is almost never without bloom or colorful fruit, and has such graceful, twisting and sinuous branching and lovely smooth deep cinnamon bark. Lemon Gum Eucalyptus, E. citriodora is also in this category, with the smooth peeling bark that reveals the powdery white trunks, the statuesque form and wonderfully fragrant citrusy foliage are not bad either. If I had to only pick natives, there are so many here in California that have their own special charm. Valley Oaks, Quercus lobata can be so strongly dramatic in profile in winter, sentinels in the landscape and so provident for wildlife. Really old Coast Live Oaks, Quercus agrifolia can be just as dramatic as a Southern Live Oak for imparting atmosphere and a connection with the past. The California Buckeye, Aesculus californica is also wondrous in winter with its contorted smooth gray branches that contrast so well against both the green hillsides of spring, or the tawny golden hillsides of fall, and the way it is the first to leaf out, often as early as February, and the massively showy blooms later in May. Coast Redwoods commingled with Douglas Firs, Madrones and Big Leaf Maples are also all beautiful in their own right, especially when viewed as a mountain backdrop in the coast hills, and are original growth. There are so many other California native forests and trees that have their own impressive beauty, such as the forests of Monterey Pines and Monterey Cypress on the Monterey Peninsula, or Ponderosa Pines up in the Sierras, with their massive trunks with fragrance of vanilla on a hot day, and such large distinctive cones. Lastly, the Australian imports such as Eucalyptus viminalis and E. globulus have their own charm when seen as remnant windbreaks or boulevard plantings from the turn of the last century, and even more so when they catch the fog and drip it down to those below, effectively mining the clouds of their moisture. I wouldn't want one in my own garden, (for lack of space and unwillingness to have to keep up with the constantly shedding debris), but they are beautiful from a distance. So many trees have their own particular charm, and it is a pity that there are not more mature urban plantings for everyone to really appreciate the beauty that trees can add to a landscape. I often feel fortunate to have grown up on the San Francisco peninsula, in the era that the grand estates with their vast plantings of exotic trees from around the world were still there, and being able to wander the hills as a boy with his dog, and take it all in.

Rob: Thank you for that. It is such a perfect little tree, usually you can see a graft line on them that small and that fact that I don't makes it even look like a tree of it's own. Beautiful! Patty:))). I can't wait to see the pictures of that newly planted tree. It probably looks fantastic in the spot you have picked for it. I can imagine it growing bigger and filling in that area. What a deal! Don't feel so bad about your Oro Blanco. This seems to be the year with Oro problems even with mine. I wonder if it is the rootstock itself? Makes me wonder, you know? You should see all the fruit I have maturing on all the others trees. Looks like I will be giving much away! You got yourself a BIG gain actually for that price. Yahoo. Hello Theresa! How are you? Aw, anytime. Why hold back from sharing what one has a bounty of. Just e-mail if you need me to send you a package and I will as soon as I can back on m feet:-0) Theresa, pay no mind to the size of that bark. It was a desperate attempt to pot it when I ran out of the appropriate size bark. I find it holds water towards the bottom more than I want it too in the winter and I will be replacing it once the fall comes. It does exactly as Josh says and in fact, I hate it. I will help you get some smaller size bark and you can make it just right. You could also place some of that bark in a cloth of some sort, like and old pillow case, and smash it up with a hammer into smaller pieces. That clay container has been the saving grace for that mix since it dries out rather more quickly than plastic ones. Good luck and have a great day. Josh: Hello buddy! Thanks for that reminder on particle size. If only I had listened back when I first starting using these mixes. It would of saved me a lot of work, and thanks for reminding me to repot it as soon as I can. Hope you are having a great day! TTYL, YPM Mike: WHERE IS THE PICTURE OF YOUR NEW TREASURE! I woudl of love to have seen it. You know me and my gardenias..lol I think you are going to do a fine job with it now that you are doing well with citrus. You are brave and I commend you for that. I can't believe that you can get those plants at Lowe's at all, let alone at those prices. Lucky you! Mike:-)