That product is likely sapwood, so it wouldn't be comparable to bark fines (bark is more stable and will resist decomposition much longer). I won't say that you can't use sapwood for container gardening (see this study, for example), but I wouldn't substitute sapwood for pine bark in the gritty mix.

hey what up??? do you have a barn/shed... etc???? two issues with small pots... first.. sun/heat... warming soil that is above ground.. a few warm days.. and a pot can come out of dormancy.. and then refreeze... etc... my cliche is.. get them dormant.. keep them dormant ... in and out is no good ... second .... pots can dry horribly ... if not from sun/heat .. then also from winter wind.. horribly desiccating ... even a dormant plant.. transpires.. if only in slow motion ... and finally ... unfroze water .... accumulating in the pot ... basically freezing a root mass into an ice cube ... they need air.... solve all those.. and you are all set ... the problem with a structure.. is late winter.. when it can start accumulating heat.. and actually be something like a z7 inside... bringing your MI stock out of dormancy a month or two early .... but you will have pulled them out by then ... my best suggestion is to put them in full shade.. north side of a structure. ...then ... when the pots are rock hard here in MI ... stack them.. on their sides... against said structure... or put them in the shed... until you are ready to SLOWLY bring them into heat .. many peeps just lay them down.. w/o the stacking.. but i have had pots like that.. freeze so hard to the ground... i could free them ... the best world.. would be total snow cover... a nice insulator to maintain said dormancy .... but again.. since you want to bring them in.. in winter.. the stacking would facilitate such ... and you dont wnat to be chipping thru ice and snow ... to find and free them .... ken

Schwartzy, here is a photo of a tree that was staked with a T-post about 6" from the base--too close. A little bend in the trunk and then it's in the stake. I started training all my trees to a single leader--most are on M7, but some are G30 and B9. I was shooting for the "fat Christmas tree" shape. Most were staked with T-posts, and most need higher support. This year I have experimented with converting some to solaxe. There is a lot of work up front with tying down limbs, but the payoff is less work in the future. Even with full dwarfing rootstocks, you may find a 4' stake too short. If I were to start my 10-year-old orchard all over again, I would probably use all B9 stocks and a stake with 6 to 8 feet out of the ground. Then I would work toward a solaxe training system. I don't have experience with dwarfs other than B9, but I like B9 because of the size, early production, and the trees seem more resistant to disease (perhaps the resistance is a function of variety: Empire and William's Pride). I have had union breakage problems with G30. I would not recommend without very secure support. Good luck and keep us posted. Marc

HI -- There are products that will prevent any of that happening . You could also give the wood a thin white wash stain . Oil based products are the ones that turn some woods yellow over time . A good painter can help with that decision and advice . Talk to a painter first .